Baycon 2022

BayCon 2022 was held July 1-4 in person at the San Mateo Marriott San Francisco Airport. Steven Barnes, Galen Dara, and Jean Batt were guests of honor; Tananarive Due was a featured guest and Bonnie Gordon was toast­master. Over 700 memberships were sold, including 17 VIP memberships, with ~400-500 warm bodies. Programming offered 160 genre panels, 213 items total including gaming, maker’s workshops, and more. Panels covered topics such as ‘‘Space Ships – The Transportation of the Future’’ with Joe Harney, Tracy New­by, and Kimberly Unger; ‘‘The Doorway Called Death’’ with Gregg Castro, Jay Hartlove, and Cliff Winnig; and ‘‘The Magic Mirror Cracked’’ with Elwin Cotman, Heather Rose Jones, and Sandra Saidak. Other offerings included three group read­ing sessions, the Variety Show and Masquerade, a burlesque show, small gatherings with the GoHs, a breakfast with the GoHs as part of the VIP membership, the band Blame the Whiskey, plus performances by local Star Wars club Lux Saber Corp.

The con suite offered minimal food options but provided a space to rest; a sepa­rate ‘‘Oasis’’ was also available as a quiet resting space. The art show featured 13 artists and the dealers’ room had 25 vendors. Convention chair Chris Castro said, ‘‘All our Dealers were in the black this weekend, and the Art Show performed better than in 2019. Our Artist Guest of Honor Galen Dara sold all but two of her giclee prints….’’ Parties included an annual Twin Peaks party and events held by the Royal Manticoran Navy. ‘‘We had about a dozen students in Gallowclass for four days, which replaced a traditional writers workshop.’’

BayCon ran its annual Blood Drive and raised ap­proximately $5,000 for this year’s charity recipient, Larkin Street Youth Services.

BayCon 2023 is planned for June 30 – July 3, 2023, with Tehani Farr, Brad Lyau, and Catherynne M. Va­lente as guests of honor, Sarah Gailey as toastmas­ter, and Laser as special musical guest. More info here.

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