VCON 34 News Archive

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October 5, 2009

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September 29, 2009

Draft Programming Schedule Available!

For everyone waiting to get a glimpse of the VCON 34 Programming Schedule, we finally  have something to show you: a Draft version of the VCON 34 Programming is now available. Regardless of what you see here, a copy of the final schedule will be included in the "Swag Bag" you get when you register.

This Schedule is Subject to Change!
(The Programming Coordinator and our programming guests are still dickering over times and panel topics!)

Download the VCON 34 Programming Schedule [PDF]
DRAFT, last updated Tuesday, September 29 @ 9:08 AM

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Parking during VCON

We've had several people asking about the parking situation during VCON.  Here's the scoop:

Parking at the Marriot Pinnacle:

• VCON Valet Parking: $29/day (Valet Parking is regularly $36/day)
• Self-Parking: $23/day

We acknowledge that the rates at the hotel parking lot are quite high. Unfortunately, the hotel could only offer us a reduced rate on their Valet Parking service because the parking lot is actually owned and operated by an independent company.

Other Parking Lots:

Many of the parking lots in the downtown core are closed evenings and weekends but, we've done some research and found several parking lots run by Easy Park within a few blocks of the hotel which have evening and weekend rates ranging from a high of $16.50/day to a low of $4/day).  Complete details for each location (copied from the Easy Park Website) plus routes between them and the hotel are included in the Google Map embedded below (you may need to zoom in).

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September 28, 2009

Complete VCON34 Guest List

Visit our Guests Page for a list of all the guests who will be participating in scheduled programming at VCON 34.

In addition to the names, photos and a link to biographical information for all our Guests of Honour and all the Guest of Honour Emeriti (former VCON GoHs) who have confirmed their attendance at VCON 34, there is a Programming Guests list organized into categories such as "Literary Guests", "Media Guests", "Science Guests", etc.

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September 23, 2009

VCON GoH Emeritii in Town and in the News

We are pleased that Guest of Honour Emeritii (former VCON GoHs) Robert J. Sawyer (VCON 25) and Eileen Kernaghan (VCONs 14 & 18.5) will both be attending VCON this year. They'll be at Friday evening's Book Launch (October 2, 8-9 p.m.), Rob with his novel WAKE from Penguin Canada, Eileen with Tales from the Holograph Woods, her poetry collection from Wattle and Daub Books. Also look for them on panels during the rest of the con.

Rob Sawyer's big news is the premiere this Thursday (September 24, 8 p.m. Pacific on ABC and CTV's A channel) of FlashForward, the tv show based on his book of the same name. It was the most anticipated new series, the only one to get an " A+", in the TV Times edition of Sept. 11, and also got the highest recommendation from the Globe and Mail's TV critic, John Doyle. Rob is also the featured writer on CBC Radio's Canada Reads: Book Club for the month of September. You just have a week to take part in the conversation, if you haven't done it already.

You have a chance to meet Eileen Kernaghan before VCON this Saturday (September 26, 2 p.m.), when she'll do a reading at White Dwarf Books (3715 West 10th Avenue in Vancouver, at Alma). As a bonus, Marci Tentchoff will also read from her collection Through the Window: A Journey to the Borderlands of Faerie. For more information, see the Wattle and Daub Books website.

 

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September 22, 2009

Second Annual Multi-Author Book Launch
Friday October 2 @ 8PM

VCON is pleased to announce our Second Annual Multi-Author Book Launch on Friday Oct 2 at 8PM.

One major addition to the event this year is that it will be OPEN TO THE PUBLIC - so we encourage you to bring along any friends and family who might be interested in meeting authors with Science Fiction, Fantasy and Gaming related books and magazine stories that have been released in the past year or will be released before the end of this year, even if they won't be attending VCON itself!

