THE LONG RANGE DESERT CONVENTION

22 MAY 2001: Lonestar MVPA's Con Report -- with photos! More Con Reports Coming Soon!

Updates:
May 4: Day rates. Convention hotline phone number: 512 502 1010.
April 18: Mugs available! More auction donations...odds and ends
April 10: Orphan Zines
April 5: Military Jeeps display
March 24: Progress Report
Previous: A sketch of the agenda, Driving from the airport

Odds and Ends

Mug it up for the convention! Visit the PX for mugs, books, t-shirts, and more
If you wish to attend religious services over the weekend, please contact the Con Chair (Carol) for information on and assistance travelling to local houses of worship
We're keeping an eye on the weather
Watch this space for more miscellaneous notices

Orphan Zine Table update

If you have zines to sell at the convention, please contact Cindy G (cindygiesbrecht@hotmail.com) for Orphan Zine table information. Those who have already requested information should be receiving the forms soon. Payments for sales and any unsold zines will be sent out Monday, June 4th (payment cannot be made at the convention, but unsold zines can be picked up on site). Used zines are welcome at the orphan table, but no zines with adult content (zines must be suitable for all ages). If you're uncertain whether your zine would be considered adult, please ask. Zines may be withdrawn or exceptions made at the discretion of the Orphan Zine Table manager and the Convention Chair. All zine flyers are welcome.

Our target membership number is 50. There is no membership limit (we expect to be small). If you're thinking of waiting to sign up, you'll want to look into finding housing right away. We'd like to have our numbers in place for the banquet by May 1, which is also the deadline for refunds. For supporting (non-attending) memberships see below.

You can pay for memberships, room, and even convention t-shirts, caps, and mugs using a credit card online through PayPal, or send payment by mail. (there are no fees to register with PayPal). CLICK HERE for the membership reservation form!

Get in touch with other fans for rides, roomshares, and discussions through some great mailing lists and online clubs.

main building

Venue, Travel, Food

Vintage Villas
512-266-9333

April 5 update: There are additional rooms available at the venue for Friday and Saturday nights. You must tell the reservation desk you're with the Long Range Desert Convention. See also Alternative Lodging.

The decor, atmosphere, small size, and privacy at Vintage Villas should make this a very different experience than the usual hotel convention. The rooms are extremely nice (and spacious), and the venue is in Austin proper but nestled in the hills and overlooking a beautiful lake. The venue is adjacent to the Slaughter-Leftwich Winery (where we'll be having our Saturday evening banquet).

Vintage Villas has about 40 rooms in three adjacent buildings. Some meeting areas are in the same buildings as the rooms, and others are in a building across the (small) parking lot. Every room has a TV and VCR, a microwave and a wet bar; many rooms have jacuzzis and extra-large showers. Room rates start at $119/night.

Breakfast and the Saturday banquet (and the con suite) are included in the membership fee. Let us know when you register whether you have any special dietary requirements (vegetarian, vegan, kosher, etc.).

Pets

The venue has decided that pets will not be allowed. You may be able to bring your pet if you stay in private housing (see below).
typical room

Booking Your Room

There may still be rooms left at the venue -- you must ask for the Long Range Desert Convention room block to reserve one of these rooms. See also Alternative Lodging below.

Even if you haven't signed up for the convention yet, you can book your room by phoning 512-266-9333. Be sure to mention the convention.

The reception desk is open for check-in from 6:30am to 10:30pm (staff can be reached after hours by phoning the main number). Check-in time is anytime after 4pm; checkout time is Noon. Venue information will be sent to all members in a hard-copy progress report.

Alternative Lodgings

Mountainstar Lodge
888-263-2010 / 512-263-2010
Mountainstar Lodge is a small but very attractive hotel about 7 miles down the highway from the venue. They have three double (two Queen-size beds) rooms available on their second floor. The rooms have doors that open to the outside. Rates are $98.58/night for double occupancy; $93.28/night for single occupancy (taxes included) for Friday and Saturday; $86.92 for Sunday night stays. Continental breakfast and access to an adjacent gym are included with the room cost. You must mention the convention to book a room at the Lodge.

