Convention Review

Windycon 50

The 50th Chicago-region convention held
8th-10th November 2024, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Chicago
in Oak Brook, Illinois, USA. Sue Burke reports.

Only three days after a national election widened the already factious divisions in the United States, we fans of SF met in a Chicago suburb for Windycon 50, the longest-running con in the area. Some attendees felt worried and threatened by the US Presidential election results.

At the opening ceremony, the co-chairs, Daniel Gunderson and Vlad Stockman, issued a call for unity and understanding. They quoted from a speech in Babylon 5 about the need to show each other kindness and love because “we are one.” Over the weekend, although the election was not forgotten, it also didn’t impose itself on any activities. At the closing ceremony, Gunderson remarked that the weekend felt relaxed because we were with friends and family.

The weather might have been a bit political, though: unusually warm all fall, with temperatures during the convention as high as 64°F/18°C. Often the first weekend in November sees Chicago feature a light snowfall, but this was Earth’s second-hottest November on record. Climate change at work? Maybe?

In addition, the convention charity was Brave Space Alliance, a Black-led, trans-led LGBTQAI+ community centre located on the South Side of Chicago. Over the weekend, more than US$1,700 (Ł1,400) was raised from a tip box at the Bheer Suite, the Art Show auction, and gaming fund-raising.

Usually about 1,000 people attend Windycon, and although I couldn’t get a final count, that seemed approximately right. Rumour said the room block sold out, which would be important financially. The opening ceremony also recognized several people who were at the original Windycon or who have attended all 50 of them. Fannish-family ties run deep.

This year’s theme was “Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations”, which was reflected in the long roster of special guests: Mike Brotherton and Christian Ready (astronomers); Megen Leigh (artist); Papa Bear (cosplayer); Ben Riggs (gaming historian); the Faithful Sidekicks, (musicians); Bill Fawcett (game designer and author); Rich Heinz (gamer and author); Kristin Looney (gamer); Jody Lyn Nye (author); Tom Smith (musician); and Wanderverse, a live-action tabletop role-playing-game (RPG) audience participation show.

Mike Brotherton

Christian Ready

Papa Bear

The site was the same convention hotel as the previous year, and it had made a few repairs since then that eased the flow from the lobby level to the lower-level convention centre, but the convention meeting rooms were almost as cold as the air outside. Rumour said the heating system for that part of the hotel had broken and would be repaired in January when the entire hotel would be shut down for renovation. In the meantime, some of us wore our winter coats all day.

The convention kept us busy with tracks for cosplay, autographing, fandom, gaming, general interest, makers, music, reading, room parties, science and technology, SF/Fantasy/Literature, Windycon history and conrunning, writers, and teen activities. Popular panels and events included Fan Fic Erotica, the Up Close Magic Show, Moebius Theater, the James Webb Space Telescope, and, at night, the parties by UBS Abandon Barfleet and the Boxt Fort. The award for best party went to Capricon, a Chicago convention held in the heart of the city in February.

My activities centred on writing and science. I took part as a critiquer in the Writer’s Workshop, and I moderated panels on author pseudonyms, reading and writing through the female gaze, the dangers of space, and world-building. At the “Many Facets of Fandom” panel, which I also moderated, we spent the hour happily listing as many facets as we could. We came up with 44, including comics, dealers, theatre, crafting, films, parties, academia, and filk. We concluded it was an hour enjoyably spent.

The panel on “The Difference Between Fans and Fandom” quickly identified differences between media and literature fans, and an even wider difference between in-person and online fandom. Panel member Chris Barkley said that online, “Everybody’s got a knife out now”, and others agreed that criticism and hate dominates online.

Astronomers Mike Brotherton and Christian Ready teamed up with Bill Higgins, a physicist and NASA solar system ambassador, for a panel on “What’s Happening in Space”. This turned out to be quite a lot, such as the exploration of Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, where methane falls like rain on water-ice as hard as granite, but there is liquid water under the ice. Ready pointed out that some important space research is happening on Earth. “We’re building some big glass on the ground” – that is, telescopes – to look up, although the many Starlink satellites might soon interfere with observations.

I also attended a panel called “Dangerous Dance”, which discussed ways to write about hand-to-hand combat. A typical fistfight, we learned, lasts only about 6 seconds, fewer if knives are involved, and a wartime fire fight lasts only about 17 seconds. People involved in a fight tend to react rather than think, especially untrained fighters.

There was a lot I didn’t attend because I was busy. As many as sixteen different events took place at once, ranging from author readings to mask-making to music to games to book clubs – infinite diversity indeed. We were busy but not stressed, which we all needed, I think. The dealers’ tables and stands filled two rooms, the art show had plenty of space and artwork, musicians performed tirelessly, and the games room had both scheduled and drop-in play. And, of course, in the evening, room parties on two floors of the hotel offered food, drink, and chatter.

Windycon 51 will take place 7th to 9th November 2025, with the theme “The Rise of the Machines”.

Sue Burke

Sue Burke is an author and fan who lives in Chicago, USA. Her novels include Semiosis, Interference and Usurpation, as well as Immunity Index and Dual Memory. More information is at https://sueburke.site.

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