FilKONtario
Encyclopedia
FilKONtario is a fan-run convention in the Mississauga, Ontario area dedicated to filk
, the music of science fiction and fantasy fandom. Established in 1991, it is the only filk convention in Canada. In its fifth year (1995), the convention initiated the Filk Hall of Fame, which continues to recognize those who have made significant contributions to filk music and the filk community, world-wide. This international awards program is administered through FilKONtario, with an international jury.
In the first year the convention mascot was established, which is a penguin with a guitar.
Like most filk conventions, other than the Ohio Valley Filk Fest
, FilKONtario is a small event, usually with about 130-150 attendees. Gradually the convention has grown from modest beginnings to offer programming Friday evening through Sunday afternoon, with requisite filk circles until the early morning, workshops in the mornings and a "Dead Penguin" (a play on "dead dog") sing Sunday evening. In addition, the guest roster has grown from a single guest of honour, to having a GoH, a Filk Waif, an Interfilk Guest and an occasional Special Guest, an author or artist from Southern Ontario. "Filk Waif" is an idiosyncratic term honoring the first waif, Mary Ellen Wessels, whom two of the concom members brought to the con at their expense because she couldn't afford it. (Hence, "waif".) The role is identical to Toastmaster.
In 2007, in cooperation with Interfilk and after two years of fundraising, FilKONtario's only guest was the n'Early Music Consort, a choir of sixteen performers from England. This is thought to be one of the largest guest slates offered at a small convention.
FilKONtario has been the honoured recipient of guests funded by Interfilk since 1994. Interfilk is an international arts charity registered as a 501(c)3 in California. FilKONtario is one of the recognized cons on that charity site.
Recording of the concerts and filks has been done since the first year of FilKONtario, resulting in the following releases, the first two on tape, the remainder on CD:
The next day there is a concert in honour of the new Hall of Fame inductees. Each new inductee selects five pieces of music significant to him, her or them. These are performed at the concert.
There is additional extensive material about how to nominate and what constitutes contributions to the filk community on the Filk Hall of Fame web site. In addition there is a complete list of inductees and their citations.
Citation: Songs noted in citations for inductees to the Filk Hall of Fame were used as part of the empirical database for this academic article:
Tatum, Spoo & Pope, Does Gender Influence Attitudes Toward Copyright in the Filk Community, 18 American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & Law (2010), * http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1393611
: At Torcon 3
, 2003, Toronto, ON and at Anticipation
, 2009, Montreal PQ.
In preparation for Anticipation, two of the concom developed a multi-media presentation called "From the Earth to the Moon: a celebration of manned space flight". This presentation included PowerPoint, live narration and live music, with many members of the concom and filkers who were present at the con. It was the keynote filk track item for Anticipation.
Since then the concom has staged "From the Earth to the Moon", four more times: FilKONtario 2010, a meeting of the USS Hudson Bay (a local science fiction fan club) June, 2010; SFContario, November, 2010; and ConFusion, January, 2011. The latter three were by specific invitation of the organizing group.
In addition a similar performance focusing on both manned and unmanned space exploration was performed at the invitation of the University of Toronto's Astronomy and Space Exploration Society presentation on 26 September 2009 as an opening act for keynote speaker Dr. David Charbonneau
.
From the FilKONtario program book archive.
----
Filk music
Filk is a musical culture, genre, and community tied to science fiction/fantasy fandom and a type of fan labor. The genre has been active since the early 1950s, and played primarily since the mid-1970s. The term predates 1955.-Definitions:As the Interfilk What Is Filk page demonstrates, there is...
, the music of science fiction and fantasy fandom. Established in 1991, it is the only filk convention in Canada. In its fifth year (1995), the convention initiated the Filk Hall of Fame, which continues to recognize those who have made significant contributions to filk music and the filk community, world-wide. This international awards program is administered through FilKONtario, with an international jury.
History
At the time FilKONtario was founded, there were only five filk conventions world wide: Consonance (San Francisco area), ConChord (Los Angeles area, started 1983) , the Northeast Filk Con, and Ohio Valley Filk Fest (Columbus area, started in 1984), and the British Filk Con (started in 1989). Heather Borean, the first conchair, wanted something a little closer to home and proposed the idea of founding a new con. The name is a concatenation of "Filk", "KON" (for "convention") and "Ontario." The early days of FilKONtario were a bit challenging. Attendance was low the first few years, but a feeling of relaxed inclusiveness, following the lead of the con's first year guests, Bill and Brenda Sutton, became the norm. In 1994, the convention drew a large crowd, with guest Kathy Mar, and has been quietly growing since that time.In the first year the convention mascot was established, which is a penguin with a guitar.
