Westercon (occasionally WesterCon; long version West Coast Science Fantasy Conference) is a regional science fiction and fantasy convention founded in September 1948 by Walter J. Daugherty of the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society. The original full name was West Coast Scienti-Fantasy Conference.

Organization

The location of Westercon each year is determined by a bid and voting process by the convention's members. Sites are selected two years in advance. Acceptable locations are cites on the continent of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, west of the 104th meridian west, or in the state of

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

. (Sites in Australia would be eligible as well if either Australia or the United States were to annex the other, as a consequence of a whimsical provision added to the convention's bylaws in 1998 at the suggestion of Down Under Fan Fund delegate Terry Frost. Although this provision may have little practical effect, an attempt to repeal it at the 2003 Westercon Business Meeting failed.) Guests of Honor are traditionally chosen to showcase professionals who reside in the Westercon region. Given that there are hundreds of potential honorees, it is preferred that guests are chosen that have not been guests of honor at a previous Westercon. Westercon is traditionally four days long, and is traditionally held on a weekend adjacent to or including the

American Independence Day Independence Day, known colloquially as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States which commemorates the ratification of the Declaration of Independence by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing th ...

holiday. The name "Westercon" is a

service mark A service mark or servicemark is a trademark used in the United States and several other countries to identify a Service (economics), service rather than a product (business), product. When a service mark is federally registered, the standard ...

of the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society, and LASFS retains certain responsibilities regarding Westercon site selection and provisions in case of the failure of a Westercon committee. In practice, Westercon is left to organize itself, with each year's committee acting independently and in its own name, with the general organization (primarily rules for site selection and self-governance) managed through the convention's Bylaws and a Business Meeting (open to all members) held at each Westercon.

Traditions

Through the years several events and activities are traditionally held at Westercon. These events are common to most science fiction and fantasy conventions. Westercon is traditionally four days long; however, due to it traditionally being held near the American Independence Day holiday, the actual days of the week on which it is held vary from year to year, and this can affect the precise timing of events. Westercon traditionally includes those functions that other general science fiction and fantasy conventions have, including programming on a variety of subjects related to science fiction, fantasy, and fandom. Westercon also includes an art show and a dealers room. The First Night Icebreaker or "Meet the Guests" event is held on the first evening of programming to allow an informal setting for members to meet the professional attendees of the convention. Mike Glyer introduced the ice cream social as a convention icebreaker in 1978 — borrowing it from Loscon — but it has not been a part of every convention. A costume contest called a Masquerade is typically held on the second night sometimes of the convention (or sometimes on Saturday night, regardless of when the convention started). A Regency dance has been a staple for many years, with a rock and roll dance being held as well at least one night of the convention. Because Westercon members vote on where the Westercon two years hence will be held, site selection voting is generally open on the first and second days of the convention, with the results announced on the third day. A Business Meeting at which all members of Westercon may propose, debate, and vote upon changes to the convention's bylaws is usually on the second day of the convention, and, if necessary, also on the third day to deal with issues not resolved at the first meeting. In the evenings, groups host parties for various reasons. Some are promoting other conventions or bids for future Westercons or

Worldcon Worldcon, officially the World Science Fiction Convention, the annual convention of the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS), is a science fiction convention. It has been held each year since 1939 (except for the years 1942 to 1945, during Wor ...

s. Others are publicizing groups or clubs and many are just for fun.

Legacy

A group of attendees who ran a portable bookstore at the convention went on to found The Other Change of Hobbit in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland, Cali ...

, in 1977.

Recent and upcoming conventions

* Westercon 56:
Westercon 56
- SeaTac, Washington, July 3–6, 2003 * Westercon 60: "Gnomeward Bound" -

San Mateo, California San Mateo ( ) is the most populous city in San Mateo County, California, United States, on the San Francisco Peninsula. It is part of the San Francisco Bay Area metropolitan region, and is located about south of San Francisco. San Mateo border ...

