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Last weekend I was at the 75th-anniversary Philcon. R. was subsidizing me by buying me an Amtrak ticket and not asking me to pay for my share of the hotel room, at least until I have a job. (It was a three-way split, as our mutual friend Bill came down from Massachusetts and sacked out on the floor.) I bought my own NJ Transit tickets and some food.
I think I've finally made my peace with the fact that Philcon is just destined to be forever smaller than the "Land of Endless Parties" of the late 1980s. So I actually had a decent time there. I enjoyed catching up with friends from Massachusetts. Carol the expert costumer now exhibits jewelry in convention art shows, and she has branched out from her earlier beaded necklaces into steampunk-looking stuff with gears and rosettes. She sold quite a few pieces, too -- good for her!
I attended two or three panel discussions on steampunk stuff, mainly for the benefit of the boy toy, who wants to make himself a steampunk outfit. I also am starting to feel the gentle tug of that genre. Maybe I'll try something for Darkover this coming weekend -- I could wear the long black skirt I bought for the SCA but don't wear there, plus a black-and-white blouse from the "career" part of my closet and my black wool hat and a bit of jewelry. It won't be much, but everyone has to start somewhere.
But back to Philcon. Again, I basically did what I wanted to do all weekend, and it was relaxing. Heard some good music -- bought one CD, from a group called Tricky Pixie, which included the musical guest of honor. The group performed during the masquerade intermission (and the entire masquerade took only half an hour, so I think the concert was longer than the masquerade).
Rumor has it that this year's attendance was at least 100 higher than last year's (which I didn't go to, either), so things must have been REALLY dead in 2010. And the Cherry Hill (N.J.) hotel has already booked up its ballrooms with weddings for the third weekend in November 2012, so the Philcon folks will have to search for yet another venue. During the optimistically titled "Next 75 Years of Philcon" panel, one guy (Hugh Casey, I think) said that any hotel can make more money from an afternoon wedding than from a full-weekend convention. Of course, I could go on about whether regional SF cons that are organized by non-profit groups should emulate the SCA model of holding events at venues that are less expensive than hotels ... but it's getting late now.
I do hope Philcon keeps running in future years, although I obviously cannot guarantee that I'll attend every year. The con definitely needs new blood. I see the same faces I've seen for 20 years or more, and a lot of them aren't aging well. I know that fandom tends to be more accepting than the general public, but still, younger fans don't want to hang out with a bunch of decrepit old fogies falling asleep in the corner of the con suite.
One last thing: At Philcon I heard that Arisia has grown to have about 3000 attendees, and the next one might hit the 3500 mark! Dang, I wish I could get up there sometime.
I think I've finally made my peace with the fact that Philcon is just destined to be forever smaller than the "Land of Endless Parties" of the late 1980s. So I actually had a decent time there. I enjoyed catching up with friends from Massachusetts. Carol the expert costumer now exhibits jewelry in convention art shows, and she has branched out from her earlier beaded necklaces into steampunk-looking stuff with gears and rosettes. She sold quite a few pieces, too -- good for her!
I attended two or three panel discussions on steampunk stuff, mainly for the benefit of the boy toy, who wants to make himself a steampunk outfit. I also am starting to feel the gentle tug of that genre. Maybe I'll try something for Darkover this coming weekend -- I could wear the long black skirt I bought for the SCA but don't wear there, plus a black-and-white blouse from the "career" part of my closet and my black wool hat and a bit of jewelry. It won't be much, but everyone has to start somewhere.
But back to Philcon. Again, I basically did what I wanted to do all weekend, and it was relaxing. Heard some good music -- bought one CD, from a group called Tricky Pixie, which included the musical guest of honor. The group performed during the masquerade intermission (and the entire masquerade took only half an hour, so I think the concert was longer than the masquerade).
Rumor has it that this year's attendance was at least 100 higher than last year's (which I didn't go to, either), so things must have been REALLY dead in 2010. And the Cherry Hill (N.J.) hotel has already booked up its ballrooms with weddings for the third weekend in November 2012, so the Philcon folks will have to search for yet another venue. During the optimistically titled "Next 75 Years of Philcon" panel, one guy (Hugh Casey, I think) said that any hotel can make more money from an afternoon wedding than from a full-weekend convention. Of course, I could go on about whether regional SF cons that are organized by non-profit groups should emulate the SCA model of holding events at venues that are less expensive than hotels ... but it's getting late now.
I do hope Philcon keeps running in future years, although I obviously cannot guarantee that I'll attend every year. The con definitely needs new blood. I see the same faces I've seen for 20 years or more, and a lot of them aren't aging well. I know that fandom tends to be more accepting than the general public, but still, younger fans don't want to hang out with a bunch of decrepit old fogies falling asleep in the corner of the con suite.
One last thing: At Philcon I heard that Arisia has grown to have about 3000 attendees, and the next one might hit the 3500 mark! Dang, I wish I could get up there sometime.