Like most filk conventions, other than the Ohio Valley Filk Fest
Ohio Valley Filk Fest
The Ohio Valley Filk Fest, or O.V.F.F. is one of the largest filk music conventions . It is held annually in October in the Columbus, Ohio area...
, FilKONtario is a small event, usually with about 130-150 attendees. Gradually the convention has grown from modest beginnings to offer programming Friday evening through Sunday afternoon, with requisite filk circles until the early morning, workshops in the mornings and a "Dead Penguin" (a play on "dead dog") sing Sunday evening. In addition, the guest roster has grown from a single guest of honour, to having a GoH, a Filk Waif, an Interfilk Guest and an occasional Special Guest, an author or artist from Southern Ontario. "Filk Waif" is an idiosyncratic term honoring the first waif, Mary Ellen Wessels, whom two of the concom members brought to the con at their expense because she couldn't afford it. (Hence, "waif".) The role is identical to Toastmaster.
In 2007, in cooperation with Interfilk and after two years of fundraising, FilKONtario's only guest was the n'Early Music Consort, a choir of sixteen performers from England. This is thought to be one of the largest guest slates offered at a small convention.
FilKONtario has been the honoured recipient of guests funded by Interfilk since 1994. Interfilk is an international arts charity registered as a 501(c)3 in California. FilKONtario is one of the recognized cons on that charity site.
Typical convention activities
Programming typically includes: Concerts, song-writing contests, workshops on guitar, voice, performance, etc., one-shots, dealers' room, a fund-raising auction for Interfilk, theme circles, and, especially, open song circles where everyone who chooses can sing and play, and listeners are especially welcome. The circles start in the late evening and go into the early hours of the morning, or later. There is an opening reception, and sometimes a CD release. Some children's programming is usually available.Recording of the concerts and filks has been done since the first year of FilKONtario, resulting in the following releases, the first two on tape, the remainder on CD:
- Make Believe (FilKONtario 1), Wail Songs
- Let's Have a Filksing (FilKONtario 2), Wail Songs
- Songs From FilKONtario 7: Why Can't Penguins Filk?
- Where the Magic is Real (FilKONtario 8), a joint production of FilKONtario and USB Studios
- Filk Dreams — music from FilKONtario 9, USB Studios
- Filk Memories — music from FilKONtario 10, USB Studios
- FilkNotes — the music from FilKONtario 11, USB Studios
- Filk Together — music from FilKONtario 12, USB Studios
- Triskaidekafilkia — music from FilKONtario 13, USB Studios
Filk Hall of Fame
Inductions into the Filk Hall of Fame take place at the Saturday evening banquet. The Hall was created to honour "contributions to filk music and the filk community". Each year a jury reviews the nominations and votes anonymously for their selections. Once the votes are tallied, the Administrator contacts the inductees for the current year. The citations noting the inductees' contributions are read at the banquet, and those inductees present are given a copy of the citation and a plaque. These items are mailed to those not present.The next day there is a concert in honour of the new Hall of Fame inductees. Each new inductee selects five pieces of music significant to him, her or them. These are performed at the concert.
There is additional extensive material about how to nominate and what constitutes contributions to the filk community on the Filk Hall of Fame web site. In addition there is a complete list of inductees and their citations.
Citation: Songs noted in citations for inductees to the Filk Hall of Fame were used as part of the empirical database for this academic article:
Tatum, Spoo & Pope, Does Gender Influence Attitudes Toward Copyright in the Filk Community, 18 American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & Law (2010), * http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1393611
Outreach
The FilKONtario Concom (convention organizing committee) has twice produced the filk track at a WorldconWorldcon
Worldcon, or more formally The World Science Fiction Convention, is a science fiction convention held each year since 1939 . It is the annual convention of the World Science Fiction Society...
: At Torcon 3
61st World Science Fiction Convention
Torcon 3 was the 61st World Science Fiction Convention, held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on August 28-September 1, 2003. The convention was held in the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, as well as the Fairmont Royal York and Crowne Plaza hotels. Torcon 3 was also the site of the 2003...
, 2003, Toronto, ON and at Anticipation
67th World Science Fiction Convention
The 67th World Science Fiction Convention , also known as Anticipation, was hosted in Montréal, Québec, Canada, on 6–10 August 2009, at the Palais des congrès de Montréal...
, 2009, Montreal PQ.
