Science Fiction Happening
Known as the Science Fiction Happenings, or sometimes as the slightly longer Science Fiction Space Happenings, they were conventions held in Western Massachusetts with a combination of Science Fiction and Space-oriented material. They tended to feature well-know science fiction authors alongside astronauts and scientists as guest speakers. They were held at the Springfield Science Museum in Springfield, MA, and staffed by a few Science Museum employees, but with a large contingent of about 50 area fans acting as volunteers, coordinated by fan and longtime Science Museum volunteer, Edward Finneran. fans from both the Springfield Space:1999 Club and The Star Trek Club of Springfield were involved, among others.
Science fiction figures who appeared at the Science Fiction Happenings have included Frederick Pohl, Philip José Farmer, Nat Segaloff, Robert Adams, Ben Bova, James P. Hogan and Janet Morris among others.
Attendance was very good at these events, frequently hitting the defined cap for attendance, which was split between two sessions per day. Science Fiction Happening 2 in 1978 hit 1300 on its Saturday, while Science Fiction Happening 3 in 1979 hit its cap of 3000 (1500 per session) attendees on its Sunday (confirmed in local newspaper reports). The event expanded from a single day in first outing in 1977 to multiple days in subsequent years.
| Convention | Dates | Guests |
|---|---|---|
| Science Fiction Space Happening 1 | March 6, 1977 | |
| Science Fiction Space Happening 2 | March 6, 1978 | Frederick Pohl, Philip José Farmer |
| Science Fiction Space Happening 3 | March 23-25, 1979 | Robert Adams, Ben Bova, James P. Hogan, Janet Morris, astronaut Colonel Donald Peterson |
| Science Fiction Space Happening 4 | May 17-18, 1980 |
| Convention | |
| 1977—1980 |
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