, June 30-July 3, 2007 * Westercon 61:
A Gathering of Fen in the Desert
-

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, July 3–6, 2008 * Westercon 62: "" -

Tempe, Arizona Tempe ( ; ''Oidbaḍ'' in O'odham language, O'odham) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, with the Census Bureau reporting a 2020 population of 180,587. The city is named after the Vale of Tempe in Greece. Tempe is located in t ...

, July 2–5, 2009 * Westercon 63:
Confirmation
- Pasadena, CA, July 1–4, 2010 * Westercon 64:
Westercon 64
- San Jose, CA, July 1–4, 2011 * Westercon 65:
ConClusion
-

Seattle, WA Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

, July 5–8, 2012 * Westercon 66:
Westercon 66
- Sacramento, CA, July 4–7, 2013 * Westercon 67:
Trailblazers to the Future
- Salt Lake City, UT - July 3–6, 2014 * Westercon 68:
Westercon 68
- San Diego, CA - July 2–5, 2015 * Westercon 69:
Westercon 69
- Portland, OR - July 1–4, 2016 * Westercon 70:
ConAlope
- Tempe, AZ - July 1–4, 2017 * Westercon 72:
Spikecon
- Layton, UT - July 4-7, 2019 (also the

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

North American Science Fiction Convention) * Westercon 73:

CANCELLED -- Originally planned for July 1-4, 2020, was postponed to 2021, disbanded April 2021 * Westercon 74:
Westercon 74
- Tonopah, NV July 1-4, 2022 (postponed from 2021)

References

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/ref> Westercon I Program Book
/ref> {{cite news , first=Sue , last=Martin , newspaper=

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, title=Independence Daze for Space-Minded , page=VI-1 , url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/670254732.html?dids=670254732:670254732&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Jul+06%2C+1983&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=INDEPENDENCE+DAZE+FOR+SPACE-MINDED&pqatl=google , archive-url=https://archive.today/20130629200442/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/670254732.html?dids=670254732:670254732&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Jul+06,+1983&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=INDEPENDENCE+DAZE+FOR+SPACE-MINDED&pqatl=google , url-status=dead , archive-date=June 29, 2013 , date=July 6, 1983 , accessdate=June 29, 2013 {{cite news , first=Sue , last=Martin , newspaper=

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, title=Science Fiction Club Looks Ahead at 50 , page=V-2 , url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/673544502.html?dids=673544502:673544502&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Nov+01%2C+1984&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=Science+Fiction+Club+Looks+Ahead+at+50&pqatl=google , archive-url=https://archive.today/20130629200405/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/673544502.html?dids=673544502:673544502&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Nov+01,+1984&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=Science+Fiction+Club+Looks+Ahead+at+50&pqatl=google , url-status=dead , archive-date=June 29, 2013 , date=November 1, 1984 , accessdate=June 29, 2013 {{cite news , first=Jess , last=Bravin , newspaper=

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, title=Anaheim Sci-Fi Fans Let Imagination Be Their Space Vehicle , page=6-1 , url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/66489705.html?dids=66489705:66489705&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jul+03%2C+1989&author=JESS+BRAVIN&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=Anaheim+Sci-Fi+Fans+Let+Imagination+Be+Their+Space+Vehicle&pqatl=google , archive-url=https://archive.today/20130629200421/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/66489705.html?dids=66489705:66489705&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jul+03,+1989&author=JESS+BRAVIN&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=Anaheim+Sci-Fi+Fans+Let+Imagination+Be+Their+Space+Vehicle&pqatl=google , url-status=dead , archive-date=June 29, 2013 , date=July 3, 1989 , accessdate=June 29, 2013 {{cite news , newspaper=

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, title=Time to suit up for Westercon 66 , url=http://www.sacbee.com/2013/06/28/5527085/time-to-suit-up-for-westercon.html , date=June 28, 2013 , accessdate=June 29, 2013

External links

Westercon official website
Science fiction conventions in the United States Recurring events established in 1948