In preparation for Anticipation, two of the concom developed a multi-media presentation called "From the Earth to the Moon: a celebration of manned space flight". This presentation included PowerPoint, live narration and live music, with many members of the concom and filkers who were present at the con. It was the keynote filk track item for Anticipation.
Since then the concom has staged "From the Earth to the Moon", four more times: FilKONtario 2010, a meeting of the USS Hudson Bay (a local science fiction fan club) June, 2010; SFContario, November, 2010; and ConFusion, January, 2011. The latter three were by specific invitation of the organizing group.
In addition a similar performance focusing on both manned and unmanned space exploration was performed at the invitation of the University of Toronto's Astronomy and Space Exploration Society presentation on 26 September 2009 as an opening act for keynote speaker Dr. David Charbonneau
David Charbonneau
David Charbonneau is a Professor of Astronomy at Harvard University. His research focuses on the development of novel techniques for the detection and characterization of planets orbiting nearby, Sun-like stars...
.
Previous conventions
# | Dates | Location | Guest of Honour | Official Filk Waif | Interfilk Guest | Special Guest | Songwriting Contest | Hall of Fame | Committee |
| 1 | Apr 12-14, 1991 | Holiday Inn Mississauga | Bill and Brenda Sutton | -- | -- | -- | A theme song for FilKONtario | -- | Heather Borean (chair), Howard Scrimgeour, Wayne Borean, Joan MacDougall, Terri Neal, Lidia Tremblay |
| 2 | Apr 10-12, 1992 | Holiday Inn Mississauga | Tom Smith Tom Smith (filker) Tom Smith is a singer-songwriter from , who got his start in the filk music community. He is a fourteen-time winner of the Pegasus Award for excellence in filking, including awards for his "A Boy and His Frog", "307 Ale", and "The Return of the King ", and was inducted into the Filk Hall of Fame in... | -- | -- | -- | Buttons and T-Shirts | -- | Heather Borean (chair), Howard Scrimgeour, Lidia Tremblay, Wayne Borean, Lloyd Penney, Yvonne Penney |
3 | May 7–9, 1993 | Holiday Inn Mississauga | Michael Longcor Michael Longcor Michael Longcor is a folk and filk singer. His songs span a range of topics including military history, Indiana history, and humor. He has won six Pegasus Awards and has been nominated for six others. His music has appeared on Dr... | Mary Ellen Wessels (unofficial) | -- | -- | Aliens | -- | Heather Borean (chair), Howard Scrimgeour, Judith Hayman, Dave Hayman, Wayne Borean, Lloyd Penney, Yvonne Penney |
4 | Apr 15-17, 1994 | Regal Constellation Etobicoke | Kathy Mar Kathy Mar Kathy Mar |]] by analogy with non-rhotic accents) worked as a professional folksinger and street performer in Denver, Colorado for many years before she discovered filk... | Mary Ellen Wessels | Heather Rose Jones | -- | Technology | -- | Heather Borean, Wayne Borean, Dave Hayman, Judith Hayman (chair), Howard Scrimgeour, Lynda Hurdis, Linda Baker |
5 | Mar 21-Apr 2, 1995 | Holiday Inn Yorkdale Toronto | Decadent Dave Clement | Steve Macdonald | -- | -- | To the Stars and Fools that Go Filk in the Night | Bob Asprin Robert Asprin Robert Lynn Asprin was an American science fiction and fantasy author and active fan, best known for his humorous MythAdventures and Phule's Company series.- Background :... Leslie Fish Leslie Fish Leslie Fish is a filk musician, author, and anarchist political activist.-Music:Along with The DeHorn Crew, in 1976 she created the first commercial filk recording, Folk Songs for Folk Who Ain't Even Been Yet... Off Centaur Publications | Heather Borean, Wayne Borean, Dave Hayman, Judith Hayman (chair), Howard Scrimgeour, Rob Sutherland, Lloyd Penney, Yvonne Penney |