Attending Authors

Author	Books, Stories or Magazines
Mary Choo	Tesseracts 13 (anthology)
Jonathan Dalton	A Mad Tea Party: Part III (comic) Funday Sunnies (comic)
A.M. Dellamonica	Indigo Springs
Linda Demeulemeester	Grim Hill: The Forgotten Secret (Grim Hill book 3)
Frank Garcia	Science Fiction Television Series: Histories, Casts and Credits for 58 prime-time shows from 1990 to 2004
Maryke Hendrikse	Escape Clause (anthology)
Guy Immega	Postscripts #14 (magazine)
Karl Johanson	Neo-opsis (magazine)
Stephanie Johanson	Neo-opsis (magazine)
Eileen Kernaghan	Tales from the Holograph Woods (poetry)
Josh Langston	Druids
Steve LeCouilliard	Much the Miller's Son (comic)
Fiona Lehn	Room (magazine)
Sylvia Moreno-Garcia	Tesseracts 13 (anthology)
Nina Munteanu	The Fiction Writer: Get Published, Write Now!
Virginia O'Dine	Releases from Bundoran Press: Steel Whispers by Hayden Trenholm Fall From Earth by Matthew Johnson
Joseph Picard	Watching Yute
Rhea Rose	Evolve (anthology)
Robert J. Sawyer	WAKE (Penguin Canada hardcover)
Alyx J Shaw	A Strange Place in Time: Book III: The Merry Executioner Returns
Tamara Sheehan	Stormy Bamboo
Tabitha St. Germain	Escape Clause (anthology)
Bruce Taylor	Alembical (collection with "13 Miles to Paradise") Kafka's Uncle and Other Strange Tales
Marcie Tentchoff	Escape Clause (anthology)
Lee Tockar	Escape Clause (anthology)
Beth Wagner	Isaac & Lee #3 (comic)
Sandra Wickham	Evolve (anthology)
Lynda Williams	Part 5: Far Arena of the Okal Rel Saga Opus 3 (Okal Rel Universe anthology)
Casey Wolf	Room (magazine) Escape Clause (anthology)

 

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September 17, 2009

Podcasting Goodness

We are pleased to announce that there will be two separate podcasts recording, live, at VCON 34:

GeeksOn Podcast

The GeeksOn Podcasters are VCON 34 Special Guests and will be recording there podcast as part of VCON programming panel. Their podcast, GeeksOn, is a (mostly) bi-monthly show created by geeks, for geeks, covering topics that geeks like to talk about. Movies, Sci-fi, Video Games, Comics, TV, Internet, Board Games, RPGs.... it's all there at GeeksOn!

Pacific Fen Spotlight

The Pacific Fen Spotlight, is an Internet show dedicated to highlighting the science–fiction, fantasy, horror, anime, filk & gaming communities in the pacific northwest. The host, Jim "J.C." Granger, covers events and conventions both big and small, local businesses and people who are an integral part of those communities, and the occasional non–informative, strictly—cause—he—was—in—the—mood—and—had—nothing—better—to—offer segment.

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September 16, 2009

Camilla d'Errico

Look for Vancouver-based artist Camilla d'Errico at this year's VCon in the Artists Alley!

Camilla was featured in an article in the Vancouver Sun this past weekend (September 14). Her cutting edge manga-inspired work can be found in comics, video games, toys, her own line of clothing, and in art galleries around the world. In her art she has created the perfect balance between sugary cute and surreal creepiness.

 

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September 15, 2009

Special "Late-Bird" Hotel Room Rates

Because we were able to sell out the entire room block reserved for VCON we were able to arrange a special deal for VCON members booking hotel rooms between the end of early-bird registration and the convention. The Marriot Pinnacle will continue to book VCON rooms, but at a smaller discount.

Rooms are now $175/night!
(for up to 4 people)
(More than before, but still less than the hotel's standard of $269/night!)

For additional details, refer to our Venue page.

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ZOMBIES invade VCON!

We will be looking for a few good zombie hunters to help wipe out a zombie threat at VCON on Saturday in games room.

Check the Games Room page for more information on ULTIMATE ZOMBIES!

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Geek Chic Apologies

Unfortunately, the entire Geek Chic team (including the owner)
fell afoul of the PAX Flu and will not be in the
VCON 34 Games Room as announced on September 5th.

(We do hope we will see them at VCON 35 in Oct 2010!)

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Dealers Room and Artists Alley are FULL!

The Dealers Room AND the Artist Alley are full. If you are interested in getting on the waiting list please contact the VCON Dealer Liaison.

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September 14, 2009

Early Registration and Convention Hotel Rates End Soon!

September 15, 2009 is your last chance for early bird rates on registration and hotel room rates!

