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Part One of this recounting of the 1998 Baltimore Worldcon bid was published in Progress Report Two. When last we saw our heroes, the threatened loss of the Baltimore Convention Center was hanging over them. - Ed.
A Slave To Duty: A True History ofBalticon 1992 — Friends, amber and rum are popular. The new rumor: we are the Captain Morgan bid and not serious contenders. We combine forces with Kitty Jensen and crew. Joseph Fleischmann reopens negotiations with the Convention Center. He convinces them that we are not Constellation, the 1983 Worldcon, and obtains a letter of intent.
Magicon 1992 — Mary Rita Blute and Lance drive a van to Orlando filled with rum cakes and books. We have a bid table and presence throughout the convention, but the table is so far out that no one can find us. We say "screw this" and close the table. Friday night we host a suite party with Captain Morgan (Fort Lauderdale). Saturday night we take over Atlanta in 95's suite for cash and a case of rum. Dramatic reading from assorted pirate romance novels—hilarious and risque—begin. Atlanta in 95, emotionally and financially drained, gathers to bemoan their loss of the 1995 Worldcon bid to Glasgow. Leonid Kouritz of Ukraine offers Soviet pins and to make bid buttons for a price. The Pirates of Fenzance contribute booty to Magicon (the 50th Worldcon) for a time capsule be opened at the 100th Worldcon.
September 1992 — Lance recruits Marty Gear. Marty facilitates the production of a bid t-shirt incorporating a Kelly Freas cover for the February 1959 Astounding (with the artist's permission) with text for the Baltimore Worldcon bid.
Darkover 1992 — Hannah M.G. Shapero agrees to do art for bid buttons and an extravagant design for a Maryland Fannish State Seal with pirates rampant.
Loscon 1992 — Our West Coast agent, George Michael Lampe, hosts our first California party. His Hot Butter Rum Toddy goes over very well. Marty supplies Baltimore tourism videos, which Lance tailors to fit our purposes (including the British and Japanese versions).
Intercon 1993 — Lance takes over the con suite of the Interactive Literature Foundation con. A blizzard strikes, closing all roads, and the hotel restaurant runs low on food. The con suite serves barbeque and chili con carne, keeping the con fed.
Boskone 1993 — We learned that the Noreascon 4 bid had been "Sheratoned" by the American Political Science Association for Labor Day Weekend 1998. N4 withdraws from the 1998 Worldcon bid race.
March 1993 — Fans gathered to flesh out a legal corporate bid committee structure. Covert Beach was elected corporate President. Vice-presidents were Lance and Marty, Bob MacIntosh as Comptroller, and Thomas "the Red" Horman became Treasurer. Recording and Corresponding Secretary positions were also filled by Thomas "the Black" McMullan and Jul Owings.
Balticon 1993 — Boston in 1998 is revived under the castle banner. Our suite is so popular, we turn away over 50 fans and the Captain Morgan stand-up figure is kidnaped. Our British agent, Hugh Peter Mascetti, hosts our first party in England.
Intercon 8.5 — We took over the con suite again and experimented with cheese steak sandwiches and barbecue chicken.
Summer 1993 — Marty Gear, Joe Fleischmann, and Perrianne Lurie are appointed to the facility committee. Perrianne is the editor of the bid zine. Michael Nelson is appointed ad chaser.
ConFrancisco 1993 — Captain Morgan (San Francisco) contributes four cases of rum and another four cases are obtained in Baltimore. The rum supply lasts until Sunday night. It would have lasted longer but certain bartenders reversed the mixed drink recipe to three parts rum and one part mixer. [Hey! We asked Lance twice to confirm that mix ratio. We thought it was some Pirate Thing we didn't understand. - Ed.]
Our West Coast agents, Mike and Christine Lampe are long-time pirate enthusiasts. They publish No Quarter Given ($12/year to Christine Lampe, No Quarter Given, POB 7456, Riverside CA 92513). They bring costumes, decorations and more "Brethren of the Coast." Hugh Peter Mascetti withdraws as British agent, his replacement is John Dallman. We go online with our pirate web site.
