have been active in fandom since 1988. They entered Toronto Area filk fandom through Ad Astra in 1990 and initiated the filk track at Toronto Trek six weeks later. They attended the first FilKONtario, asked if help was needed, and soon became an integral part of the larger filk community.
Since joining the concom of FilKONtario 3, Judith has served as chair or co-chair eight times, while Dave has served as treasurer. She or Dave ran the filk programming track at Toronto Trek for almost ten years. Many Toronto-area filkers discovered filk at Toronto Trek, because Judith and Dave traded work in programming for having a filk track. Most recently, they ran filk programming at the 2003 WorldCon in Toronto, and have helped in countless ways with filk programming at other cons, contributing time, energy, and organization.
In 1993, Judith was invited to join the Board of Directors of Interfilk, representing Canada. Dave is an active, patient, and helpful “Interfilk spouse”, auction assistant, and bookkeeper for the Canadian funds. Judith is one of the most notorious Interfilk Wenches, always willing to shrug off her dignity for the cause.
In 1993, Dave created the idea of a “Filk Hall of Fame”, and has remained the driving force behind it, little dreaming that he would some day be inducted himself. He has worked to maintain the Hall of Fame’s integrity, becoming a quiet force within the filk community.
Judith is a performer and songwriter who has worked very hard to improve her technique. She has written many wonderful songs, ranging from funny (Kangaroos in California) to serious (Healer’s War) through inspiring (Space Window), earning two songwriting awards along the way. She is always willing to add a harmony or drum line to a song. Judith was toastmistress for Concertino in 1995. She has performed at children’s concerts at cons, and at local libraries, taking filk to a new audience.
Dave often quietly moderates local filks, requesting songs or encouraging filkers to participate. He generously shares his huge archive of filk lyrics. He is sometimes lost in Judith’s shadow, but his wicked sense of humour has added to many classic fannish stories. He sometimes even sings in a very nice voice.
Together, Dave and Judith produced “North Coast Cabaret”, a tape, recorded at Toronto Trek 8, Judith’s solo CD, “Sea Of Stars”, and its companion songbook. They hold regular house filks and have also been the gracious hosts to numerous wayward filkers, earning their home the nickname “Hotel Hayman”.
For these contributions to filk music and the filk community, Judith and David Hayman are inducted into the Filk Hall of Fame, this second day of April, Two Thousand Five.
Photo credit: Debbie Ohi