Membership Rates

† Forms must postmarked by this date to receive the specified rate.
* Students must show current student photo ID at the convention to receive the Student Membership rate.
** Games and Exhibits Only is a restricted access pass which allows entry to the exhibits (Dealers Room, Art Gallery, etc) and participation in the Games Room. It is designed for those who are primarily interested in these areas of the convention and do not intend to attend any programmed sessions.

To register, please print the registration form and mail it in to:

VCON 34 Registrar
Box 78069, Grandview RPO
Vancouver, BC  V5N 5W1
Canada

Please include a cheque (payable to VCON) or provide your VISA information on your registration form OR you may pay online via PayPal.

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Convention Hotel Rates

To get your room, visit the Vancouver Marriott Pinnacle Downtown website and use the Group Booking Code vcovcoa to get rooms at $129/night until September 15, 2009 (regular rates start at $269/night!)

 

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September 12, 2009

ART SHOW UPDATE

27 ARTISTS HAVE SIGNED UP TO SHOW THEIR WORKS AT THIS YEAR’S ART SHOW AND AUCTION,
THE LARGEST NUMBER IN MANY YEARS.

Some of these folks are brand spanking new to science fiction and fantasy, but their work is of such quality and interest that we felt you had to see it. I can’t list them all here but many of our favourites are returning...

• Look for Stephanie Ann Johanson’s intriguing pieces. There is always something to be found in her paintings that even she was not aware was there! (Lions and tigers and bears! OH my!)
• Joey Lynn Jordan can’t be with us for the weekend, but is mailing works up.
• Welcome back for their second year to Cathy Watters, Beth Baisch, Apis Teicher and our own Pauline Walsh and Kristina Gray.
• Also from our own local group we again will be awed by the works of Lynne Taylor Fahnestalk. I’ve had a sneak peek. Yummy!
• Chilam has been a busy artist since last year and will have many panels of his work for your viewing pleasure.

We are also pleased to welcome back Tim Hammell, and Melissa Duncan, who have been away from the VCON Art Show for far too long.

This will probably end up being remembered as the con where we first used the new art show panels. They will take a bit of getting used to for those of us who have been around for a while, but their half-size – at only 4’ square – is meant to allow for various configurations, and we are looking forward to testing the theory out with several of our artists having in excess of 2 panels. Look for the work of April Solomon who has 10 panels. I have seen her work in a local shop and know that you will all appreciate the quality and imagination involved.

This year marks the first year in recent history where the art show has been given space in the main function area – read the main ballroom next to the dealer’s room. 70 new 4’ square panels were built. At this writing, 68 are spoken for. This bodes very well for an exciting auction on Sunday at 2 pm with our favourite auctioneer, the lovely and talented STEVE FAHNESTALK. Come early to get a good seat and watch him work.

We are trying other new things this year. Look for the GALLERY LOUNGE connected to the Artist Guest of Honour show space at the end of the hall. This lounge is meant to be a meeting place for fans to talk to artists, a place to sit and rest and contemplate that next important bid (or maybe you should just buy it direct sale before someone else places a bid…..?). It’s a quiet spot to reflect on what you have seen, and we hope it is treated as such so it can become a fixture.

Watch the Art Show notice board for information about programming important to those of you who do enjoy art.

See you all on October 2 at the opening of VCON 34’s ART SHOW!

 

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September 6, 2009

Book Your Hotel Rooms Soon!

Our room block at the hotel is reserved until September 15th,
but spaces are filling up quickly!

If VCON's reserved block fills up early,
we will try to extend the number of rooms available at the group rate.
However...

Bookings made after September 15 will have to be made
At regular hotel prices!

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September 5, 2009

Geek Chic Roadshow Coming to VCON 34

We are pleased to announce that the Geek Chic Roadshow will be coming to VCON this year.

Geek Chic are fabricators of fine furniture and accessories for the Geek Chic Lifestyle who are based in the Seattle, WA, region. Geek Chic will be setting up their roadshow display in the VCON 34 games room, bringing our members the opportunity to see their Sultan Gaming Table, Emissary Gaming Table, Alexandria Codex and other hand made, heirloom quality products in person.

Additionally, with the roadshow located in the games room we have arranged to use the game tables Geek Chic puts out on display for scheduled game events during the day and free play gaming at other times. Thus, not only will our members be able to see their beautiful furniture but some will also get a chance to give a few pieces a decent test run!