Philcon 1993 — Robert Sacks tries a day time bid party for MidAtlanticon, a New York bid for the 1998 Worldcon. Later that day, Hal leads a pirate raid on Robert's remaining supplies for our party.
Nordcon — Dateline Gdansk, Poland. December 1993. Lance attends as Fan Guest of Honor. He returns with a suitcase full of amber, which pays for the trip.
Arisia 1994 — Andre Lieven and Robin Wulf help staff the party and volunteer for Canadian parties.
Costumecon 1994 — Santa Clara, California. Captain Morgan (San Francisco) contributes two cases. Lance and Marty take over the con suite on Sunday. Stephanie Steiner gives dramatic readings from The Pirate and the Pagan.
Disclave 1994 — Jennifer Wilson and Naomi Fisher volunteer to do Southern bid parties. We find boxes of leftover Baltimore in 1983 "Backrubs for Baltimore" bid t-shirts. We automate and go high tech with a power hand massage unit.
Westercon 1994 — Los Angeles. Lance, Mike and Christine Lampe, Jennifer Stephanie, and the "Corsican Sisters" display the Baltimore flag.
ConAdian 1994 — Atlanta shocks us by announcing a bid for 1998. Captain Morgan (Winnipeg) is unable to help. Thirty rum runners amazingly show up with 100% of the bottles. We sign up a Japanese agent and talk with the Grand Master SMOFs. Charles Sheffield—overcome by winning a Hugo and rum—promises to do anything. Mark Rogers offers to do a custom-made painting (a parody of a Don Maitz painting).
Post ConAdian 1994 — The National Guard Reserve Association pre-emptes the Convention Center for Labor Day 1998. Covert tentatively reschedules the con to August 6-10, 1998, later revised to August 5-9, 1998.
Philcon 1994 — Ric Frane volunteers to do a painting.
Autumn 1994 — Covert cleverly passes the potential future Worldcon chairmanship to Peggy Rae Pavlat.
Spring 1995 — The Southern con circuit: Chattacon, Concave, Kubla Khan, and World Horror Con in Atlanta are attended by Lance. At World Horror Con, Harlan Ellison attends the party. Harlan is interested in 19th century practice in Baltimore of corpse thefts. Because there was no refrigeration, bodies were preserved with sugar. Harlan wanted to know about "The Candied Corpses of Baltimore."
Easter 1995 — We take over the Balticon con suite. We invoke Charles Sheffield's promise to do anything and enter him in the Balticon masquerade dressed as a pirate with two lusty pirate wenches to the Village People's "In the Navy". At Minicon, we fight the good fight and are content only that all bid parties were ignored. At the British National Con, we share a party room with Boston in 1998.
April 1995 — "The First Trans-Atlantic Rum Run" is formulated. A target of sixty 1-liter bottles is set. Fans will be enlisted to carry rum to Glasgow.
Westercon 1995 — Portland Oregon. Lance, Peggy Rae, John Sapienza, and Marty Gear are joined by our Northwest agent, Lindsey Crawford. "The First Trans-Atlantic Rum Run" continues.
June 1995 — Lance attends the
Free Spirit Alliance ( a pagan festival) to transform amber into cash. The
Baltimore bid receives the blessings of Freya, the Goddess of Viking pillagers.
DragonCon 1995 — The lack of coordination hurts Atlanta's bid. Kitty and Quinn spend the weekend battling the hotel and DragonCon over corkage.
August 1995 — A stripped-down party kit of 300 pounds is air freighted to Glasgow, including 15 gallons of crab chowder concentrate.
Intersection 1995 — John Dallman brings up the British supplies and establishes a Baltimore in 1998 British bank account. Our Trans-Atlantic Rum Runners make their deliveries. The raffles of the Mark Rogers and Ric Frane paintings were held. Saturday, site selection closes at 6 p.m. By 8:30 p.m. the vote count is complete. Lance is backstage at the Masquerade with Lisa Ashton, where we hear the declaration of Baltimore's victory. Poor Hal Haag, who started all this, was stuck in the U.S. because of his job situation and missed all the celebrating.
Thus endth the tale of the Pirate Worldcon Bid.
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