Book oriented SF conventions in Canada

[james_davis_nicoll]

I am appallingly ignorant of conventions in my own nation. If I were looking for something roughly equivilent to Minicon or Boskone, preferably in the urban corridor, what cons should I be looking at?

Comments

Amazing

[lsanderson.livejournal.com]

Amazing to see those two conventions linked so in your post. Oh, the history! The history! LJ users jeffreyab, avt_tor, marahsk, or tammylc could give you much a better answer than I.

Re: Amazing

[james-nicoll.livejournal.com]

Minicon and Boskone remind me a lot of each other. I think there's a considerable overlap in attendees and of course some details in their histories are similar. Both experienced a small drop off in numbers after a clarification of their core mission, for example.

Now, Boston and Minneapolis don't seem much alike. For one thing, the MPLS airport doesn't resemble a converted bus station, nor have I ever feared for my life landing there, whereas Logan scares the hell out of me.

Re: Amazing

[lsanderson.livejournal.com]

"small drop off in numbers"? Surely, sir, you jest. Boskone, I've heard, has recovered. Here the battle still rages.

MSP is trying its best to become a bus station. One of these days, it will succeed.

Re: Amazing

[james-nicoll.livejournal.com]

What's wrong with Minneapolis' airport? Assuming you avoid That Company, of course and since I make it a point to avoid any airline whose news coverage involves sewage running down the isles, I always have (Well, that and listening to Piglet on the subject the time we met in Wales).

Re: Amazing

[lsanderson.livejournal.com]

In order to reach the really "bad" areas, you have to fly on the regional airlines. I'll guess you've never had that enjoyment. I guess it's just that they should allow taxis at some of the terminals, although it's hard to do if they're in the middle of runways.

Re: Amazing

[james-nicoll.livejournal.com]

The Toronto-MPL direct route uses the cutest scale model airplanes. The first time I flew to MPL, I was directed onto a bus at Terminal One or Two (I forget which) at Pearson, which took us past a series of increasingly tiny aircraft before arriving at the one we were to use. Luckily, nobody stepped on it.

After a few times flying direct, I realized that small aircraft maximize the things I hate most about flying so I took to going via Chicago, Philadelphia or Pittsburgh. Once they wanted to send me there via Seattle, which seemed like an odd route to use.

For some reason, every flight I took to MPL hit bad weather over Kitchener.

Re: Amazing

[ckd]

MSP is an okay airport. BOS...well, it's not the worst I've ever seen. (Scary landings? At least it has fairly long runways. LGA and DCA always make me uncomfortable.)

I have, I will admit, never flown into MSP and left the airport by ground transportation. This lack will be rectified later this month.

My first con was Boskone in 1987. Er.