Lakeway Inn
512-261-6600
Lakeway Inn is a large resort hotel slightly closer to the venue than Mountainstar Lodge, but pricier. You can check room availability and costs online.

Inexpensive hotels
There are many hotels within a 30-minute drive of the venue. Please contact us for details.

"Hotel Cairo": Private Housing
Contact us directly for information on staying in private housing (about twenty minutes from the venue).

Food, Glorious Food!

Hot breakfast is included with the hotel room. Snacks will be available in the con suite, but if you'd like to try a little variety, about a half mile down a winding road along a lake is a pizza restaurant, an excellent pasta restaurant, and a fancier eatery. Within a mile from there are several southwestern and tex-mex restaurants, then within the five mile radius are two strip malls with various fast food outlets. In addition to these, many Austin restaurants deliver, and menus and phone numbers will be included in your membership packet.

Membership

full membership after February 1, 2001:
...for the full weekend is US$150.

Saturday rates:

...to see the Lone Star Military Vehicle Association jeeps display and talks: open to the public
recommended donation to the convention $10/$5 kids under 13
...box lunches and convention packets are available for those who preregister with a donation to the convention of $25/$15 for kids (box lunches may still be available for walk-ins)

...Day-only membership (includes all events 9am - 6pm, all-day snacks, lunch): $35
...Banquet/Evening-only membership (banquet, auction, films): $50
...All-Saturday membership: $75

The banquet begins at 6:30pm; the auction follows at 8:30, followed by the DJ'ed music and Lindy lessons and the film screenings (9pm - midnight).

Refunds
Should you need to cancel, your registration can be converted into a supporting membership or refunded if you notify us by May 1st. As with any other event, thought, should you miss LRDC without notification in advance, membership fees are non-refundable.

Fill out the online membership form then...

To pay by credit card:
You can send in the membership fee using a credit card online through PayPal. The con chair has been using PayPal for months for eBay auctions, and it works well. To pay through PayPal, click on the "X" at the bottom of the registration form confirmation page.

by check/cheque/money order in US funds
(US residents and overseas):
Send payable to ByrenLee Press:
Long Range Desert Convention
P.O. Box 4366
Austin, TX 78765
(* ByrenLee Press is our business account)
by check/cheque/money order in Canadian funds
(Canadian residents):
Send payable to Libby Fyon:
Long Range Desert Convention
c/o Plaza 69 P.O. Box 21022
Sudbury Ontario P3E 6G6

Please do not send cash through the mail! Contact us at lrdc@klio.net if you need to discuss other payment options.

Supporting Membership

Support the convention from the home front! Supporting (non-attending) memberships are US$30 for US residents and CDN$35 for Canadian residents; same payment information as above for full memberships. Your souvenir LRDC booklet (autographed by attending guests), dogtags, and WW2 map kit bag (see photo) will be sent to you immediately after the convention. (These bags are the genuine article and have waited 60 years to be used again.) You can upgrade a supporting membership to an attending membership at any time before the convention, provided room space is available.

supporting membership form

We're looking for a few good volunteers

THE LRDC NEEDS -

...sergeants to run some events. Contact us if you have convention experience or are willing to learn on the job.

...volunteers for the gofer task force to help out during the convention -- at the registration table, putting together membership kits, minding the art show, etc. You won't have to miss anything you want to see at the convention, because you will be able to choose when and where you work. To thank you for your contribution to the con, we'll have a special reward for those who volunteer for at least 4 hours over the weekend. If you have any questions at all, please send an e-mail or SASE to lrdc@klio.net, or come by the "Recruiting Office" at the convention to sign up.

Online Convention?

Staff permitting, we'll update this web site during the convention with reports, images, and video and audio.

Useful Links

Show and history-related web sites and mailing lists are listed here.

Controlling Section *

* The London Controlling Section (LCS) planned and coordinated British military security, code-breaking, and deception activities during World War II.

Convention committee contact information can be found on the progress report page. You can reach us all at lrdc@klio.net.

LRDC WWII poster images from the online collection of the Still Picture Branch (NWDNS), National Archives at College Park.

Powered by counter.bloke.com