The site of ConKopelli was the Wigwam Resort, just outside of Phoenix, which my brother tells me is popular among plutocratic golf enthusiasts. Not in July, however, when the thermometer stays consistently above 100F during the day. This was the view from my room. looking out over a small swimming pool. The main pool is considerably more spectacular. Wigwam's theme is "Authentic Arizona", though that doesn't prevent its restaurant from specializing in seafood!

John Hertz, highly regarded for his zine Vanamonde, was Fan Guest of Honor. Here he moderates, just a bit sleepily (it was Monday morning), a panel on whether NASA helps or hinders space exploration. John is the guy in the traditional propeller beanie. The panelists, from left to right, are Jonathan Vos Post, David Williams and Veronica Zabala. To my surprise, the session didn't consist of simple NASA-bashing, though that was not absent, particularly not from Dr. Post.

David Cherry, the Artist Guest of Honor, speaking to the Banquet. His sister, C. J. Cherryh, was Author Guest of Honor but fell ill right before the con and couldn't attend. David chided her with brotherly affection, recalling how she had once exhorted him to fulfill a GoH commitment while in what felt like the last stages of terminal pneumonia. The interesting news in the talk was his statement that, after a long stretch in the corporate world, he plans to return to free lancing within the next couple of years, so that we can expect to see an increase in his output of classic SF art.

NASA furnished several panelists for convention programming and an exhibit, of which this display was part.

The resort consists of small blocks of rooms spread over a vast acreage. The party suites were at the far end of the property and took a while to find. (Semi-random room numbering didn't help.) Despite this handicap, parties were well attended. Here we see fen milling about the one thrown jointly by CascadiaCon (the 2005 NASFiC) and the Chicago in 2008 Worldcon bid. The fellow in the center may have wandered into the wrong subcreation.

It occurred to me that party photos ought to center on what matters most to fen, namely, food. So here is part of the spread at the Nippon in 2007 bid party, featuring Japanese delicacies (with explanatory labels).

Here is the all-American spread at the Independence Day-themed CascadiaCon/Chicago party.

Ed Green, chairman of this year's Loscon, hosted the L.A.Con IV party. This picture appears here because it turned out well, unlike most of my attempts to photograph people during the weekend. (I have pics of jan howard finder, Becky Thomson, Peggy Rae Pavlat and Alex von Thorn so hideous that I ought to get them to pay me not to post them.)