Latest post: A Tourist's Tale: NADWcon 2011

Posted by Brian Nisbet on May 11, 2012, 11:49 a.m.

Going west across the ocean, your intrepid Chairman visited a far off land to sample the strange delights of their North American Discworld Convention.

As winter slowly creeps into Ireland (and especially as Dublin dries out from the worst rain in fifty years) it's very easy to cast my mind back to summer holidays and my trip to the North American Discworld Convention. I missed the first NADWcon in 2009 and I was determined I wouldn't miss this one and it wasn't difficult to persuade my wonderful fiancé (well, ok that happened shortly after the con, but anyway) to travel back to the land of her birth, so off we went.

I'd heard tales of the previous con, so I figured I had a reasonable idea of what to expect and those stories were mostly right, but what they didn't convey was the sheer... energy and ethusiasm of the NADWcon crowd. That's not to say that the attendees at the DWcon and all the other cons aren't passionate, but the North Americans (and various hangers-on) really seem to get so massively into things that it can really take you by surprise. Of course part of this is also because I was in the audience (an unfamiliar position for me at the such events) and the feeling when room rising around me every time Terry hove into view was a strange one. It seems so cliched to compare brash America with more reserved Europe, at least when it comes to using titles and standing ovations, but it's difficult to talk about the con without doing so.

However it wasn't *that* different. The fans love Terry, that much is consistent around the world. They love his work, they love him and they carry with them the same sense of pride that I've seen in Discworld fans across the world. He has introduced them to a wonderful world and, whether they've met him a again and again or are encountering him for the very first time, they consider him part of their life.

Equally the programme items bore some familiarity. I'm not suggesting that there wasn't originality, but as someone who has been involved in the fandom con programming for nearly 20 years, it's often to guess what's going to happen next and see the shape of things before even reading the timetable (ya know, I really amn't the best person to write something like this :) ). The programme was fun, with an appropriate amount of changing when the need arose. However the NADWcon pulled off something that no other Discworld event could manage (even if it wasn't strictly Discworld). By handy coincidence Neil Gaiman lives just up the road (for American, about a three hour drive) and he agreed to pop down to the con to have a chat with Terry. A quiet word or two, in front of an absolutely packed house. They talked, where they could, about the upcoming Good Omens production, about the book, about the past and about friendship. The audience could, I think, have listened to them for hours and hours, but other things had to happen and those who were there shall likely remember it for a very long time. Now, if only the mad scientists on my committee could finally nail that teleportation thing...

When the daily programme ended (and not a moment before, honest!) the bar was found to be well staffed and stocked, but curiously lacking in attendees. The percentage of members clamouring for a drink was far, far lower than I would expect at any European based event, but the chat still flowed freely and I got the chance to catch up with a number of long lost Irish cousins (for the non-Irish, we assume every other gael is a cousin) and never have to wait too long. After 21:00, and with appropriate ID, access was granted to the con suite where the drink flowed even more freely and you had the chance to drink from a rubber cow. Never let it be said that I didn't try out the local customs! Those who partied, partied as hard as any attendeed at the International Discworld Convention, but so many people seemed to go elsewhere or (I've heard) to bed! Even on the Sunday night after the Gala Dinner there was a lamentable number of people sleeping in the corridors of the hotel at 04:00.

As with all other good things, the con did end on Monday, with much deserved thanks to the committee, especialy those who stepped in at the last moment to ensure the con ran and ran well. Those of us of a flexible moral character drank to them long into the night, secure from the baking mid-western heat (even when it was dark!) in the bubble of the hotel's excellent airconditioning.

I'm not sure when I shall next return to the NADWcon (soon, I hope!), but I would not hesitate to recommend it to any Discworld fan. It's familar enough to be comfortable, different enough to be interesting. The people are friendly and enthusiastic and, believe it or not, you can find some really excellent beer in North America these days. Hopefully news should be emerging about the 2013 event in the not too hugely distant future and I really would recommend taking a look, and booking a ticket, you never know who you might meet, or what you might experience.

Details about the next NADWCon can be found at their new shiny web site http://www.nadwcon.org/

Older posts