HISTORY

Well, I decided to start LA-LA CON as a revised showcase relaxacon.   Genny Dazzo ran the showcase for many years at the LASFS, but it hadn't been put on for a few years, and we had spent a lot of money on the library reconstruction.   So I started with a plan to make for the LASFS a relaxacon weekend, to raise money for the general fund and replenish the treasury.   Once J. Michael Straczynski agreed to be our special guest, I knew we would be a hit with the popularity of Babylon 5 in the SF community.

We also involved the UCLA Enigma SF club to provide entertainment with the Enigma Players ... a comedy improv group that specialized in SF comedy.   The cross pollination of the two clubs sparked a great deal of lively entertainment and fresh energy at the LASFS.

The other significant idea that I explored with the LA-LA CON events was to get EVERYONE involved in some way ... however minor ... so they all were not only attendees, but contributed in some way to the success of the weekend.   I don't think there has ever been a convention where the people putting it on heard so many "yes" responses to their ideas -- whether it was mint julips for the ice cream social, or leather keychain door prizes, or desserts for the banquets, or entries in the art show.   The greatest success for the LA-LA CONS I ran was the involvement of the entire fan community.

I said I would run LA-LA CONS as long as Babylon 5 was on the air or until we had made up all the money we had spent on the library ... and coincidentally, we had both of these prerequisites occuring the same year ... B5 was finishing its run, and we made $10,000 to replace the money spent on the library expansion.

Then I suckered Tadao into taking over the weekend event.

To get a more detailed view of the history of LA-LA CON, visit the historical websites which have been created for each of these relaxacons using the links on the LA-LA CON HOME PAGE.