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Interaction Fan Programme

The fan programme exists to celebrate fandom in all its forms. Science fiction conventions have always had a very strong thread of history, and a real sense of connection to the roots of the hobby. We've been holding conventions since the 1930s, which gives us plenty of tradition as well as plenty of diversity.

In the UK, although authors have always had a central place at SF conventions, the focus of the cons, and of convention programming, has typically had at least as much space for fandom, and the things fans enjoy doing, as for professional science fiction. And Interaction is celebrating this with a fan programme modelled on the successful series of UK lightweight conventions, <plokta.con>.

All sorts of things might turn up on the fan programme, but the stuff we've put together falls into four broad categories:

• Exploring the connections between fans from around the world or through the ages; what is it that's so special about this hobby of ours?

• Light-hearted items intended to entertain rather than inform;

• Interactive physical events, designed to get you moving early in the day and delude you into thinking that an hour of tai chi will counteract the effects of a week in a hotel eating full Scottish breakfasts and drinking real ale;

• Fun things that don't seem to fit anywhere else, including lots of things that are all-join-in so that you can meet other fans. Chief amongst these is Space Pirates Night on Friday. Dress up, bring parrots, show us yer tattoos, speak in the present tense!

All this takes place in the Moat House; close enough to the SECC that you can nip across in the gap between programme items, but a little bit cosier and more like a regular convention space. Unlike the SECC we don't close in the evening, so we'll be running programming up till (normally) midnight and the lounge and bar will be available so long as people are drinking.

As well as the fan programme space, we'll have a lounge area, a real ale bar, plenty of displays for you to add to and scribble on, a variety of exciting fan fund-supporting bits and pieces, and enormous sorted piles of great fanzines, for you to exclaim over, press on your friends, and take away. Oh, yes, and sedition, freebooting, mutiny and the Means of Production. Come to Space Pirate Ship the Free Plokta today! Whoops, Vince, am I getting carried away?

This is all being put together for you by a team of British fans -- Alison Scott, Mike Scott, Steve Davies, Steven Cain, Sue Mason, Giulia De Cesare, Claire Brialey and Mark Plummer -- with support from our heroic American support staff, Spike Parsons. You can see some of the other stuff that the Plokta people have done at their website.

Confirmed programme participants include Guests of Honour Greg Pickersgill and Lars-Olov Strandberg, many present and past winners of fan Hugos, Novas, and Faan Awards, and loads of people who we just happen to think are cool.

© UK 2005 Ltd, 2002-2005. All rights to content reserved to UK 2005 Ltd, unless otherwise indicated. This page maintained by webmaster@interaction.worldcon.org.uk.

Page last updated 17^th May 2005