EclectiCon (New Jersey)

Also see EclectiCon (California).
==General information==
A no-guest media fanzine convention held in Newark, NJ.
: Eclecticon is one of the East Coast's largest media fanzine conventions, focusing on fanzines and the varied fandoms that inspire them. We're international, multigenre, and host fandoms from all around the world and are celebrating our tenth year [in 2006]!Eclecticon 2006 page, accessed January 23, 2009
A notice in 1997 in The New Monthly states that this is a "pet-friendly con. Pets registered as apocryphal members will receive their own membership packets with special membership materials."
In 1999, Eclecticon created its first website to offer registration and programming information to its members. It can be found here via an archived link.
The con featured panels, contests (including a trivia contest, a "write that caption" contest and a door decorating contest), a dealers' room where zines and fanart could be purchased, and a video room (or two) where VCR vids could be shown. room parties were held along lines of fannish interests (Stargate SG-1 or Blake's 7) and members could also book the con suite for 2 hours if they needed more room. Authors could also reserve time to read from their fan fiction. Some years there were official con t-shirts. Membership peaked at 300 in 2001.
A 2007 livejournal post lists Eclecticon as a con which "Has a furry track or large furry attendance." In the past this has led to some to suggest there was crossover between mediafannish and furry communities at Eclecticon New Jersey.furry cons, accessed January 23, 2009; archived here, cited here on Fanlore as evidence of the connections. However, the organizer states that as far as she is aware, the convention "had ZERO furry presence at all (unless you count the attendees’ pets)"Personal message sent to Morgan Dawn on 6/26/22. This illustrates the perils of different communities using the same or similar names for their conventions. It is likely that Eclecticon New Jersey has, over the years, been confused with another event with the same name held in Sacramento, CA in the 1980s and early 1990s.See EclectiCon (California); 
; see also an ad for the California Eclecticon on page 42 of Starlog
==Programming==
Panels offered at the con in 1996 included one on "using foreign languages in fanzine stories," and fandom-specific panels on Rat Patrol, Wild Wild West, Lord Peter Wimsey, Man From U.N.C.L.E., and Blake's 7.Eclecticon 96 convention report, accessed January 23, 2009; WebCite.
Panels offered in 1999 included: Multimedia Zines -Is There a Trend?, Villians: What makes a good one?, Slash: Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations!, Copyright and Fair Use, Fandom and the Internet, The Internet - Getting Connected, and various writing workshops. Fandom panels included Emergency, Buffy, Sentinel, Stargate SG1 and Blake’s 7.1999 Panels.
In 2002, there were fandom-specific panels on Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Smallville, The Sentinel, Forever Knight, and Brimstone alongside multi-fannish and meta-fannish panels such as Are Spoilers Spoiling Fandom?, Is The Net Killing Fandom, and Military Shows: The Fraternization Question.Eclecticon program 2002, accessed via wayback machine January 23, 2009
In 2003, fandom-specific panels continued with the addition of new TV shows like West Wing, Dead Like Me and Queer As Folk along with meta panels such as "Slash and the Media: Is increased media attention for the genre a good thing for fandom?" and "The Greying of Fandom." Eclecticon program 2003, accessed via wayback machine Nov 3, 2009
In 2004, panel subjects included Lord of the Rings: Books vs Movies, Harry Potter: Books vs Movies, MI-5: Does it Live Up to the Legacy Of Fan Favorites Like The Professionals?, and "" Fannish Commonalities: What Other Things Do Fans Have In Common? The video programming room that year included fandom-specific vid watching during the afternoon, and evening shows of slash vids, gen vids, and last year's new vids.Eclecticon program 2004, accessed via wayback machine January 23, 2009