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September 2, 2009

T-Shirt Order Deadline Extended!

New Deadline: September 8, 2009.
Forms must postmarked by this date in to ensure successful processing of your T-Shirt order.

T–Shirt Design "Creating a Vampire" by Miles Teves Click here for T–Shirt Pre-Order Details

 

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August 22, 2009

VCON 34 Advertising Information & Rates

If you have a product or service that you would like to promote to the hundreds of science fiction and fantasy fans that comprise the VCON membership you can find information and rates on our new VCON Advertising page.

 

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July 26, 2009

Announcing the VCON 34 Volunteer Coordinator

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Richard Walters as the Volunteer Coordinator for VCON 34. This is a very important position - the fun and excitement of VCON depends wholly on the hard work and dedication of our volunteers - volunteers like YOU!!!

Volunteers Have More Fun!

Would you like to help out as a volunteer?
There are lots of opportunities for every skill set!
To let us know that you'd like to help:

Send an email to VCONvolunteers@gmail.com

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July 16, 2009

New!
VCON Photo And Video Galleries

A new Photo and Video Gallery feature has been added to the web site.  The first two galleries are:

• Miscellaneous Collection
  A selection of more-or-less random photos from previous VCONs. This gallery currently contains images from VCON 27, 29, 31 and 32.
• North Shore Canada Day Parade, 2009
  Images and video taken by and of the participants in the "Science Fiction (& Fantasy) Fan Groups of Metro Vancouver" entry to the 2009 Annual North Shore Canada Day parade.

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Please help our Galleries Grow!

Do you have scanned or digital photos or video from previous VCONs?
Would you like to share YOUR memories with other fans and VCON members?

Well then, we'd love to make them available on the site! Please contact the VCON Webmaster so we can arrange to collect the files from you and the details about the who, what and where of the photos/videos and photographer.

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June 30, 2009

VCON Participates in North Shore Canada Day Parade

Come see your favourite SF&F characters
walk the route at the
North Shore Canada Day Parade!

Several members of VCON (including a number from the ConCom) will be participating in North Vancouver's annual North Shore Canada Day parade as part of the "Sci-Fi and Fantasy Fan Groups of Metro Vancouver," a group entry by several local fan groups. In addition to members from VCON will include members of The Burrad Inlet Fan Fellowship , The Greater Vancouver Stargate Meetup Group, Star Trek Vancouver, The 13th Colony (Battlestar Galactica), Vancouver Browncoats (Firefly/Serenity) and The Vancouver Doctor Who Meetup Group.

The parade starts at 10a, leaving from 13th St E at Grand Boulevard and ending up at 17th St W and Jones at Mahon Park. View the full parade route. You'll know our entry is coming when you see the quarter-size model of the Stargate which was lovingly created by several members of The Greater Vancouver Stargate Meetup Group.

Starting at 8am there is also a pancake breakfast in Boulevard Park with proceeds going to the North Shore youth Safe House. View more information about the breakfast.

If you plan to come out and watch, remember that, as it's a Canada Day, transit is running on a Sunday/Holiday schedule. Traffic will be diverted to accommodate the parade route and parking will get tight the closer to the start time you get so the earlier you arrive the better (the official muster time for parade participants is 8am, so the parking will start to fill up before then).

We Hope to See You There!

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June 19, 2009

Christine Willes
Confirmed As VCON 34 Media GoH

We are pleased to announce that Christine Willes has accepted our invitation to be Media Guest of Honour at VCON 34. Christine is a Vancouver actor who is well known for her roles on Dead Like Me and Reaper; is an acting teacher, and co-owner of the William Davis Centre for Actors Study in Vancouver. She is very excited to join us and is an excellent addition to our guest list.

For even more information about Christine visit her IMDb page.

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May 13, 2009

Marriott Pinnacle Downtown
Confirmed As VCON 34 Convention Hotel

We are pleased to announce that the convention hotel for VCON 34 will be the Marriott Pinnacle Downtown, a CAA/AAA Four Diamond hotel situated in the heart of downtown Vancouver just a few blocks from the Burrard Street Skytrain station. Ranked as one of the best Vancouver hotels, the Marriott Pinnacle hotel is also home to some of Vancouver's premiere meeting and conference facilities. Hotel facilities also include fitness centre, indoor lap pool and whirlpool.

