Augustrek

Convention
Name:	Augustrek
Dates:	August 1–3, 1980
Frequency:	once
Location:	Sheraton Inn in Silver Spring, Maryland
Type:	fan-run
Focus:	Star Trek: TOS
Organization:
Founder:	Gregory Baker (chairman), Roberta Rogow (vice-chariman)
Founding Date:
URL:
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Augustrek was a Star Trek: TOS con held August 1–3, 1980.

front cover of the program book

back cover of the program book

It was "presented by the Augustrek Committee."

The guests of honor were Jacqueline Lichtenberg, Rich Volker, Jean Lorrah, Howard Weinstein, Joan Winston, Shirley Maiewski, and Dr. Jesco von Puttkamer. It had an animation workshop, a dealer's room, fan panels, feature SF films, ST episodes, the "Jim Kirk Amateur Hour" and "the Roddenberry Phone Call."

This Con Was NOT

"Augustrek is NOT August Party '80 nor its replacement. It is NOT sponsored by MSTA & the AP committee; there is no connection or endorsement. Augustrek is being given by Roberta Rogow and Greg Baker, with registration handed by Gail Pittaway, who undertook those duties for AP '79. References to August Party '80 are misprints -- there will be no August Party '80."

Comments by Roberta Rogow

1980

Augustrek: The least said, the better. I hear that those who at tended had a good time. Any complaints about money matters must be taken up with Greg Baker. Any complaints about the program you can make to me! Some things are permanently imprinted upon my brain — some things were running smoothly, only because of a lot of people who stepped in at the last moment, and to them, many thanks.

2017

[Augustrek] was my one and only actually running a convention. And it was a horrible mistake, and I should never have done it, but I got involved in it, and I did. And that's another story. The worst thing I ever did.

[...]

The people running August Party said that we were doing it without their permission, so they boycotted. And the guy who was supposed to be running it was in the National Guard, and I was supposed to be his second. But I didn't know what the hell I was doing. And unfortunately, the weekend that we ran, it was the weekend that the Shah of Iran died. And there was all kinds of things going on overseas and they were taking hostages and nobody knew what was going to happen. And so the National Guard was called up and my co chair was in the National Guard.

So he just walked off the job completely and left everything in my hands. And I didn't know what I was supposed to do. I didn't know how to organize. I didn't know nothing. Nothing. And the result was chaos. Some things happened. Since the guy is now dead, I can't say it was his fault.

But the worst thing that happened was that some kids decided to have a laser battle. And people running around in funny uniforms waving weird weapons with trigger happy hillbillies running loose. This was in Maryland, just outside DC. I just had visions of some of these kids getting shot.

And I sat down with the people organizing, the hotel people, my people, and a local representative of law enforcement. And I said, this is what's going to happen. I explained to the law enforcement people that we have some people with funny looking things and the only thing they shoot out is light, light beams. I told the people organizing the battle, you will keep it on the two floors that are assigned to the hotel. And I told the hotel people, this is what is going to happen. I mean, I was in grandma mode at that time. I was in mommy mode. And God be thanked, nothing dire happened. But I just had visions of one of these trigger happy cops letting loose on some kid. I mean, it was horrible.

And I wound up having major, I'm talking major stomach convulsions. So, yeah, this is the worst thing that ever happened to me at a convention, ever. And then, of course, some dealers said that they'd been robbed, and it turned out that they had a whole bunch of itty bitty little figurines that cost a mint it. And some overzealous hotel person, hotel cleaner had simply swept them up and dumped them in the dumpster. And that meant that one of my people had to go into the dumpster and retrieve them.

Yeah, this was not a good experience, but that's probably the worst experience I've ever had at a convention. Absolutely.

The Program Book

The art was by Mark Thorner (front cover), Carol Waterman (back cover), other art by Elena Andrews, Barbara Stults, and Carol Waterman.

