Zebra Con

ZebraCon, also known as Zcon, was a mixed gen and slash convention.
Early cons were called "Zebra-Con."
Aside from the second and third cons (which took place in Kalamazoo, Michigan), ZebraCon was held in Chicago, Illinois. All cons were held in the fall, with exception of the first one, which was held in July.
It initially catered to Starsky & Hutch fandom (Zebra 3 was their car's call sign). While in 1986, the con organizers branched out to include The Professionals and other 'partnership' cop/spy/science fiction shows, it never left behind its love for Starsky & Hutch.
The first convention was held in 1979 and was held annually at first. A couple of years were skipped due to low interest,In S&H letterzine #35, the convention organizer announced that due to fact that membership to Zebra-Con 4 was "so pathetically low there will be no con next year." The organizers also felt they needed a break and said they were tentatively planning Z-Con 5 for June, 1984 "depending on the response." and then the cons switched to a 2 year cycle.
While the convention struggled to attract members in its early years,In issue #27 of the S&H letterzine the convention organizers expressed their frustration over attendance numbers: "I'm very, very, very disappointed in the turn out this year, and by what I interpret as a general lack of interest and support from fandom. Last year 92 people attended Z-Con. As of today— Oct. 18—we haven't even reached 80....Why haven't more of you become supporting members? Last year there were almost thirty. This year I have fourteen.... This is the last Zebra Con [we] will do. The last one in Kazoo [Michican], as well. Right now the future of Z-Con is very much in doubt. I'm willing to keep on running it—in Chicago, and slightly earlier in the year—for as long as the fans want it. But I'm not going to do it for just a few people. It isn't worth it. Do you want a Zebra Con IV? Okay—show me you support this one, and there'll be another." by the mid 1990s membership was capped at 300 people and there usually was a waiting list.
The last ZebraCon was held in 2007.
==A Seed Was Planted at T'Con==
Paulie, one of the con's organizers included this statement in the very first Zebra Con program book: 
==Mailing List==
This convention had an informational mailing list from 1998-2003 called ZebraCon:
==ZebraCon: Individual Years==
See the subpages for details about individual years, including con reports, program book covers, programming information as well as info on the vid shows and fans' memories printed in the last program book.
==Con Skits==
The skits were by Paula Smith, or Paula and Jody Lynn Nye, unless otherwise noted.
* 1981: Graven Mirages, a parody of the zine Graven Images
* 1984: Demonstrated to Death, a parody of Decorated for Death
* 1985: Fudge and Fury, a parody of the zine, Judge and Jury 
* 1986: Scales of Just-As-Good, a parody of the zine Scales of Justice
* 1987: The Thousandth Goliath, a parody of two zines, The Thousandth Man and Goliath 
* 1988: Murmur on San Carmelapples, a parody of Murder on San Carmelitas
* 1999: The Pieing of CI5, based on "The Purging of CI5," an episode of The Professionals
* 1991: Distant Snores, a parody of the zine, Distant Shores
* 1993: Pair 'o Strokers, a parody of the zine, Perestroika
* 1995: Disaster of the Drivels, a parody the zine, Master of the Revels
* 1997: Revolution 9 from Outer Space, parody of the zine, Revolution
* 1999: "Our play is 'It's All In Our Heads' by Genetic Fen Productions. Yes, Paula Smith is taking a year off (she's certainly entitled!)." from a progress report, dated September 8, 1999 
* 2001: "A Hard Drive's Night" written by Paula Smith - a second play was "A Cough Sweet For Starsky" written by Viv Gibbons. 
* 2003: unknown
* 2005: unknown
* 2007: A Tale of Any Two Guys, by Flamingo and Rosemary C.
==The First, and the Last==
Image:zebracon1979.jpg|cover of the 1979 program book, the first ZebraCon "Starsk, we have reports of a crowd gathering in Melrose Park... could be a big case... some sort of cult." "S'fine with me, buddy, as long as they don't put any rattlesnakes in the fridge."
Image:zebraconlast-1.jpg|cover of the 2007 program book, the last ZebraCon
==Regarding the Content Change==
Many years later, fans pointed to ZCon's ability to "change with the times" as one of the reasons for its longevity and appeal: 
Some comments which provide a look into fan discussion regarding this con's focus and journey:
===ZebraCon vs. SHareCon===
In 1990, some Starsky & Hutch fans began to discuss ZCon's ability to provide the kind of SH-focus con they were looking for.
Some comments:
1990: 
1990: 
1990: 
1990: 
==Some ZebraCon History in Verse==
From the 1982 ZebraCon program book:
==ZebraCon: Memories==
In 2007, some fans submitted their memories of the con to the last program book.
See ZebraCon/Memories.
==Convention Reports==
Given the intense interest in the Zcon and the fact that, in its middle years, the convention would often sell out, there was a keen interest in convention reports.
In the 1980s, many reports were in the letterzines S and H and Between Friends.
Later, some reports were posted online.
See individual year pages for some con reports.
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==The Huggy Award==
ZebraCon created The Huggy Award—given first only to Starsky & Hutch stories, and then to both Starsky & Hutch and The Professionals stories each convention. Other fandoms were added in later years (Due South, Sentinel, Highlander, SG1). Nomination forms were mailed out with the first convention progress report, but you could nominate and vote without attending the convention.
