Darkover Grand Council Meeting

The Darkover Grand Council Meeting was a long-running Darkover and Science Fiction convention. The title was used interchangeably with "Darkovercon" and DarkoverCon," which (at least early on) were combined with regional titles, such as "West Coast Midwinter Festival."
In the beginning, there were several cons and they were held in different places, such as California and New York City. Sometimes there was more than one "Darkovercon" in a year. As the fandom became more robust and organized, the con took place once a year in Maryland and in November.
From a March 1978 announcement: "Judy Kopman, Armida Council [address redacted] is contemplating a one-day Midsummer Festival Grand Council, one Sunday in July 1978. Space would be limited, so SASE to Judy for information IMMEDIATELY." -- Darkover Newsletter #11
Following the death of longtime showrunner Judy Gerjuoy (known as Jaelle of Armida) in March 2013, a final DarkoverCon was held.
ChessieCon inherited the weekend and staff for the "Darkover Grand Council Meetings".https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=466878603395419&id=139100386173244
This con had the premiere of the skit Free Amazons of Ghor.
==Named by Jacqueline Lichtenberg==
Jacqueline Lichtenberg claims ownership of the name "Darkover Grand Council Meeting": 
A photo of Lichtenberg and Bradley, taken in the mid-1980s, is here: .
==1978: 1==
There was only one con in 1978, and it was the very first one.
===July 1978 New York: 1 ===
Darkover Grand Council Meeting 1 (also called "Darkover Con East") was held in Brooklyn, New York and was headed by Judy Gerjuoy. It was held July 9, 1978 at Brooklyn, NY at Borough Park YMHA, and the guest of honor was Jacqueline Lichtenberg. Marion Zimmer Bradley also attended.
 
