Well, OSFES has run into our first snag in bringing a boffo fan experience to Omaha. We have lost our Media Guest of Honor. Due to commitments with her production company, Claudia Christian will be working on a reality television series for William Morris during the time period we will be holding The Omaha Science Fiction and Fantasy Festival. While this is great news for Ms. Christian, the actress; it forces us to rethink some of our convention priorities.
For decades the realm of science fiction and fantasy was strictly literary and therefore the traditional convention was centered around the writers and artists that produced the stories we enjoyed. Lineups for conventions consisted of a Writer, Artist, and Fan GOH with a Toastmaster, typically another writer to get two on the bill. That is especially true today since the banquet the Toastmaster officiated at has disappeared. Even then, there were fewer writers to draw from that everyone enjoying the field recognized any name you invited. That is not true today.
The ideas, the new worlds, the fun toys that writers have always brought us are being packaged in new forms. Television, movies, games, animation, and even the internet have opened new ways for we, the fans of this genre, to experience the visions the creators of this genre have dreamed up for us. So how to honor those creators?
OSFest started down this path by inviting Claudia Christian as our Media GOH. As an actress, she created a character that captured the imaginations of many fans of SF/F. She had been our attempt to capture the television side of the picture. Her lose will force us to examine how we can celebrate other facets of the genre. In the coming months, changes will be made in the lineup of the guests we are bringing to meet their fan base. Your input can help us decide which avenues to pursue. If you have a particular area of interest, or person you would like to learn more about, let us know. There are many ways you can do this:
- http://www.osfes.com/ is our fan forum, where you can post opinions and view those of others.
- On Yahoo Groups we have Omaha_Sci-Fi_Fantasy_Discussions, where you can post messages and reply to others directly from you email account.
- OSFES and many of its members have started MySpace and Facebook pages. Check them out and become a friend. www.myspace.com/osfes
- Email you opinions directly to: omahascifi@gmail.com
- Or simply post a comment to this blog.
So farewell for now Claudia, we will miss you. At least for OSFest '08.
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