It appears this program book was supposed to morph into a three times a year zine called "Augustrek Magazine," but this did not occur.

the ad for "Starship Troupers"

• From the Center Seat, editorial by Greg Baker, explaining that though he is the chair and planner of this con, he will not be able to attend as he has been called for a military commission of officer candidate school
• The Vice-Chairmain Speaketh! by Roberta Rogow, fan testimonial, also explains how she ended up doing more on this con than she had intended. She writes a filk in honor of this, called "Banned from Hiltons" (to the tune of Banned from Argo)
• Convention Manners, an article by Greg Baker "based on a panel at Empiricon #2 held July 4–6 in New York City, Jon Estren, Issac Asimov and Hal Clement were guests (article tackles fan behavior and etiquette at cons)
• Farris Wheel, some sort of in-joke vignette
• Conversations with the Bird, transcripts of the 1978 and 1979 Roddenberry Phone Calls
• an ad for "Starship Troupers," "fandom's weirdest band" and an upcoming filk cassette by "Egoboo Records"
• a short bio for the con guests of honor
• con rules
• panel descriptions
• things to see in Washington D.C., places to eat
• a map of the con space
• a newsy, long article by Jacqueline Lichtenberg, called "News from Vantage Point" (she calls her new house "Vantage Point") -- the article is mostly a plug of Sime~Gen stuff and for Jean Lorrah's publications
• Views of Fringe Fandom, a three page art commentary by Elena Andrews
• a trivia contest, a con scavenger hunt
• some Star Wars art
• The Trekkin' Gourmet, by S. Marshall and Greg Baker, tips on eating cheap at con, mostly by cooking in your room
• Ghod Save the August Part Chariman, a filk by Gregory Baker, to the tune of "The Bastard King of England"
• reviews of zines and music:
  • One Way Mirror, see that page
  • You May Deny, see that page
  • Bait Once, Bait Twice, see that page
  • Computer Playback #1, #2, #3, see that page
  • Enter-comm #1, see that page
  • Guardian #2, see that page
  • Only Stars Can Last, see that page

Panels

Saturday

• Costuming for the Klutzy (How to make a working costume from those who know how.)
• Filking Through Fandom (Star Trek and Star Wars in song and dance.)
• Collecting and Preserving Your Fanzines (Are you getting swamped by your zine collection? Is it leaping out of closets to attack you? Here's how to keep your zines safe and ORDERLY!)
• The Joys (?) of Fan Editing (Have you ever wondered what it's like to put out a zine? Editors tell how to do it and what to avoid—after you've made the first mistake and started one...)
• Fandoms on the Fringes (Fringefandom has been defined as "anything I'm not interested in." For example, in s.f. circles Star Trek is the fringefandom. This panel is about Westerns, Pern, Starsky and Hutch, Doctor Who, etc...)
• Alternate Trek Worlds (Takes Star Trek where no fan has gone before!)
• Fans Across the Water (How they fanac in the U.K., Canada, Brooklyn... sorry about that, I live in Queens.)
• Creating a Universe (Take one idea, add character, plot, mapping, culture, whatever else you can find, stir well, and you have a Universe! If Gene Roddenberry can do it on a macrocosmic scale, then why not do it in a 'zine?)
• Media S.F. versus Written S.F. (This will be a free floor discussion. Everyone who wishes can tell us their opinions of the merits and faults of media s.f against the traditional written s.f.)

Sunday

• Dungeons, Dragons, and Other Diversions (How to live out your fantasies in gaming. The original game of Dungeon began in 1868; since then, Dungeons and Dragons, the role-playing fantasy game, has nearly become the national sport of fandom. There are no set pieces or a board; the player can be an elf or a Paldin [sic], and the Dungeon Master is God! Other popular games include Diplomacy, a game of political maneuvering set in Old Europe before 1914, and its hundreds of variations.)

• Breaking the Pro Barrier (And you thought you'd never make it in the pro press. Jacqueline Lichtenberg, Joan Winston, Jean Lorrah, Howie Weinstein, and Winston Howlett proved otherwise. Who knows what's next?)

• Be Your Own Movie Mogul (So you don't have $2 million to produce The Monster That Ate Clinton, MD? There are ways around that.)
• Do You Really Want to Put on a Con? (There are a lot of things that go into a con that the average fan would never dream of. Former con chairmen tell all about the good and bad parts of chairing.)

Sample Pages from the Program Book

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  "Banned from Hilton," filk based on "Banned from Argo"

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  "Banned from Hilton," filk based on "Banned from Argo"

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