For more information, see The Huggy Awards.
==The Vid Show==
The Zebracon vid show offered vidders a place to showcase their songvids before a live fan audience. Vids were also given awards (see Huggies section for winners). Vids were originally shown on VCRs and watched on TV with a transition to larger screens and DVDs in the later years.
Playlists and vid show reviews from the 1990s and 2000s are being collected at ZebraCon/Vid Show.
==The Mundane Gulf==
To the outside world, slash themed fan-run conventions were often misunderstood and many fans would keep their 'fannish' lives and 'real' lives separate. For example, the year after the final Zebracon it was highlighted in an unflattering article titled: PathetiCon: 8 Geek Conventions God Never Intended. PathetiCon: 8 Geek Conventions God Never Intended dated Jun 19, 2008; reference link
Even during Zebracon, fans had to deal with negative reactions to their interests. Here, one fan relates an incident that took place at an early ZebraCon: 
Another fan remembers:
==Some Programming Notes==
As a fan run and volunteer based convention, all programming and events were run by fans for fans. In addition to hour long panels which ran Friday-Sunday, there was an evening mixer with formal dress and the group singing of Bette Midler's song "The Rose"."As always, everyone in the room sang ‘The Rose’ at the end of the party. It was beautiful and sad at the same time. ~ recycledmedia, ZCon report - longish, dated October 26, 2005 This song was an unofficial anthem for the Starsky & Hutch fandom, and had its roots as one of the earliest song vids.
See: The Rose.
There was also a nighttime art auction where fan artists could sell their art. Some of the funds raised during the auction went to charity (see below for more info).
There also was a video contest where fan made songvids were shown and awards were given. Additional awards given at Zebracon included The Huggy Awards (see below) and, starting in 2003, the Paula Wilshe Award.Paula Wilshe Award Announcement on The Starsky Hutch Livejournal Community. Art Show Awards were given and Costume and Fiction Contests were also held. For a complete list of winners of all awards see the years at the bottom of the Huggies section.
There was also a dealer's room in which fanzines, clothing and videos were sold. Elaborate 'Room Parties' were held each focusing on a different TV show, with door prizes and themes (ex. The Due South room party offered Canadian and Chicago food). the other sandy's Zcon reports tagged on her Livejournal: These became so popular that the convention began to furnish a large suite for members to reserve.
In some years, fan wrote and produced stage plays that (gently) mocked themselves and their favorite shows. They often riffed off of well known fanzines: Ex: 'Distant Snores' was based on the Starsky & Hutch zine Distant Shores. Some of these plays have been collected into a fanzine: Play by Playbook: Collected ZebraCon Plays.
The last play, A Tale of Any Two Guys, was performed at Zcon 18 which, according to one attendee was: 
The play was slightly rewritten for Sharecon 2008 and is described by Dawn: 
==The Panels==
Panels were suggested by fans and selected by the convention and then staffed by volunteers. Fans led the discussions, often moderating the topics. Other panels were loose 'free form" casual discussions.
A sample panel schedule from Zebracon 16 (2003):
FRIDAY
* 1:00 Zine Etiquette; Xmen
* 2:00 Smallville; Blogs & LiveJournals
* 3:00 LOTR: Reconciling Book & Movie; Medical Aspects in Fic
* 4:00 LOTR Trivia Game; Queer Eye for the Straight Guy; Video Room: S&H 101
* 5:00 Queer as Folk US - 3rd season; Stargate
* 6:00 Slash conventions & stereotypes; Zining 101
* 7:00 Writing Workshop; BtVs - Spike
* 8:00 Oz; Secret Agent Shows
* 8:00-midnight Vid Show
SATURDAY
* 10:00 Fannish Jeopardy
* 11:00 Military Fraternization
* 12:00 ROTK preview; S&H Rings & Things
* 1:00 Sentinel; Evolution of Fandom
* 2:00 CSI; One True Threesome; Video Room: Jenny's Vidding Guide for Beginners
* 3:00 Pros; Mag 7
* 4:00 Holy Mother Grammatica; Due South
* 5:00 Beta Readers; Harry Potter
* 7:30-11PM: Saturday Party (Play by Paula Smith: "The Escape from Hoboken Affair")
SUNDAY 
* 1:00 Dead Dog Panel (Convention Organizer Feedback)
==Charity==
As one fan explained in 1994: 
The convention would also support other charities: for Zcon 13 (1997), the convention raised $2000 for Pet Rescue, a no kill shelter located in Bloomindale Illiniois.ZCon 13 Website; reference link. At ZCon 16 (2003), the charity was The Nature Conservancy.
==ZebraCon: The Movie==
While there actually was never a feature film made about ZebraCon, in the early years fans videotaped parts of the convention and offered the tapes to fellow fans.
From an ad in a letterzine: 
And in the last issue of S&H: 
==References==
Category:Slash Conventions
Category:The Professionals Conventions
Category:Starsky & Hutch Conventions
 
Category:1979 Conventions
Category:1970s Conventions
Category:1980s Conventions
Category:1990s Conventions
Category:2000s Conventions
Category:Conventions in United States