This is on pages 4-5 of Progress Report 4 for Swancon 14 and covers the selection of evening entertainments over the con. This particular convention appeared to have a fair number of dances. Transcribed by Elaine Walker. All typographical errors reproduced as faithfully as possible.
The Fan Dance
Hey! is this a convention or an elaborate tea dance? It’s a convention of course! but Perth Fans have always been fond of dancing and dressing up, and no one shall say that they are not going to get ample opportunity to do both this Easter. The Fan Dance, which was to be a Cocktail Party until we discovered the cost of cocktails, is the ‘getting-to-know-you’ event off with which Swancon will kick (How’s that for grammar?). So if you want to get a kick from Swancon (or possibly its proxy – Grek Turkich) come along and meet the committee (the people cowering behind the potted palms) and everyone else listed on the back cover of this progress report. Dress as formally as you like and dance to the music of the Navy Reserve Jazz Band “Dixie”. The Band will play from 8 to 11 pm, and drinks, including cocktails for the wealthy, will be available from 8pm to midnight. No entry fee, you just pay for your drinks. The every helpful committee will try to produce some dance instruction sheets for beginners.
The Banquet
Those wishing to attend the Banquet will need to book tickets by 1700 hrs on Thursday 23rd March (the first day of the Convention). Why? -because it will be Easter weekend and the hotel needs to know the number early so that the food can be ordered. Tickets are twenty two dollars ($22). Please use the generic booking form to let us know that you will be attending, even if you can’t send the money now. You may collect your prepaid tickets at the registration desk or pay for tickets there, but there will be no sales after 1700 hrs Thursday 23rd March
The Masquerade.
Those of you fortunate enough to have a copy of Progress Report 1 will already know that on Friday 24th March we will be holding the Masquerade, with the judging of all those elaborate and exquisitely detailed costumes over which you have been slaving for months. Slaving so hard in fact, that very few of you remembered to tell us that you wished to enter said masquerade. Never mind, we generous and forgiving souls, and you will be able to enter right up until Friday evening.
Those of you who haven’t read the first progress report, possibly due to tardiness in becoming a member of Swancon, will no doubt be eager to read the following list of categories so that you can decide on the best title for your hastily constructed, but no less exquisite and elaborately detailed, costume.
Costume presentations will be made on a raised stage with a short catwalk. A microphone will be provided as well as a cassette player for music or a voice-over. Ninety (90) seconds will be allowed for each presentation, but you may request more time if you really think you will need it. If you can’t see the edge of the stage, or can’t climb onto the stage in the first place, let us know beforehand! We can’t help if we don’t know about your problems before they happen.
The categories are:
- Best John Varley character(s)
- Best Bob Shaw character(s)
- Best presentation on convention theme (Urban Spaceman)
- Best group entry
- Most humorous
- Judges choice
- Best overall costume
NOTE: The ceiling of the main hall is quite low, so costumes must be no more than 7 ft (2.1 m) high.
Masked Ball.
The Friday of the convention is Good Friday, and the law forbids the sale of alcohol on that day. Since most people attending Swancons appear to like their drinks, we decided to hold the party side of the traditional Swancon masquerade – when everybody dresses up in a Hall costume and dances until the wee small hours to the sound of a band with a dubious reputation, a chorus line of rattettes and some very strange singers – on Saturday night. Negotiations are continuing with the band with the dubious reputation, but we will certainly be entertained by Brenton Fosdike, an entertainer with a very good reputation. A cash bar will operate from 8 pm until midnight.
At the masked ball you will need to wear a mask, so plain masks will be for sale at the door for a small charge in case you don’t have one. Both hall costumes and masked will be judged at the ball, so create something spectacular.
Weapons.
Remember “the good-ol’-days” when a convention included lots of people careering down the halls shooting people with mock phasers and other hardware and generally making a nuisance of themselves, tripping over all the other people harmlessly pursuing scantily clad aliens up and down the stairwells? Well, these days, with far more realistic replica plastic Uzi submachine water pistols available in any toy shop, and rather too many paranoid ex-military types in fandom, we can’t allow you to do those things any more. However, a costume isn’t a costume without a phaser if you’re dressed as a Star Trek security man, and Elric looks rather lost without Stormbringer, so we hope to have a rather relaxed weapons policy during the Masquerade and Masked Ball. Replica and model weapons may be worn as part of a costume inside the hall, but they must be checked and okayed by security at the door each time you enter the hall. Swords and daggers must have a peacestrap.