Some of you have surely attended sff (science fiction and fantasy) cons so you can skip this post, but for the rest of you, here’s the tale of my weekend at Balticon, a large regional con held in Baltimore.
Part of the fun is the amazing contrast with romance writers conferences. RWA gatherings are virtually all women, business-like, dress for success, writing sessions that have been prepared well in advance. SFF cons are family affairs from grizzled old geeks to babes in arms, casual jeans or lavish costumes. There are sessions on manga, movies, costuming and gaming, writing—and Regency dancing.
There is a merchandise room with new and used books, many sff but great research books as well. Plus jewelry and crafts with sff flair. Do you want a handmade sword to carry at your side as you fight your way through trolls? You’ll find one here! Or a feathered mask to wear at a masked ball. Cons also have art shows that feature the work of professional and amateur artists, most of the pieces for sale. Some of it is truly stunning.
If you’re on a panel, no advance preparation required. Just show up with opinions, and all writers have those! You find out what you’ll be doing maybe a week in advance. You can easily be assigned to half a dozen panels or more—and the online form will ask if there is anyone you flatly refuse to share a podium with. <g>
At the end of one of my panels I was approached by a tall fellow who gave me a dollar bill that had been exquisitely folded into the shape of a heart. He said it was to make up for the royalties I’d lost by him buying all my books used. <g> His day job was with the Department of the Army and I suspect he wouldn’t have looked out of place in a uniform, but at Balticon, he was just another sff lover in jeans and tee-shirt.
I adore the costumes worn by perhaps a quarter of the attendees. There are space aliens and masked men in black capes, small children dressed as kittens and medieval wenches whose bustiers provide dramatic cleavage. (No, none were Word Wenches!) No Xenas this year, but I've seen them in the past.
You’ll see lovely young elves with pointed ears visible under their shining hair and fairies with wings. A lot of wings were feather, but I spotted one fairy whose wings were made of taped CDs. Talk about being born aloft on wings of song!
For us, the high point of the con was the Klingon feast put on by the Klingon Battle Fleet, a fan group that really, really likes Klingons. For those of you who aren’t Star Trek viewers, the Klingons are big hairy aliens with ridged foreheads, deep voices, and an intense warrior culture built around war and honor. They have absolutely no sense of humor, which is why they’re hilarious. <G>
Since my SO and I know way too much about Star Trek, we agreed that we wouldn’t eat anything that was still moving. Despite the rather alarming menu, the Marriott hotel was catering the buffet and the targ meat looked reassuringly liked sliced roast beef and the katterpod beans were not overcooked. Better yet, there was chocolate fudge cake, and it wasn’t moving. (Who knew Klingons loved chocolate???)
I chatted a bit in the buffet line with one of the warriors. He said that after five years of practice, he could apply the complicated layers of make-up and prostheses in about forty-five minutes. Being a Klingon takes real dedication. I rather fancied the warrior who wore wire-rimmed glasses and fixed the technical gear. <g> There are female Klingons, too, and they can do an intimidation move with the best of them.
Best of all was the entertainment, which started with a well rendered version of “I Am the Very Model of a Modern Klingon General,” and moved through poetry, mock fights, and a bamboo cutting demonstration with a very real, very sharp, Japanese sword. There was even a Warrior Stomp that seemed to be a Klingon version of a line dance. <g> By the end, Gilbert & Sullivan and Alfred Lord Tennyson were probably spinning in their graves, but a good time was had by all.
This was the 40th Balticon, and some of the people running it now were founders 40 years ago when they were college age or even younger. Fandom is an amazing community—warm and tolerant and accepting, and its members tend to be very bright people. The laidback gentlemen with the mechanical critter sitting on his shoulder and bobbing its head might be a top intelligence analyst for NSA. The motherly woman who helps you out when your registration badge isn’t in the box may be a civil engineer.
Though these folks may be here to play, they have brains and curiosity. There are hard science sessions on physics, biology and chemistry, especially as they might apply to other worlds and alien races. Fandom is a great place to live, or just to visit, and cons are places where hardworking people can come and be playful and creative.
Live long and prosper!