Keycon
A convention held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, since 1984 and sponsored by WINSFA.
Keycon is a "social" convention which places an emphasis on panel discussions, personal interaction, and guest accessibility (for example, autographs from and photos with guests are generally available free of charge). The story is often told about the Keycon where Richard Hatch was a GoH; he played the "Battlestar Galactica" board game with fans in the gaming room (where he took on the role of a Cylon, and lost), and later he could be seen in the folk music suite singing and playing guitar with the fans. At Keycon, guests are usually not behind a table all convention long, separated from the fans: they are encouraged to be out and about, interacting with the convention membership.
Some perennial features of Keycon include: the Art Show, the Dealers Room, five to seven tracks of programming running all weekend long (the 2019 programme grid featured over 70 programming items to choose from), a gaming area, a costume competition followed by a dance on Saturday night, and a full floor of the hotel devoted to themed hospitality suites which change from year to year. At the end of the convention, after programming officially ends on Sunday late afternoon, the "Dead Dog" begins: a party involving the entire hospitality suite floor, often running into the wee hours of Monday morning.
Recent Keycons have also included a sing-along event (organized by Lillian Bryant and hosted by Joey Wensel), a trivia contest (run by Lillian Bryant and Joey Wensel), a live bad fiction reading audience participation panel (facilitated by Laurie E. Smith), the Newbie Dinner to welcome convention newcomers (hosted by Laurie E. Smith), pinball machines plus a pinball tournament (organized and managed by Yuriy Roman Mokriy), and a Childrens Programming track (run by Mama Kat).
See Through the Keyhole -- 25 Years of KeyCon Memories. Winnipeg, Canada: KeyCon Science Fiction Convention Inc. ISBN 978-0-9810076-0-1
| Convention | |
| 1984— |
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