Silicon is a small regional science-fiction convention held in the San Francisco Bay area every autumn. In 2007, it took place on the first weekend of October, in the San Jose DoubleTree Hotel.

    I hadn’t been to a Silicon in years; I went in part out of curiosity, in part because I didn’t have much to do that weekend, and in part because it has been a long time since I have been to a con in which I was not participating in many panels and program events: I thought it might be fun to go to a con as just an ordinary fan, without any schedule pressure and without having to worry about whether my voice was going to hold out.

    I was well rewarded: Silicon 2007 was very pleasant.

    The  San Jose DoubleTree Hotel is a well-known location for science-fiction conventions. Rather more than twenty BayCons have been held there. Indeed, the venue has undergone several changes of management and of ownership since cons started using it, so that in fannish circles the hotel is sometimes known as “The Dhouble Lion”, the variant name respecting its occasional past status as part of the Hilton and Red Lion chains.  It is a fine site, convenient to the airport and to public transportation, with more sufficient activity space for a convention with up to perhaps 1800 participants, and with enough rooms for most attendees who want one. There is even adequate parking.

    Silicon 2007 was not that large. The number of my at-the-door membership was in the mid 700s. As a regular attendee at cons at this hotel — I have been to every BayCon — it was fun to wander around and not be aware of potential crowding. (Many BayCons have been a tad large for the site.) There is a downside to small size, of course: The dealer room was small — less than half the size typical at BayCon — there weren’t as many program items, and there wasn’t as much variety of program tracks. Programming seemed to have a particular emphasis on creation and production of stories, both on paper and in media: there was less emphasis on scientific and technical subjects, and on fan activity. I hasten to say that I do not consider that restriction cause for complaint; indeed, it is perhaps a better choice than spreading too many subjects too thin.

    In any case, I don’t usually attend many program items, and I didn’t break tradition. I mostly did what I usually mostly do with spare time at cons, only I did more of it since I was not a program participant: I hung around, people-watched, and occasionally conversed. The con had made an effort to group open parties — there were about ten such closely adjacent in one corridor — and the smaller convention size made them on the whole less crowded and more pleasant. I particularly enjoyed one such party that had carefully been arranged to foster a laid-back atmosphere in which quiet conversation was possible: It had no loud music and no alcohol, but did have board games and art materials. I am caught between wanting to give well-deserved credit and wanting to preserve other people’s anonymity on the Internet, so I will omit the hostess’s last name and just say thanks to Sacramento fan “Amy” for a fine relaxaparty.

    I also wandered by the Joss Whedon theme dance Saturday evening. It worked out well. There were plenty of people dancing, with a large number of good costumes in evidence, yet the dance floor was large enough not to be crowded.

    Silicon 2007 was a fine con. I will probably attend the next one.