![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
What is it that makes a con? Is it the chance to meet published authors and prominent fans? Is it the spirited discussion of high-minded concepts deep into the night? Is it the opportunity to engage in salacious activities?
Ultimately, what a convention all comes down to is building a community. We all live in disparate locations around the country, and even with the gleaming new interstate system that allows us to travel in minutes what used to take hours, the density of fans in any given location is not particularly high. So we all congregate in one place so that, for a brief shining instant, we can imagine a world where the fan is the norm.
It's a beautiful (and sometimes frightening) idea.
The convention I just came back from was Westercon SD (not to be confused with the "true" Westercon, currently still going on in Boise, Idaho and known this year as "Boycon"). All of the traditional con activities were present: the filk sings, the masquerade, the dance (a sock-hop, of course).
(Come to Galactic Journey for the rest!)
Ultimately, what a convention all comes down to is building a community. We all live in disparate locations around the country, and even with the gleaming new interstate system that allows us to travel in minutes what used to take hours, the density of fans in any given location is not particularly high. So we all congregate in one place so that, for a brief shining instant, we can imagine a world where the fan is the norm.
It's a beautiful (and sometimes frightening) idea.
The convention I just came back from was Westercon SD (not to be confused with the "true" Westercon, currently still going on in Boise, Idaho and known this year as "Boycon"). All of the traditional con activities were present: the filk sings, the masquerade, the dance (a sock-hop, of course).
(Come to Galactic Journey for the rest!)
