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Eastercon
The Eastercon is the main annual British SF Convention. It happens over the Easter weekend (funny, that), running from Friday to Monday, making it a day longer than a typical weekend con. The site varies from year to year, and is voted on by the attendees of the Eastercon two years ahead, e.g. attendees at the 2002 Eastercon voted for the 2004 venue. An Eastercon will normally have from 600-1000 attendees, including a higher than usual proportion of attendees from Europe and the US. In general, Eastercons are much like most other British cons, but bigger.
Guests Of Honour
There will normally be at least 3-4 GOHs. While most British cons can't usually afford to fly guests in from far-flung corners of the globe, Eastercon often can and does. Recent and forthcoming Guests include:
- 2000 - Guy Gavriel Kay, Deborah Turner Harris, Katherine Kurtz
- 2001 - Stephen Baxter, Lisanne Norman, Michael Scott Rohan, Claire Brialey & Mark Plummer
- 2002 - Harry Turtledove, Brian Stableford, Peter Weston
- 2003 - Chris Baker (Fangorn), Christopher Evans, Mary Gentle
- 2004 - Mitchell Burnside Clapp, Danny Flynn, Sue Mason, Christopher Priest, Philip Pullman
The linked sites vary wildly. Some authors have good personal pages or fansites, and some... don't.
The Programme
Eastercons typically have a fairly substantial programme, running from about 10:00 to 22:00 each day, starting at about 13:00 or 14:00 on Good Friday, winding down after about 17:00 on Easter Monday, and finishing late on Monday with a "Dead Dog party". At any given time, there will be 2-4 events happening simultaneously. Eastercons have several extra "regular" events not listed on previous pages.
The Art Show and Art Auction
An exhibition of SF/Fantasy artwork. Many of the items included will be available for sale in the Art Auction. Items range from small cartoons by unknown artists, selling for a few pounds, up to large paintings by world-famous artists, selling for much larger sums.
The Masquerade
A big fancy dress/theatrical competition. Everything from elaborate acts featuring a large cast in fabulous costumes to one person in jeans and a T-shirt, armed with a chocolate bar and a bad pun. If you intend to enter, let the masquerade organisers know as soon as possible after your arrival at the con. They should be able to tell you when the rehearsal is (usually, but not always, right before the Masquerade itself). If you don't know who the organisers are, find the chaos costuming workshop (see below) and ask the people running that. You will need to attend the rehearsal to sort out things like running order, lighting, your introduction, and other tech requirements like a soundtrack. Like the Guest Of Honour speeches, the Masquerade is usually scheduled on its own. Again, if you decide you really like this stuff, there are specialist Costuming cons out there.
Chaos Costuming Workshop
Make a costume from available materials to enter in the Masquerade
Beyond Cyberdrome
Advanced radio-controlled vehicles, Lego Mindstorms masterpieces, wind-up toys, mousetraps and assorted inanimate objects enter the B.C. arena and engage in mortal combat until there is only one survivor (or the audience get bored). I am under a contractural obligation to point out that THIS IS NOT ROBOT WARS (not least because the con venue would have grave objections to axes, saws, hammers, etc). See the Beyond Cyberdrome website for the awful details (and rules, should you wish to compete)
Robot Workshop
Use assorted construction toys and available materials to assemble a combatant for Beyond Cyberdrome.
George Hay Memorial Lecture
A recently-instituted tradition, that I hope will last. A serious talk, given by a working scientist, about their work. Recent speakers include Alastair (Revelation Space) Reynolds, talking about his work developing advanced CCD cameras for the European Space Agency. An item for us SF geeks who are also Real Science geeks.
Video Programme
Eastercon usually hosts a substantial video programme. The playlist varies wildly, taking in recent video releases, television rarities, anime, and obscure stuff you've never even heard of. The schedule will usually be posted outside the video room several hours in advance.
Disco
Boogie on down! Given the age profile of the average Eastercon, be warned that this is unlikely to resemble the hip-and-trendy nightspots you may (or may not) be used to.
Games
Eastercon usually has a dedicated games room somewhere, where (surprise!) people play games.
Other Stuff
Hall Costumes
At Eastercons, the "dressing up" phenomenon often goes much further than at other British cons. Masquerade entrants may keep their costumes on for the rest of the evening. Some people will spend whole days in fancy dress, just because they feel like it.
Occasionally, the con will formalise this, by declaring a "Hall Costume" day or evening, and asking the convention attendees to vote for the best costume.
The Newsletter
Eastercon usually has a newsletter, produced approximately daily throughout the convention, which provides an opportunity for announcements to all the attendees of last-minute changes to the programme, restaurant reviews, cheap jokes, lost property reports, and anything else the editorial team feels like publishing.
Links:
- Paragon - The 2001 Eastercon, Hanover International Hotel, Hinckley. This con has already happened, so don't try to join it.
- Seacon '03 - The 2003 Eastercon, Hanover International Hotel, Hinckley.
- Concourse - The 2004 Eastercon, Winter Gardens, Blackpool.
- Paragon 2 - Eastercon 2005, Hanover International Hotel, Hinckley. (yes, this is the same venue as 2001 and 2003 - we liked it, so we're going back)
Note: due to their historical nature, I can't make any guarantees about the longevity of the websites for past conventions.