6 | Apr 19-21, 1996 | Venture Inn Airport Etobicoke | Mary Ellen Wessels | Barry and Sally Childs-Helton | Steve Dixon | -- | Magic and Magicians | Juanita Coulson Juanita Coulson Juanita Coulson is an American science fiction and fantasy writer, active fan and fanzine editor. She is also widely known in filk music circles since the 1950s for her singing and songwriting; she has been nominated for several Pegasus Awards for her filking... Julia Ecklar Julia Ecklar Julia Ecklar is a John W. Campbell Award–winning science fiction author and a singer and writer of filk music who recorded numerous albums in the Off Centaur label in the early 1980s, including Minus Ten and Counting, Horse-Tamer's Daughter, and Genesis... Bob Laurent Kathy Mar Bill Maraschiello | Heather Borean, Carolyn Brown, Dave Hayman, Judith Hayman (chair), Howard Scrimgeour, Peggi Warner-Lalonde, Lloyd Penney, Yvonne Penney |
7 | Apr 11-13, 1997 | Venture Inn Airport Etobicoke | Talis Kimberley Talis Kimberley Talis Kimberley is a British folk singer/songwriter based in Wiltshire, England. Her songs are narrative in nature and feature a mixture of mythology, green issues and everyday life approached from unexpected angles among other things... | Clif and Carol Flynt | Doug Wu | -- | Songs based on written SF or Fantasy | Lee and Barry Gold Lee Gold Lee Gold is a member of California science fiction fandom and a writer and editor in the role-playing game and filk music communities.- Gaming :... J. Spencer Love Margaret Middleton | Heather Borean (co-chair), Carolyn Brown, Dave Hayman, Judith Hayman (co-chair), Ken Lalonde, Howard Scrimgeour, Peggi Warner-Lalonde, Lloyd Penney, Yvonne Penney |
8 | Apr 17-19 1998 | Travelodge Hotel Toronto East | Heather Alexander | John Hall | Juliane Honisch and Katy Dröge | -- | A place you'd like to go to | Rafe Culpin Cynthia McQuillin Erwin "Filthy Pierre" Strauss | Carolyn Brown (co-chair), Dave Hayman, Judith Hayman, Sally Headford, Ken Lalonde, Howard Scrimgeour, Glenn Simser, Peggi Warner-Lalonde (co-chair), Lloyd Penney, Yvonne Penney |
9 | Mar 26-28, 1999 | Quality Hotel Toronto Airport, Mississauga | Urban Tapestry Urban Tapestry Urban Tapestry is a three-woman band that performs filk music, composed by Debbie Ridpath Ohi, Allison Durno, and Jodi Krangle. As a group, they won the 'Best Performer' Pegasus Award in both 1997 and 2004.-----Discography:... | Don Neill | Harold Groot | -- | To Space | Gary Anderson "Decadent" Dave Clement Mary Ellen Wessels | Heather Borean, Carolyn Brown, Dave Hayman, Judith Hayman (chair), Sally Headford, Ken Lalonde, Howard Scrimgeour, Glenn Simser, Peggi Warner-Lalonde (co-chair) |
10 | Mar 31- Apr 2, 2000 | Quality Hotel Toronto Airport, Mississauga | Larry Warner | Diana Huey | Scott Snyder | -- | Tricksters | Zander Nyrond Dr. Jane Robinson Bill Roper | Heather Borean (co-chair), Dave Hayman, Judith Hayman (co-chair), Sally Headford, Ken Lalonde, Howard Scrimgeour, Peggi Warner-Lalonde |
11 | Mar 30-Apr 1, 2001 | Quality Hotel Toronto Airport, Mississauga | Bill and Brenda Sutton | Steve Simmons | Erica Neely | -- | Mars and Beyond | Gordon R. Dickson Gytha North Bill and Brenda Sutton | Heather Borean, Dave Hayman, Judith Hayman (chair), Sally Headford, Ken Lalonde, Howard Scrimgeour, Peggi Warner-Lalonde, Lloyd Penney, Yvonne Penney |
12 | Apr 5-7, 2002 | Four Points Toronto Airport Mississauga | Joey Shoji | Dave Weingart | Anke Teschke | Tanya Huff Tanya Huff Tanya Sue Huff is a Canadian fantasy author. Her stories have been published since the late 1980s, including five fantasy series and one science-fiction series. One of these, her Blood Books series, featuring detective Vicki Nelson, was adapted for television under the title Blood... | 1. A song based on Tanya's writing 2. Technology Past and Future | Lissa Allcock Kirstin Tanger Alan Thiesen | Heather Borean, Dave Hayman, Judith Hayman, Sally Headford (chair), Ken Lalonde, Howard Scrimgeour, Peggi Warner-Lalonde, Lloyd Penney, Yvonne Penney |