For complete details, including convention room rates and booking procedures, check out the venue page.

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May 6, 2009

Upcoming Fan Events at the RIO Theatre

The Rio Theatre - where the VCON Pre-Con Bash was held - has two events coming up that will be of interest to many of our members:

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Thursday May 7: Midnight screening of the new Star Trek movie, staring Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto. Costumes are encouraged and prizes will be awarded.

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Saturday May 16: Khan. Con - A Star Trek Micro Convention "Double feature Plus".

Show your Trekkie pride and flaunt your Bat'leth for all to see at Vancouver's ONLY Star Trek Con. Starts at 11am and goes to 6:30pm. Includes the all new Star Trek film by JJ Abrams, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, classic Trek episode "Space Seed" featuring Ricardo Montalban as Khan Noonien Sing, Costume Contest, Chorgh Mile Klingon rap battle, Cartoons, vendors, assorted wierdness, and prizes! Advance tickets at secondlevelwizards.com and at the Rio.

Join the Facebook event at tinyurl.com/khancon.

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April 23, 2009

Announcing the VCON Pre-Con Bash

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The VCON 34 Convention Committee (ConCom) is pleased to announce our spring membership drive and fundraising event - the VCON Pre-Con Bash on Sunday May 3rd, from 1pm to 5pm at the Rio Theatre in Vancouver (address below).

The VCON Pre-Con Bash will be an afternoon of fun events and activities intended to appeal to fantasy and science fiction fans of all kinds and will include short movie screenings, trivia games, a costume show, filk sing-a-long, door prizes and more. There will also be a Q&A session with ConCom members for attendees who are unfamiliar with our convention and would like to know more about what VCON is and why they absolutely have to to come this year.

Costumes are highly encouraged so pull out your Browncoat duster or put on your fairy wings and sparkle makeup before you come. We'd love to see you strut your best stuff and be part of our costume show.

As with VCON itself, the VCON Pre-Con Bash will be kid-friendly so bring out the whole family and all your friends!

Admission is by donation. Cash, non-perishable food and books all accepted. All cash donations will go to our charity, The Canadian Children's Book Center.

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VCON

VCON is a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement and understanding of science fiction and fantasy fan culture in Vancouver BC and its environs. We wish to promote these values through the education and entertainment offered in events and functions sponsored by our organization. VCON supports a variety of genres of Sci-Fi (Science Fiction) and Fantasy Fandom, including literature, media, tabletop gaming, and more.

VCON's largest annual event, also known as VCON, is held in October and is the oldest Science Fiction and Fantasy convention in Canada. VCON 34 will be held October 2-4, 2009.

For more information about VCON, see www.vcon.ca

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Canadian Children's Book Centre

A national not-for-profit organization and registered charity, CCBC was founded in 1976 to promote, support and encourage the reading, writing and illustrating of Canadian books for children and teens.

With book collections and extensive resources in five cities across Canada, the CCBC is a treasure-trove for anyone interested in Canadian books for young readers. Through publications and programs (such as the quarterly magazine, Canadian Children's Book News and the annual TD Canadian Children's Book Week), the CCBC actively promotes Canadian books and brings their readers and creators together.

The CCBC provides resources for teachers, librarians, students and parents, writers, illustrators, storytellers, publishers and booksellers.

For more information on CCBC, see www.bookcentre.ca 

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April 10, 2009

VCON Twitter!

You can now follow VCON on Twitter! http://twitter.com/vcon. 

Convention Venue to Change

We apologize to those aware of the previously announced convention hotel. Unfortunately, due to unexpected circumstances the convention will be moving to another hotel. Full details for the new venue will be made available shortly.

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November 30, 2008

VCON 33 Was A Success!!

Thanks to all the guests and general members for coming out and making this year's convention so successful.  The ConCom for VCON 34 is already hard at work getting things ready for next year - we even have two Guests of Honour already lined up!

Keep your eye on this site for future updates as planning progresses and, in the meantime, why not join our online community at one or all of the following locations:

• Official VCON Forums
• VCON Members eMail List
• VCON Facebook Group
• VCON Facebook Event
• BC Science Fiction Association (BCSFA) eMail List

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