Ursula K. LeGuin
VCON 1
Dates: April 9th-10th, 1971
Venue: Hotel Georgia, Vancouver
Guest of Honour: Ursula K. LeGuin
Admission to the first "VCON" (which was simply called the Vancouver SF Convention) was just $3.50 advance or $5 at the door. Its sponsoring organisations included the University of B.C. Science Fiction Society (UBC SFFEN), the B.C. Science Fiction Association (an offshoot of the UBC club) and the Simon Fraser University Science Fiction Society (SF3).
The convention occupied only two rooms of the downtown hotel, and had no art show or dealer's room (now taken for granted as integral parts of any SF convention.) It did, however, feature 8 mm screenings of "selected short films" such as excerpts of Bride of Frankenstein, Dracula, It Came from Outer Space, and 20 Million Miles to Earth. The single track of programming featured speeches by LeGuin (who had never attended an SF convention before), a discussion of H.P. Lovecraft by Mason Harris and a lecture titled "SF: Insulation or Illumination" by SFU professor R.D. Callahan. The program also included panel discussions on "SF Loves and Hates," "SF and Social Realism," and "SF and Serious Studies."
The Elron Awards were presented for the first time, and featured stylish trophies made from plastic lemons painted bronze and glued to a plywood base. UBC SF Society member Mike Bailey was careful to point out that the name of the award, given to the worst SF of the year, was not in fact inspired by the name of L. Ron Hubbard (founder of Scientology), despite the similarity. Worst novel of the year went to Robert Heinlein's I Will Fear No Evil, while worst melodramatic presentation went to the film Beneath the Planet of the Apes.
Michael Walsh, reporter for the Vancouver Province (and BCSFA member) later reported: "'The Vancouver gathering tended toward the highly educated end of the spectrum,' (Seattle fan Frank) Denton said, and he agreed with Leland Shapiro that this convention was one of the better ones he'd been to. 'It's certainly a lot more scholarly than a lot of the American conventions,' he said." Walsh added: "The tone of the convention, one of literate appreciation rather than fascinated adulation, was set from the beginning by the science fiction sophisticates from the sponsoring clubs."
| Attending: | 75 | |
| Expenses: | ? | |
| Income: | ? | |
| Balance: | ($100) | (The loss was split between the two university clubs.) |
Co-Chairman: Mike Bailey
Co-Chairman: Daniel Say
Treasurer: Mike Bailey
Operations: Mike Bailey
Publicity: Rob Scott & Daniel Say
Guest Liaison: Daniel Say
Short Films: R. Graeme Cameron
Elron Awards Presentation: Mike Bailey
Image credits: Photo of Ursula K. LeGuin was taken at the con by a currently unidentified concom member.