Fan programs:
* Midwife Panel: Childbirth on Darkover
* Devra Langsam: Free Amazons
* Debate: Should the Terrans Interfere on Darkover?
* Darkover Trivia Contest
* Costume Contest: Both Darkovan and Other
* Beginners' Dungeons & Dragons Game
* Laran Panel/Tarot Workshop
* Women SF Writers Panel
File:darkovercouncil1978.jpg|flyer for the 1978 con
 File:Darkover1978-2.jpg|another version of the flyer for the 1978 con
Image:mzb1978darkoverconbrooklyn.jpg|Bradley autographing items at the 1978 con 
Image:mzblich1978.jpg|Marion Zimmer Bradley, Pro Guest of Honor and Fan Guest of Honor, Jacqueline Lichtenberg at the very first Darkover Grand Council Meeting in 1978
See some photos here: photo 1; photo 2; photo 3; photo 4; photo 5; photo 6 -- pictured are Marion Zimmer Bradley, Jacqueline Lichtenberg, Katie Filipowitz, Nancy Dell, Devra Langsam, and members of the Ardais Clan.
There is an announcement in Darkover Newsletter #12 (May 1978) about the first Darkover Grand Council Meeting: 
====July 1978 New York: A Description of Its Creation====
In spring of 1979, likely April or May, Judy Gerjouy gave a detailed and exuberant description of this con's conception, the things and people who went into getting it off the ground, and her experiences at it. These comments were published in Darkover Newsletter #17/18 and titled: "Darkover Con East July 1978."
File:gurjoy-1.jpg|first page, printed in Darkover Newsletter
File:gurjoy-2.jpg|second page
File:gurjoy-3.jpg|third page
==1979: 2==
===January 1979 California===
There was also a "Darkovercon" (also called "West Coast Midwinter Festival" and "Darkovercon West") was held in Berkeley, California on January 27, 1979 in the Finnish Brotherhood Hall. It does not appear to have an official number in the series.
Katherine Kurtz was the Guest of Honor. Randall Garrett and Vicki Heydron presented the musical skit, Cindy McQuillin sang Darkovan filks, Adrienne Martine headed up the costume workshop, Diana Paxson was there, as was Marion Zimmer Bradley, Walter Breen, Christopher Gilson, Judy Gurjoy, Randall Garrett, and other Bay Area writers, including Donald Wollheim. The owner of "Pennyfarthing Press" also attended in order to give fans an update on the Darkover Concordance.
It was announced in December 1978: 
About the skit: It was called "Free Amazons of Ghor": 
A company called "Hourglass Productions" offered audio cassette recordings of five panel talks, and the con skit Free Amazons of Ghor (spelled incorrectly as "Gor" on the ad.) Each tape was $4.98, plus six percent sales tax. "5% of the proceeds from tapes made of panels, talks, etc at Darkover Con [sic] will be donated to the Friends of Darkover|." An advance ticket for the con itself had only been $2.50.
See photos here, click them to enlarge: 
Image:darkoverconcal1979-1.jpg|from the 1979 California con
Image:darkoverconcal1979-2.jpg|from the 1979 California con
Image:darkoverconcal1979-3.jpg|from the 1979 California con
Image:darkoverconcal1979-4.jpg|from the 1979 California con
====January 1979 California: Con Reports====
===July 1979 New York: 2 ===
Darkover Grand Council Meeting II was held in July 13–15, 1979 in New York City. This was called the second con in the series.
Staff:
* Judy Gerjuoy, Chairman, Darkover Grand Council II
* Mitchell Botwin, Vice Chairman and Hotel Liason
* Michael Grossberg, Security
* Dennis Jarog, Publicity
* Devra Langsam, Art Show
* Cinhil MacAran, Headquarters Room
* Kathleen Morrison, Staff
* Miriam Schlinger, Film Program
* Andrew Sigel, Registration and Progress Report
* Elisabeth Waters, Writer's Workshop and Play "Free Amazons of Ghor"
There was a dust-up regarding some fans regarding cash/credit cards, dealers' tables, territory, and the sale of the zine Jumeaux. In a letter to Darkover Newsletter #19/20, the con committee began with this statement: 
This con had a 24-page program book with pictorial wrappers. It includes "An Appreciation of Marion Zimmer Bradley" by Katherine Kurtz. It also has a first printing of a story by Bradley that takes place in an alternate Darkover called "Ten Minutes or So" which was later in Contes di Cottman IV #7 and Sternenkristall #1: ("It took place in an alternate universe where Dyan decided not to pursue Danilo, but instead responded to the loneliness of Regis Hastur. Regis was a boy struggling with his gayness and unable to recover from an earlier gay relationship. It was clear that Dyan could give Regis the reassurance he needed to banish the guilt and establish a positive identity. Dyan also needed Regis badly. At last, here was a boy who would love Dyan in return. In "Ten Minutes or So" we get a glimpse of Dyan at his best.") "Beyond Bounds: Intergenerational Relationships in Science Fiction and Fantasy" by Linda Frankel, 2007
 File:Darkovercouncil1979.jpg|flyer for 1979
 File:Darkover_Grand_Council_Meeting_II_small.jpg|Darkover Grand Council Meeting II program booklet, cover
====July 1979 New York: Con Reports====
==1980: 3 ==
===February 1980 California (Fantasy Worlds Festival) ===
This February 16–17, 1980 con does not appear to have an official number in this con series. The November one is called the third one.
Guests were to be Marion Zimmer Bradley, Katherine Kurtz (could not attend due to poor weather), Diana Paxson, Andre Norton, and Anji Valenza. Poul Anderson was the guest of honor (oddly, no con reports mention him, but Bradley comments on his presence in a Letter from MZB).
NOTE: This con is the same con as Fantasy Worlds Festival and is where the "Darkover Grand Council Meetings" begin to diverge. Many of the same fans were involved in "Fantasy Worlds Festival," but it was no longer completely Darkover-centric.
See Fantasy Worlds Festival more much more.
Bradley wrote about this con in one of her Letters from MZB, see Fantasy Worlds Festival Dead Dog Party Incident.
File:Darkoverconflyer.jpg|flyer for 1980
 
=== November 1980 Maryland: 3 ===
November 28–30, 1980, Baltimore, Maryland at the Hunt Valley Inn.
Guests were Katherine Kurtz, Marion Zimmer Bradley, and Jack Chalker.
File:darkovercouncil3.jpg|flyer for 1980
File:Darkover Grand Council Meeting III small.jpg|Darkover Grand Council Meeting III program booklet, cover
 
