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Westercon is an active annual regional convention dedicated to science fiction and fantasy that moves around the western third of North America. Most Recent Program Book Covers | History | Notes | Attendance | Other Documents | Program Book Covers | Bonus HistoryWalter J. "Doc" Daugherty of LASFS (lasfs.org), the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society, realising that science fiction's premiere convention, Worldcon (the World Science Fiction Convention) was likely to continue to be held primarily in eastern states, proposed that a similar event be created for fans on the west coast who couldn't afford to travel to Worldcon each year. LASFS therefore set up Westercon, hosting the first event in Los Angeles, CA in 1948. It's still owned by LASFS today but is hosted by different organisations in different cities each year, with the host group chosen through a bid process. Arizona has hosted it on six occasions, most recently in 2017. Initially, it was very much a California convention, with its first trip to another state being for Westercon 12 in Seattle, WA and its first out of the United States for Westercon 30 in Vancouver, BC. The first Westercons to be held in Arizona were 35 and 41, both in Phoenix. Soon after, however, it began to travel much more. In 1990, with no two previous Westercons in a row having been held outside of California, Westercon 43 in Portland, OR, was followed by three other non-California Westercons, including another in Phoenix. This was when the con began to alternate between north, central and south regions. It's been as far east as El Paso, TX, as far west as Honolulu, HI and as far north as Calgary, AB. Arizona has hosted Westercon six times, all in the Phoenix metropolitan area, including one in Litchfield Park and two in Tempe. Local groups have also lost bids to host it on many other occasions, as recently as 2019. |
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Chronology of Arizona Conventions | Index of Program Books
| # | Date | Location | Chair | Sponsor | GoHs | Book | Web | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35 | 1982 2 Jul 5 Jul |
Phoenix Hilton Phoenix |
Randy Rau | CASFS | Pro: Gordon R. Dickson Fan: Fran Skene Special: Robert Asprin |
 80 MB |
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| 41 | 1988 1 Jul 4 Jul |
Hyatt Regency The Sheraton Phoenix |
Terry Gish | Pro: Robert Silverberg Artist: Real Musgrave Fan: Craig Miller |
83 MB |
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| 45 | 1992 2 Jul 5 Jul |
Omni Adams Phoenix |
Bruce Farr | CASFS | Pro: Jennifer Roberson Artist: Rick Sternbach Fan: Pat Mueller |
96 MB |
1 | |
| 57 | 2004 2 Jul 5 Jul |
Wigwam Resort Litchfield Park |
Craig Dyer | WesternSFA | Author: C. J. Cherryh Artist: David Cherry Music: Heather Alexander Local Author: Diana Gabaldon Media: Virginia Hey Fan: John Hertz |
140 MB |
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2 |
| 62 | 2009 2 Jul 5 Jul |
Tempe Mission Palms Tempe |
Mike Willmoth | LepreCon, Inc. | Artist: Todd Lockwood Writer: Alan Dean Foster Editor: Stanley Schmidt Fans: Jim & Doreen Webbert Toastmasters: Patrick & Teresa Nielsen Hayden |
6 MB |
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3 |
| 70 | 2017 1 Jul 4 Jul |
Tempe Mission Palms Tempe |
Dee Astell | LepreCon, Inc. | Artist: Julie Dillon Local Artist: Tom Deadstuff Author: Connie Willis Local Author: Gini Koch Fans: Val & Ron Ontell Filk: Tim Griffin Science: Henry Vanderbilt Special Artist: Larry Elmore Special Media: John & Bjo Trimble Toastmaster: Weston Ochse |
87 MB |
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4 |
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| 57 | 62 | 70 |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 2009 | 2017 |
| 748 | 603 | 608 |
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Last update: 15th December, 2021
