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punkwalrus
punkwalrus
10 January 2005 @ 03:59 pm
Tell me what you think of Balticon  
I had the most fascinating dinner last night. I met with BSFS people. We had a long, honest talk.

I have had mixed feelings about Balticon since 1983, although most of them have been positive. It was my first "con away from home," it's where I met Christine, and I have had many positive experiences and happy memories there. On the other hand, I had not thought very much about BSFS itself, since I considered many members a bit snobbish and aloof. I watched, in 1988 for instance, three people get into a shouting match about tee-shirt vendors that last 3 hours at a meeting. I had a friend named Nova I'd used to go with, and she had no respect for them, either. We were "disgruntled BSFS members," because we felt they were more interested in politics than their actual fen. So I left BSFS, and due to my discontent, some political issues, and being too poor to afford going, I only went to Balticon once from 1988 to 2001, and that was in 1993 to visit a friend's party. That changed a few years ago when I got my head on a little straighter, and they met me halfway (or it seemed that way) through contacts at Katsucon. They also hired Christine to be head of night ops, so that helped. :)

Now I can say I like most of the people running Balticon. I like Dale, Hal, Greg, Nora, Sue, Paul, Seth, and so on. And apparently, they think the same about me! (I didn't know I was on their page until just now, I am touched!) But I realize they have some outstanding issues that need to be addressed.

I know Balticon needs work. And you know what? They know that, too. Balticon is changing slowly to a more younger staff base, and they want to make some changes. Not radical changes, because they still want to appeal to their usual crowd, but they also know they need new people. Both in participants AND volunteers. This has been kind of a thorn in their side for a while.

I now have the ear of programming, as well as the notice of some of the upper staff. And they know some people still "refuse" to attend Balticon. So I am asking you, while reading this:

Why?

I mean, if you don't know what Balticon is, and a science fiction convention in Baltimore does not sound like your thing, don't respond, but for those of you who don't like Balticon for whatever reason, post in my comments section. Please. They are watching, and listening. Post some stuff you DO like, too, so they don't get all depressed. This is what I'd like to see:

- Like or dislike, and why.
- A "top five list" (doesn't have to be five) of improvements that you'd like to see
- Constructive criticism. Like don't say, "Merchant room sucks," say "I wish the merchant's room was bigger..." or "I'd like panels on so-and-so topic."

Another thing, don't say, "Not like FanTek cons," but why it's not like FanTek cons in a way you'd show up if it were. I am going to be honest, though. They will never be like FanTek cons. It's not going to happen. And the reason is that they have a different focus than FanTek did. FanTek was more about social gathering of free thinkers; Bruce's party. BSFS is a real non-profit organization for the promotion of sci fi as a literary format. It is supposed to continue long after the founders have left. There's nothing wrong with either model, they just have different goals.
 
 
Current Music: "Willy Wonka" - Danny Elfman's new movie soundtrack
 
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( 9 comments — Leave a comment )
Beyond Definitiontheimp79 on January 10th, 2005 10:43 pm (UTC)
I've only been to BaltiCon once, when I was 7. I don't remember much of it, but I *do* remember that I had a great time. I ahven't been since then, only because it tends to conflict with other things I participate in.
Not much help, but I still felt like saying something.
patches023 on January 11th, 2005 12:11 am (UTC)
Communication
Please work on your communication. I want to run two programs at Balticon and I can't get a response. I emailed balticoninfo@balticon.org twice (12/2/04 & 12/10/04), I emailed Eva Whitely, I emailed Steven Joel, I called Jule Owings. Steven and Jule said they forwarded information on, but I haven't received a reply from BSFS.

Please have someone get in touch with me at [myuser name] @aol.com .

The two programs I want to run are:
Tarot and Tea. 2 hours preferred, 1 hour if that is all you have. Free tarot readings and tea (and cookies). We will have flyers promoting Chesapeake Pagan Community. http://chesapeakepagans.org/ We have run this as a party last year at Balticon and at Darkover. It has been very sucessful, 10-15 people drop by and seem to be happy with the readings.
I can write a more detailed description if you'd like.

Medieval and Renaissance Dance. 2 hours preferred, 1 hour if that is all you have. Come learn some Medieval and Renaissance dances. Musicians and dancers of all levels are welcome. I have been teaching this type of dance for 10 years. I have run this workshop at other conventions and had a great deal of success. Some years we only have 20 people, but there were some years of 60 people.

punkwalruspunkwalrus on January 11th, 2005 12:22 am (UTC)
Re: Communication
Although programming hasn't responded yet, I believe I can safely say they are aware they are late. I haven't gotten anything, either. :)
gorgeousgarygorgeousgary on January 11th, 2005 01:48 am (UTC)
Re: Communication
Both great ideas!