In 2005, multi- or meta-fannish panels included "Fanfic Pet Peeves, Academia and Fandom", and "Canon Relationships: How Come No One Ever Writes them?" Fandom-specific panels included panels on Law and Order, 24, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Star Trek. In the video programming room, fans watched SG-1 vids and vids which had premiered during the previous year, 2004.Eclecticon program 2005, accessed via wayback machine January 23, 2009
In 2006, panels included: Academia and Fandom, Fanfic in Fanzines vs. Fanfic on the Internet: Pros and Cons, The Aging of Fandom, Filking, Fan Fiction: Written for the Writer Or for the Reader?, Zine Production: Layout & Design, Should TPTB Stay Off the Internet?, Live Journals And Blogs, BDSM. The vid room ran several vids.hours of California Crew ‘classic’ along with vids shown in previous years. Fandom panels included a wide range: Rat Patrol, Battlestar: Galactica : Science Fiction or Political Show?, CSI, Gilmore Girls, Harry Potter, Sentinel, Heroe, Bones, Supernatural
==Charities==
Numerous charities were supported by the convention fund raising drive. In 1999, $1200 went to the New Jersey Schnauzer Rescue; Lifeline, a program of United Animal Nations with helps the aged and indigent with catastrophic veterinary bills; and Saint Andrew's Food Pantry, a church-run food bank which gives food to the needy regardless of religious affiliation. In 2005, the charity was the Companion Animal Rescue and Education of Bayonne, NJ,
==Dealer's Room==
One of the conventions strong points was its dealer's room were fans could sell fan related merchandise along with fanzines. A list of the zines premiering in 2002 show over 40 new zines.
==Video Room==
The ever popular video room was a place where fans could watch TV episodes and movies and enjoy a selection of fanvids and obtain copies of the vids.. The convention never hosted a formal vid show or contests, but in the later years would offer scheduled programming for fanvids. This included fandom-specific vid watching during the afternoon, and evening shows of slash vids, gen vids, along with last year's new vids. One attendee described the video room setup as bearing "more than a passing resemblance to the Mission Control room at NASA."Anne Collins Smith series of comments at }} Not all volunteers were comfortable showing slash fanvids, even though the visual content in the fanvids did not contain sexually explicit material as the vids used broadcast TV and movie broadcast from the 1960s-2000s
Among the volunteers who ran the video room
*Dave Gold
*In 2003, the video room was run by Owen Smith.
*In 2004, the video room was run by Anne Collins Smith with technical assistance from John Werner. 
*In 2005, it was run by John Werner.
In 2022, Anne Collins Smith remembers: 
==Eclecticon 1994== 
November 4–6
===Eclecticon 1994: Con Reports===
==Eclecticon 1995== 
 
* October 27-29, 1995
* focus was media fandom and media fanzines
* held at the Ramada Hotel, Newark, NJ
* "Four varied tracks of panels and discussion groups, writing workshops (slash and gen), an artshow, video room, trivia contest, art and charity auctions, hall costume contest, Name that Soundtrack contest, free raffles, Friday night mixer, Saturday night trick- or-treating and Halloween party, Sunday afternoon ice cream social and photo op, plus our famous con suite with never-ending munchies and soft drinks and Continental breakfast on Saturday and Sunday mornings!"
==Eclecticon 1996== 
 
===Eclecticon 1996: Con Reports===
==Eclecticon 1997== 
 
===Eclecticon 1997: Con Reports===
==Eclecticon 1998==
Was held the weekend of November 5-7, 1998.
