DucKon

Last updated
DucKon
Zeusaphone.jpg
A pair of Zeusaphones in action during DucKon 17 in June 2008
StatusInactive
GenreScience fiction/Fantasy
Location(s)near Chicago, Illinois
CountryUnited States
Inaugurated1992
Most recent2014
Attendancecirca 600–700
Organized bySuper-Con-Duck-Tivity
Filing statusNon-profit
Website Official site

DucKon was an annual science fiction convention held every May or June in the Chicago area between 1992 and 2014. The name is a shortening of DUpage County KONvention. [1]

Contents

DucKon served as a fundraiser for Super-Con-Duck-Tivity, a non-profit organization known for creating and administering the Golden Duck Awards for excellence in children's science fiction literature. [2]

History

The first DucKon was held in 1992. The first three DucKons were chaired by Candis King. DucKon is known for heavily fannish programming and a strong science track of programming.

DucKon 3 was the first year that the convention had a furry track of programming; that furry track grew over the years and by DucKon 8 was believed to be responsible for up to 1/3 of the attendance. [3] In 2000, most of the furry programming was spun off to become its own convention: Midwest FurFest, although DucKon continued to maintain a furry track of its own. [3] [4]

Music at DucKon

Musical performances were also a feature of DucKon. Songwriter Tom Smith released an album entitled Live at DucKon 2010. [5] Many performances from past DucKons may be seen on YouTube; one, for example, featuring Vixy and Tony with S. J. Tucker and Seanan McGuire. [6] Among many other musicians who have played at DucKon are Maya Bohnhoff, Ookla the Mok, and Michael Longcor.

Maya Bohnhoff, performing at DucKon 17 in 2008. Photo by Wikimedia Commons user Beige Alert. MayaBohnhoff2 Duckon2008.jpg
Maya Bohnhoff, performing at DucKon 17 in 2008. Photo by Wikimedia Commons user Beige Alert.
Michael Longcor at DucKon 16 in 2007. Photo by Michael Pereckas. Michael Longcor at DucKon 16.jpg
Michael Longcor at DucKon 16 in 2007. Photo by Michael Pereckas.

After the invention of zeusaphones, the convention for several years hosted performances of large musical Tesla coils in the parking lot of its hotel. [7] Video clips of these DucKon concerts garnered over a million hits on YouTube. [8] [9]

List of DucKons

Hiatus

On February 13, 2015, it was announced that the planned 2015 convention ("More Human Than Human") would be cancelled due to 'ongoing financial issues.' Later, the DucKon site announced that the convention would not be held in 2016. [11] No further DucKons have been held.

References

  1. "DucKon". Fancyclopedia 3. 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-03-13. Retrieved 2018-02-13.
  2. Kelly, Mark (2017). "News Log". Locus. Locus. Archived from the original on 2008-05-14. Retrieved 2009-02-01.
  3. 1 2 "Midwest Furfest". Midwest Furry Fandom. 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-03-04. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  4. Patten, Fred (2017). Furry Fandom Conventions, 1989–2015. McFarland. 70. ISBN   9781476663814.
  5. Smith, Tom (2010). "Live at DucKon 2010". Tom Smith Online. Smith, Tom. Archived from the original on 2018-03-13. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  6. Dockrey, Michelle "Vixy;" Fabris, Tony; Tucker, S. J.; McGuire, Seanen (2009-06-18). Vixy and Tony at DucKon singing Thirteen (Digital video). Naperville, IL, USA: User RaynHeartFilms on YouTube. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  7. Bridger, Harley (2008-04-01). "Now That's Serious Metal Music". Symmetry. Palo Alto, California: Fermilab & SLAC. Archived from the original on 2018-03-13. Retrieved 2018-02-13.
  8. Ward, Steve (2007-06-09). Singing Tesla Coil at DucKon 2007 (Digital video). Naperville, IL, USA: Ridley, John. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  9. Masters of Lightning (2009-06-13). Masters of Lightning Play Ghostbusters With Musical Tesla Coils @ Duckon 2009 (Digital video). Naperville, IL, USA: User Bloggingchick on YouTube. Archived from the original on 2018-01-24. Retrieved 2018-03-12.
  10. "The Musical Tesla Coil". Zeusaphone. 2008. Archived from the original on 2009-01-20. Retrieved 2009-02-01.
  11. "And the Rest Is Silence". DucKon 24. 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-10-02. Retrieved 2018-03-12.