Holiday tradition lives long and prospers

by Mary Helen Sprecher
newsroom@baltimoreguide.com

Cooking burgers and hot dogs on the grill. Getting into the pool and (ouch!) getting the first sunburn of the summer. Dressing up as a favorite sci-fi character and attending a Saturday night masquerade.

Cue the music: “One of these things is not like the other/One of these things just doesn’t belong…”

Ah, but it all does belong in the Memorial Day scheme of things, particularly here in Baltimore. For the past several years, the Baltimore Science Fiction Society (BSFS) has spent the holiday weekend putting on Balticon, its annual celebration of all things sci-fi, fantasy and techno-forward.

“A lot of people make this their Memorial Day activity,” said public relations chairman Glenn McLaughlin.

The convention—the group’s 41st such event—runs May 25-28 at the Marriott Hunt Valley Inn, and attendance is expected to run between 1,700 and 1,800—and possibly even upwards of 2,000, considering the number of individuals who decide to drop in at the last minute.

Balticon, widely acknowledged among science fiction aficionados as the state’s premier science fiction and fantasy event, is a four-day, multi-track program dedicated to enthusiasts of the genre. Its focus is literary, featuring science fiction authors, editors and publishers, but it also caters to those whose interests include collectibles, games (computer, card, board or role-playing), anime, film and more.

Best of all, say its organizers, it’s fun. Balticon celebrates not only science fiction/fantasy and the like, but the thing that creates and fuels them- imagination. To be certain, there are the expected scientific, technical and literary programming tracks, as well as a set of programs geared specifically toward children. But there is more.

“We have all sorts of things this year,” said McLaughlin. “Some of our regular things—the masquerade, the vendors, the film festival (a back-to-back evening showing of amateur-made short subject films, with the audience awarding a favorite at the end of the screening), we have again this year.”

One of the new events this year is a heavier concentration on podcasting. Offered last year as more of a novelty, podcasting will receive a much greater emphasis, with sessions designed to appeal to both novices and seasoned users.

Programming runs 24 hours a day at Balticon. There is live theater, a costume competition, a video gaming room (which allows participants not just to play solitary games, but “to play interactively with other people,” according to McLaughlin), a charity auction, literary awards, musical artists and more. And for every event, say the organizers, there’s an audience.

So what is it that makes sci-fi so popular? A combination of factors—fascination with the unknown, growing use of technology and of course, a wide range of entertainment that combines elements of sci-fi and fantasy. The “Chronicles of Narnia,” “Superman” and “Spider-Man” movies, the Harry Potter books and TV shows like “Heroes” have attracted audiences of all ages.

And the fact that Balticon can command some impressive names in the sci-fi circle doesn’t hurt either. This year’s guests of honor are writers Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle.

“Larry Niven,” said McLaughlin, “is a science fiction writer from what we like to think of as the golden age—Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein—he is a very exciting guest of honor for us.”

The convention also includes a game show-based trivia competition known as Wits and Wagers.

“Wits and Wagers is a game that people will be playing where there’s a question and everyone who is playing gives an answer to it, and then people have to bet on who they think has the right answer.”

Betting? In a sci-fi convention?

“For points,” clarified McLaughlin. “I don’t think there’s real betting.”

No fabulous prizes like in The Price Is Right?

“Well—it is kind of like The Price Is Right in a way. Say the question was ‘What year did such and so happen?’ and all the players have to guess a year. Then people can bet on who has the right year. The person who comes the closest to the year without going over it wins.”

(The best part is that it’s all in good fun. After all, those who don’t win can console themselves with the reminder that their heads are filled with useful knowledge).
The convention also has a vendors’ hall with merchants of sci-fi and fantasy related clothing, action figures, art, jewelry, games and more. But most of all, there will be books.

“There will be books,” said McLaughlin. “We consider ourselves a literary convention, so we will definitely have books.”

Those who want to attend the full weekend can pay a fee of $58 per person, or can pay lower prices to attend by the day. There is online registration at www.balticon.org. (Prices do not include meals or merchandise; the website has full information).

BSFS, which is headquartered in a former neighborhood movie theater in Highlandtown, has a healthy, growing membership, and  its convention boasts second- and third-generation attendees, according to organizers.

The club holds regular meetings that are open to any member of the general public. (“Come visit us,” says a portion of the website, “We don’t think you’re weird because you like that ‘sci-fi’ stuff.”)

And indeed, the clubhouse—and the club itself—do provide an atmosphere of acceptance. Safe in the environment of the BSFS, sci-fi enthusiasts can come together to discuss issues that perhaps aren’t considered water cooler conversation for the mainstream. And one of the projects into which they can pour their almost unlimited imagination and energy is Balticon.

In fact, the members have been getting ready for the meeting all year long.
“We start the move-out (to the Marriott) on Thursday,” said McLaughlin, “but we’ve been staging it for a while now. There’s a lot of work in this.”

Live long and prosper, sci-fi fans.

Note: Information on Balticon and the Baltimore Science Fiction Society can be obtained by going to the website at www.balticon.org, or by calling 410-JOE-BSFS (410-563-2737).