*One of the private events was a memorial to fanzine publisher Ann Elaine McKannan, cofounder of Lindberg's Legacy Press and publisher of Flanking Maneuvers who passed away of ovarian cancer on November 4, 1998. November 4, 1998 post to Virgule-L mailing, accessed by Morgan Dawn on May 29, 2023
*The X-Files fanzine The Gift of an Enemy premiered. October 28, 1998 fanzine announcement to Virgule-L mailing, accessed by Morgan Dawn on May 29, 2023
*The MUNCLE fanzine But Not For Me premiered. October 18, 1998 fanzine announcement to Virgule-L mailing, accessed by Morgan Dawn on May 29, 2023
*The Magnificent 7 fanzine Dreams and Awakenings, a novel by Michele Robbe with artwork by Mike Cole premiered. It was published by Criterion Press. October 18, 1998 fanzine announcement to Virgule-L mailing, accessed by Morgan Dawn on May 29, 2023
*The multi-fandom fanzine Going All the Way 1 from Straight Up Press was sold at the convention. It included two Magnificent 7 stories by Michele Robbe. October 18, 1998 fanzine announcement to Virgule-L mailing, accessed by Morgan Dawn on May 29, 2023
*Diverse Doings 3, a multimedia slash fanzine, by Criterion Press was sold. It contained two Magnificent 7 stories by Mirna Ciconi and Julien. October 18, 1998 fanzine announcement to Virgule-L mailing, accessed by Morgan Dawn on May 29, 2023
*Fanzine announcement: 
==Eclecticon 1999== 
 
Eclecticon 1999 was held Nov. 5-7, 1999 at the Ramada Hotel in Newark, NJ. A list of panels is archived here. An archived index of the website is here.
photos from Steve Rogerson's web pages
Video info: 
===Eclecticon 1999: Con Reports===
==Eclecticon 2000== 
Eclecticon 1999 was held on Nov. 10-12, 2000 at the Ramada Hotel in Newark, NJ. An archived copy of the website can be found here.
photos from Steve Rogerson's web pages
===Eclecticon 2000: Con Reports===
==Eclecticon 2001==
Eclecticon 2001 was held on Nov. 9-11, 2001 at the Ramada Hotel in Newark, NJ.
The following are notes compiled by Morgan Dawn from her interactions with fans who attended Eclecticon 2001, accessed Feb 12, 2017. An archived copy of the website can be found here.
 
===Eclecticon 2001: Con Reports===
* photos from Steve Rogerson's web pages
*There was a Rat Patrol room party
*a reporter from the Christian Science Monitor talked to an attendee about Harry Potter
*there was a Rat Patrol panel entitled "Dietrich ueber Alles." 
*episodes of Barney Miller were shown in the vid room
*there was a panel about the Westgern TV and movie genre. Among the topics discussed: while there are degrees of moral ambiguity portrayed in Westerns, and characters may display shades of gray, Westerns offer an underlying belief system that strongly affirms clear standards of right and wrong, and rejects moral relativism. Cowboy codes of ethics were promulgated to young viewers in the 1940's and 1950's, which promoted not only the traditional values one would expect of the time, like courage and honor, but also some that seemed surprisingly progressive given the stereotypical view of Westerns as prejudiced, such as respect for women and fair treatment for Indians. Conditions may be ripe for Westerns to continue their tentative comeback, and that the events of 9-11 in particular might whet people's appetites for shows with clear positions on right and wrong.
*some vids shown at a private room party: a Magnificent 7 music video; part of the Chicago Loop tape of vids, a batch of Sentinel vids including the hilarious "Man Song" by Media Cannibals.
*A memorial service was held to reflect on the recent 9/11 tragedy. A copy of the service is archived here.
==Eclecticon 2002==
Eclecticon 2002 was held on Nov. 8-10, 2002 at the Ramada Hotel in Newark, NJ. The programming schedule is archived here. A copy of the website can be found archived here.
*Some of the vids shown at the convention were edited by Melina, Shalott, Morgan Dawn and Gwyneth.
==Eclecticon 2003==
Eclecticon 2003 was held on Nov. 7-9, 2003 at the Ramada Hotel in Newark, NJ. The programming schedule is archived here. A copy of the website is archived here.
Some photos are here.
Eclecticon never featured a formal vid show. Instead, fan videos were shown at various times throughout the day in the Video Room. In later years these videos would be grouped into Gen, Het, or Slash vid categories, with the 'prime time" slot being reserved Saturday evening for newly released vids. It usually competed against other popular activities. Below is a list one attendee made of vids shown at the 'newly released' vid slot.
