Westercon 71 Regress Report (Final Progress Report)
Westercon 71 / Myths and Legends Con 6 Guests of Honor:
- Nancy Kress – Literary GOH
- Jeff Sturgeon – Artist GOH
- Margaret Davis and Kristoph Klover – Filk GOH
- Rebecca Moesta – Editor GOH
- Andrew Mayne – Entertainment GOH
- Lou Mayo – Scientist GOH
- Mem Morman and Kent Bloom – Fan GsOH
- Connie Willis – Heckler GOH
- David Gerrold – Master of Ceremonies
Thank you to the approximately 750 members who joined us at Westercon 71 / Myths and Legends Con 6! It takes a lot of time and effort to put on any convention, and we couldn’t have done it without our many volunteers, so a special thank you to all of you, as well!
Westercon 72 kicks off in just over a week. If you enjoyed the regional nature of Westercon, check out how they do it in Utah at http://westercon72.org/.
Department Reports
Art Show:
There were many fantastic pieces of art in the art show this year. The awards were:
- Best of Show: Jeff Sturgeon, Adrift
- Color:
- 1st Place: Elizabeth Leggett, Retrograde
- 2nd Place: Andyvanoverberghe, Mountain of Andjar
- 3rd Place: Theresa Mather, Tree Town
- Monochrome:
- 1st Place: Michael Kloepfer, Tyrion
- 2nd Place: Lannie Pijhalic, Thought Waits for Memory
- 3rd Place: Bernard Barrett, Home
- 3-D:
- 1st Place: Jan S. Gephardt, Common Cliff Dragon
- 2nd Place: Robert Pfeifer, Late Night
- 3rd Place: Peri Charlifu, Cherry Blossom Baking Dish
- Judge’s Choice: KC Lancaster, Kitsune Geisha
- People’s Choice: Jeff Sturgeon, Behold the Star Dragon
Registration
In total, we had 835 members, with about 750 joining us on-site. Based on our pre-registration data, those who joined us came from 21 states in the United States and 1 province in Canada. Our attendance spanned from 61.2° N to 26.6° N, and 149.9° W to 73.8° W, with over 6200 kilometers separating our most distant attendees. Thank you for coming together in Denver to celebrate what you love in science fiction, fantasy, and community.
Masquerade / Costume Contest
The Masquerade/Costume Contest had 24 entrants who competed to a packed Main Events! A special thanks to our judges, Beverly Warner (local CO Costumer and Denver Comic Con contest coordinator), John Hertz (longtime Westercon Costumer), Jeff Sturgeon (our Artist Guest of Honor), and MCs Jonathan and Beck Wasik. The winners were:
- Special World Con 76 Award: Don and Barb McKee with “Renaissance Punk” as Original Creation
- Best Recreation: Teresa Wiseley with “Big Sister” from Bioshock
- Most Dramatic: Nightmare Loki Cosplay with “Alliance Soldier” from World of Warcraft
- Most Terrifying: Charles Redding with “Wasteland Harvester” as Original Creation
- Best in Novice Class: HopeFully Cosplay with “King Candy” from Wreck-it Ralph
- Best in Journeymen Class: Wandering Rabbit Cosplay with “Judge Frollo” from Hunchback of Notre Dame
- Best in Master Class: Pink Pitcher with “Steampunk Suffragette” as Original Creation
- Best in Show: Daren Bost with “Statutory Break” inspired by the Big Blue Bear sculpture at the Denver Convention Center
Westercon 71 Business Meeting Minutes
Thank you to all who joined us at the Westercon business meeting! It was quite an active meeting, and the full 9-page minutes (as well as the current bylaws) are available at: http://www.westercon.org/organization/business/ . For a quick summary: After it was announced that Seattle won the site selection for Westercon 73, there were four other items of substantive business at the meeting:
- C.1. Membership Numbers (to clarify usage of members’ membership numbers by convention committees): Failed
- C.2. First Full Day (to clarify the meaning of the phrase “first full day” in the Bylaws): Failed
- C.3. Bidders at Site Selection Table (requires bidders to provide at least one poll-watcher during at-convention site selection voting): Passed (must be ratified at Westercon 72 in Layton to become part of the Westercon Bylaws)
- C.4. Westercon for All North America (would redefine scope of convention so that it could be held anywhere in North America): Postponed Indefinitely
Website Archive
As is traditional, the domain Westercon71.org will eventually expire. You can find a permanent home / backup of all Westercon 71 / Myths and Legends Con 6 content at https://www.malcondenver.org/archive/y2018/. Here you’ll find the schedule, guest and panelist information, daily newsletters during the convention, and more! To report any errors, please email info@malcondenver.org.
Finance / Treasury
Westercon 71 participated in the new pass-along funds program. Those Westercons who participate in the pass-along funds receive 25% of the profit of the previous two participating Westercons (which helps with initial startup costs and gives a buffer against unexpected costs), as long as they agree to pass along 25% of their own profit to the next two participating Westercons. We were pleased to pass along $1,500 to each of Westeron 72 and Westercon 73.
Host Organization – Shiny Garden
Shiny Garden is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, established in 2016 with the purpose of creating inclusive events that celebrate diversity and bring all fans together. Shiny Garden currently hosts three annual conventions in the Denver area. Myths and Legend Convention celebrates our “modern myths and legends” and draws fans from a variety of interests, including Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and Firefly. WhimsyCon focuses on Steampunk and the craftsmanship of costuming. HexaCon centers around tabletop gaming in all incarnations, including board games, RPGs, miniatures, and train games. For more information, visit www.shinygarden.org .
‘Westercon’ is a registered service mark of the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society, Inc.