13 | Mar 28-30, 2003 | Delta Toronto Airport West, Mississauga | Dr. Jane Robinson and Cynthia McQuillin | Mark Bernstein | Robert Cooke | -- | Travellers of the Deep | Karen and Poul Anderson Poul Anderson Poul William Anderson was an American science fiction author who began his career during one of the Golden Ages of the genre and continued to write and remain popular into the 21st century. Anderson also authored several works of fantasy, historical novels, and a prodigious number of short stories... Barry and Sally Childs-Helton Bob Kanefsky Chris Malme | Heather Borean, Wayne Borean, Ingrid de Buda, Dave Hayman, Judith Hayman, Sally Headford (chair), Lynda Hurdis, Ken Lalonde, Howard Scrimgeour, Peggi Warner-Lalonde, Lloyd Penney, Yvonne Penney |
14 | Mar 26-28, 2004 | Delta Toronto Airport West | Michael Longcor | Kathleen Sloan | Blind Lemming Chiffon | -- | Based on written military SF | Katy Droege and Juliana Honisch Valerie Housden Gary McGath | Heather Borean, Wayne Borean, Ingrid de Buda, Dave Hayman, Judith Hayman, Sally Headford, Ken Lalonde, Howard Scrimgeour (chair), Peggi Warner-Lalonde, Lloyd Penney, Yvonne Penney |
15 | Apr 1-3, 2005 | Delta Toronto Airport West, Mississauga | Steve Macdonald | Judith Hayman | Carla Ulbrich | Michelle Sagara | Recycling in the Future | Clif Flynt Judith and Dave Hayman Tom Smith | Heather Borean, Wayne Borean, Dave Hayman, Judith Hayman, Sally Headford (chair), Lynda Hurdis, Ken Lalonde, Sue Posteraro, Howard Scrimgeour, Peggi Warner-Lalonde |
16 | Mar 31- Apr 2, 2006 | Delta Toronto Airport West, Mississauga | Chris Conway | Tanya Huff | Judi Miller | -- | Tolkien's World | Franklin Gunkelman Steve Macdonald Lois Mangan Gretchen Roper | Heather Borean, Wayne Borean, Dave Hayman (chair), Judith Hayman, Sally Headford, Ken Lalonde, Sue Posteraro, Howard Scrimgeour, Peggi Warner-Lalonde |
17 | Mar 23-25, 2007 | Delta Toronto Airport West, Mississauga | n'Early Music Consort (a sixteen person filk choir from England) | Harmony | Chris (Keris) Croughton Bruce Pelz Kathleen Sloan | Heather Borean, Dave Hayman, Judith Hayman (co-chair), Sally Headford, Ken Lalonde, Sue Posteraro, Howard Scrimgeour, Peggi Warner-Lalonde (co-chair) | |||
18 | Apr 4-6, 2008 | Delta Toronto Airport West, Mississauga | Vixy and Tony (Michelle Dockery and Tony Fabris) | Bill Roper | Marilyn Miller | Heather Bruton | Nightmares in the Dark | Bob (Doc) and Anne Passovoy Steve and Colleen Savitsky | Heather Borean, Jane Garthson, Dave Hayman, Judith Hayman (co-chair), Sally Headford, Lynda Hurdis, Ken Lalonde, Sue Posteraro, Howard Scrimgeour, Peggi Warner-Lalonde (co-chair) |
19 | Apr 3-5, 2009 | Delta Toronto Airport West, Mississauga | Heather Dale | Urban Tapestry | Gerry and Sandy Tyra | Robert J. Sawyer | Space Games | Erica Neely Frank Hayes | Heather Borean, Jane Garthson, Dave Hayman, Judith Hayman, Sally Headford (chair), Sue Jeffers, Ken Lalonde, Howard Scrimgeour, Peggi Warner-Lalonde, |
20 | Apr 9-11, 2010 | Delta Toronto Airport West, Mississauga | Jeff and Maya Bohnhoff | Erica Neely | William Mark Simmons | -- | Time Travel | Jan Dimasi Kristoph Klover Mike Whitaker | Heather Borean, Jane Garthson, Dave Hayman, Judith Hayman, Sally Headford, Sue Jeffers, Ken Lalonde, Howard Scrimgeour (chair), Peggi Warner-Lalonde |
21 | Apr 1-3, 2011 | Delta Toronto Airport West, Mississauga | Wild Mercy | Karen Linsley | Ghost of a Rose | -- | Coming of Age | Ellen Kranzer Howard Scrimgeour Urban Tapestry | Jane Garthson, Dave Hayman, Judith Hayman, Sally Headford, Sue Jeffers (chair), Tom Jeffers, Ken Lalonde, Howard Scrimgeour, Peggi Warner-Lalonde |
From the FilKONtario program book archive.
----