Baltimore in '71
A bid to hold the 1971 Worldcon in Baltimore, MD announced in late 1968 and ended in early 1968. It was organized by Jack Chalker and seems to have been run by MASF.
As had disappeared before the vote it did not appear on the ballot. It is unclear what relationship, if any, it had to Washington in '71 (which was on the ballot) and it's presently unclear if one bid was a spoiler for the other or if they effectively merged or if the Washington bid had even emerged yet.
The committee, according to one flyer, was Jack Chalker, Ed Krieg, Mike Hakulin, Pat Kelly, Don & Debbie Sobwick, Kim Weston, Steve Naron, Paul Price, and Rick Shanklin. At the end of 1968, Chalker was chairman, Weston was vice-chair, and Hakulin was Secretary-Treasurer.
Towards the end of 1968, Chalker wrote
Meetings have been sort of weird, usually in several different places in a single night, and going from about 8 P.M. to 8 A.M. Weird..."
You can say that again...
A few weeks later, he wrote:
This is to notify you that Baltimore is withdrawing its bid for the 1971 convention. The decision to do so was not an easy one, since a great deal of time and money on the part of many people went into the bid, which was started in 1963—at Bob’s[1] suggestion. However, after meeting with my committee, or contacting them wherever they are across the country, I decided that we had a good bid but financially, we simply could not sustain it. This was a sad decision on many people’s part — I was merely the putter of the question, not the decider to go or kill. But the funds just aren’t there. I cannot speak for the rest of my committee nor my supporters across the country, but I, personally, will be in no way officially connected (except, perhaps, as a booster or supporter—as are we all) with a convention for 1970 or 1971. As I understand it, the Bermuda bid is still on for 1970, but I have never been on the committee for that bid nor do I intend to be.[2]
See 1971 Worldcon Site Selection.
| 1971 Site Selection | 1968—1969 |
| This is a page about a convention bid. Please extend it by adding information about who was bidding, officers, committee list, what they were bidding for, who their opponents were, and who won. |
- ↑ Almost certainly Bob Pavlat
- ↑ In fact he was Secretary, though that may still be in the future of his statement.