== 1981: 4 ==
November 27–29, 1981, Wilmington, DE at the Radisson Wilmington Hotel.
Guest of Honor: C.J. Cherryh. Other guests: Marion Zimmer Bradley, Katherine Kurtz, Paul Edwin Zimmer. Artist guest of honor: Mark "Samurai Cat" Rogers.
Con chair was Jaelle. The writers workshop was led by Elisabeth Waters. The art show was led by Rick Jacobs. The huckster room was headed by Kathy Sands.
File:darkovercon1981book.jpg| cover of the program book, comments by the artist: "There are some grizzled, aged fantasy fans who remember this cover I did for DarkoverCon 1981. This was when Darkover was a big thing and Marion Zimmer Bradley was more than an author, she was a lifestyle. The image in the central block depicts a meeting between two characters on the Astral Plane, with a medieval cathedral in the background. I copied the lettering and the very elaborate border from the "Kelmscott Chaucer" illustrated book by William Morris, published in 1896. The border was printed on green paper and the image was on white paper which I trimmed and glued onto the green background. Then I colored it in to make an illustration. This was not the actual program; the real thing was printed on light grey paper. It was the most lavish program cover ever done for DarkoverCon. The pale successor to DarkoverCon, ChessieCon, will take place this Thanksgiving weekend. They have no art show. Print and watercolor, 8 1/2" x 11", fall 1981." -- Antique Darkover Program Cover (November 20, 2017)
File:darkovercouncil4.jpg|flyer for 1981
File:threadsdarkovercon.jpg|art by Hannah Shapero from the program book: "This is an assemblage via Photoshop of a number of drawings I used to illustrate and embellish a story by science fiction writer C.J. Cherryh. The story and its illustrations were published in the program book for DarkoverCon 1981, when Cherryh was its author guest of honor. The piece, titled "The Threads of Time," was, as I dimly remember, a time-travel detective tale, where a sleuth must track a villain who can shift through centuries or even millennia.... Originals are black ink on illustration board, fall 1981." - pyracanthasketch
File:darkover1981conillo.jpg|art by Hannah Shapero from the program book: "In Katherine Kurtz's "Camber" series, these are the bad guys. From left to right, the evil old King, deposed from his throne and wanting power back intensely. Warriors and warlords, including in center, leader villain Wencit of Torenth. In the center is the 14-year-old Charissa, the youngest remaining member of the dynasty and a powerful witch even in her youth. In the shadows is one of their Saracen allies. Charissa sets up a magic goblet filled with reflective fluid, in which she can remotely see by the mystic art of scrying, a single combat battle between their dynasty's champion and the newer, Haldane ruler, who by these folks' avowal, is an usurper. This is an out-take, or a vignette, from a longer full-size book and it appeared as a special feature in the 1981 DarkoverCon program book. Black ink on illustration board, 7" x 4", fall 1981." -- Deryni Teen-age Witch (January 30, 2018)
 
== 1982: 5==
 
From the program book cover's artist: 
== 1983: 6==
== 1984: 7==
== 1985: 8==
From the program book artist: 
== 1986: 9==
Regarding the cover: 
== 1987: 10==
From the program book artist: 
== 1988: 11==
Comments by the program book's artist: 
== 1989: 12==
== 1990: 13==
* photos of Sime~Gen fans' costumes at the 13th Grand Council Darkover Meeting 
===Con Reports: 1990===
== 1991: 14==
== 1992: 15 ==
===1992: 15: Con Reports===
== 1993: 16 ==
=== Con Reports: 1993===
* Susan's Darkover Report
== 1994: 17 ==
== 1995: 18 ==
== 1996: 19 ==
== 1997: 20 ==
== 1998: 21 ==
== 1999: 22 ==
=== Con Reports: 1999===
Con report: Melissa's Darkover Report
== 2000: 23 ==
== 2001: 24 ==
== 2002: 25 ==
=== Con Reports: 2002===
* Melissa's Darkover Report
== 2003: 26 ==
== 2004: 27 ==
== 2005: 28 ==
== 2006: 29 ==
== 2007: 30 ==
== 2008: 31 ==
Photos: 
This was the 31st con.
== 2009: 32 ==
This was the 32nd con.
Photos: 
== 2010: 33 ==
== 2011: 34 ==
November 25–27, 2011, Timonium, Maryland. It is the 34th con.
== 2012: 35 ==
== 2013: 36 ==
This was the last Darkover Grand Council Meeting.
==References==
Category:Science Fiction Conventions
Category:Darkover
Category:1970s Conventions
Category:1980s Conventions
Category:1990s Conventions
Category:2000s Conventions
Category:2010s Conventions
Category:1978 ConventionsCategory:Conventions in United States