With Balticon now a four-day con, there should be plenty of room for a Medieval/Renaissance dance session in addition to the current Regency Dance. And with Maugorn, me, Glenn, and assorted Clams lurking about (just to start with), certainly more than enough musicians for a band to play the dances.
Dave (aka Dr. ZRFQ)dr_zrfq on January 11th, 2005 07:31 pm (UTC)
And should my schedule allow my attendance at Balticon, I'd be honored to be counted amongst the dance band musicians too... and/or to dance some!
patches023 on January 16th, 2005 08:07 pm (UTC)
You would be most welcome as either a musician or dancer.
gorgeousgarygorgeousgary on January 11th, 2005 02:04 am (UTC)
I've attended Balticon every year since 1990 and have always had a good time. Not really a surprise as I am an avid reader and a filker so Balticon's strong literary and filk tracks (and music programming in general) appeal to me.

My two comments to improve what I already enjoy:

1) Get the Chromatics (local a-capella group formed by Goddard rocket scientists) in for a concert. They've long been interested in performing at cons and have recently done so at Shore Leave and Farpoint.

2) This is kinda hard to describe, but more "innovation" in the literary program. There is a certain set of programs that seem to always show up at any regional con; the "How to Break Into SF Writing" panels and the "Religion, Humor, Food, etc. in SF" panels. And there's definitely a place for those. But sometimes they get TOO dominant. So poll your program participants for unusual and overlooked ideas. (I'd suggest a couple myself but I'm just back from a con and too brain dead. Though I'll throw this one out...as a structural engineer, I'd love to see more "Cities of the Future" type panels, or something on space trusses, lunar concrete, composites and some of the other material science advances).
Seanstodgycat on January 12th, 2005 04:00 am (UTC)
My Balticon Experience
I can't recall which one I attended. It was in the late 80s, Rob (from High School, you know Rob) and I went while we were staying with my mom for a week. Anyway she told us to call if we were going to be late.

We arrived and were having a great time in this shakespeare LARP (which might pin down the year). We were Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and Hamlet was a girl!!!! She was studying to be a lawyer no less and a couple of years older than us. We of course instantly starting competing for her affections, Rob was winning which had to be the end of the world, so I bowed out gracefully, but had to call my Mom. My call woke her from a sound sleep and she demanded that Rob and I return home for Sunrise Easter service.

So reluctantly with heavy hearts we returned home. We woke up the next morning and my Mom didn't remember the phone call and wondered why we were home and waking her up so early.

Rob has never forgiven her, he really had a chance with Hamlet.
Artsleepingwolf on February 2nd, 2005 05:24 pm (UTC)
Better late than never

I meant to reply to this sooner. My wife and I went to the FanTek cons starting in 2001; they were our first "real" con experience. I am not certain implementing any of my suggestions will specifically get us to come, nor will not implementing them will specifically get us to avoid the con; it is a convenient place to see friends from FanTek as well as being an equally reasonable drive from home. At the same time, we were disappointed it wasn't like the FanTek cons, which, as Punkie said, isn't a reasonable suggestion.

Anyhow, we've merely attended last year's BaltiCon. My thoughts on what was good from my perspective:

  • The Fruit Fly-to-MIDI talk: Yes, I know it didn't happen, which was disappointing but not your fault. The idea in and of itself was extremely cool.
  • The Film Festival: The quality was highly variable, but it was nifty to get to see a bunch of short films.
  • Having a Game Room: It's my understanding that this was a change from previous years; I like gaming, and while it is hardly the sole draw for me, it's nice to have it available.
  • Functional Directions: It sounds like a minor thing, and while this was never a problem with FanTek either, I have had my share of cases where I attempted to attend an event where someone cut-and-paste from Mapquest without checking. Being told where parking was available was a bonus.
Okay, now for some items I feel that improvement would be helpful and possible.
  • Panel Room Sizing: I know it's hard to guess what will be popular, but after sitting in huge, empty rooms for some of the literary talks not attended by any GoH and being pressed in a tiny room for Firefly, I suspect that more forethought here is worthwhile, for safety reasons as well as comfort reasons. Some rules I might use to help aim my SWAG for planning attendance at a panel:
    1. Any panel involving a GoH must be in a large room. I need not always be the ballroom, but I remember being unable to escape a tiny room when Lois McMaster Bujold showed up for the panel after the one I was attending.
    2. TV shows with devoted followers actively trying to resurrect them generally need more space than most panels without GoHs present.
    3. Meta-panels seem to draw more people than panels on any are of interest, even if the meta-topic is itself limited (e.g. the True Stories of Fandom panel, or whatever it was called, was absolutely packed).
  • Panel Moderators: Some of the moderators were good. Some let panels devolve into one or two authors talking about their book, meandering from the panel topic outward. (There were a few panels that gave me deja vu due to the same authors being allowed to monopolize the panel and telling us the same things about their book.) Being a good moderator involves more than reining people in, but if you don't rein people in it makes no difference what else you can do.
  • Preparedness: One workshop I went to had been done last-minute, apparently due to the facilitator being told the workshop was being added the night before. Last-minute events are fine, but make certain that the events that are scheduled last minute will not develop gaping flaws due to the last-minute timing.
  • Science fiction is more than space fiction: It may have been due to the artwork from the artist GoH, or something else I missed, but there seemed to be a definite space bias. The most egregious case was on the scientists and science fiction panel, which talked exclusively about space science. I do like space-based science fiction, but I also appreciate connections to other fields of scientific endeavor.
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