2003 Vid Show
Song 	Fandom 	Vidder
Back to Back 	Emperor's New Groove 	Sorka
On the Sea 	Horatio Hornblower 	Sorka
The Space Between 	Smallville (first season)	Sorka
Unforgiven 2 	Batman Beyond 	Sorka
Photograph 	The Fugitive (the movie) 	Sorka
Human Behavior 	Pitch Black 	Sorka
Where Are You Going? 	LOTR (Fellowship) 	Sorka
Sexy 	Multi 	Sorka
Because You Love Me 	Professionals 	Recycled Media
No Place That Far 	Starsky & Hutch 	Recycled Media
You Made Me That Way 	Professionals 	Recycled Media
Waterloo 	Due South 	Recycled Media
Saints & Angels 	Professionals 	Recycled Media
I Just Knew 	Multi 	Recycled Media
Where Your Road Leads 	Starsky & Hutch 	Recycled Media
Beautiful Mess 	Sentinel 	Recycled Media
You Don't 	Professionals 	Recycled Media
I Believe 	Stargate SG-1 	Recycled Media
You're Lookin' Hot 	Multi 	Recycled Media
Hold Me Like There's No Tomorrow	Starsky & Hutch 	Recycled Media
Fingerprints 	Sentinel 	Recycled Media
Please Remember Me 	Due South 	Recycled Media
Everybody 	Jay & Silent Bob 	Dementia, Ink
Fade 	Whedonverse (Faith) 	Dementia, Ink
Unwell 	Buffy 	Dementia, Ink
Bad Day 	Sorority Boys 	Dementia, Ink
In the year 2525 	Multi 	Mudd (as part of Succubus Productions)
Always a woman 	Sarah Brightman 	Mudd
Superman 	Queer as Folk 	Mudd & Angel
Sweet Little Sheila 	Last Dance with Mary Jane	Angel
It's in His Kiss 	multi 	Angel
Don't let the Sun go Down on Me 	Star Wars 	Angel
Happy Together 	Multi 	Angel
==Eclecticon 2004==
Eclecticon 2004 was held on Nov. 5-7, 2004 at the Ramada Hotel in Newark, NJ. The programming schedule is archived here. A copy of the website is archived here.
Some photos are here.
Additional reports as gathered by Morgan Dawn from her personal recollections, accessed Feb 13, 2017:
*A panel called "Original Fiction: Does it have a future in Fandom?"was held. Among the topics discussed: encouraging fanfic writers to try to write their own original fiction as well; whether it will become accepted to publish original stories in zines mixed in with 'regular' fanfic; whether there is a market for original fiction in zines when one can buy original fiction in bookstores at regular paperback prices; fiction archives on the web, vanity publishing, and print on demand zines, and zines on CDs.
*a panel called "Blake's 7: Where should it go from here?" Among topics discussed: the DVD release being pushed back to allow for tie-in with the audio plays, the copyright owner lacking funding for the animated series, and all other 'discussions are ongoing'. Steve R. discussed a fifteen minute parody that was done with current British comedy actors called "Blake Junction 7" which featured a slashy scene between Blake and Avon in a bathroom. He also handed out publicity post cards showing the cast dressed as the B7 characters. The panel discussed whether radio plays would find an audience here in 
the USA and whether the US would be open to a show that is basically about rebels blowing up government installations in the light of 9/11. Re: the radio plays the consensus was that the US favored audiobooks instead of broadcast. The panel lasted 30 minutes.
==Eclecticon 2005==
Eclecticon 2005 was held on Nov. 11-13, 2005 at the Ramada Hotel in Newark, NJ. The programming schedule is archived here. A copy of the website is archived here.
==Eclecticon 2006==
Eclecticon 2006 was held on Nov. 10-12, 2006 at the Ramada Hotel in Newark, NJ. The programming schedule is archived here. A copy of the website is archived here.
==References==
Category:Conventions
Category:1990s Conventions
Category:2000s ConventionsCategory:Conventions in United States