See the Tentative Schedule of Events for the Three-Day Con

With its November 2-4, 2018, convention just a few weeks away, Axanar raced to pull together the event, pleading with fans to volunteer their time and charging what some believe is a high cost for attending the three-day event in Atlanta.

TREK GUESTS Star Trek actors J.G. Hertzler, Gary Graham, and writer David Gerrold, fill out Axacon’s celebrity roster. Image/Axanar Productions

See also: Axanar Piggybacks Convention atop SphinxCon

AxaMonitor obtained an advance copy of the Axacon schedule. While not finalized, this schedule gives a glimpse of what organizers, led by OWC Studios head Alec Peters, generally hoped to offer attendees at the upcoming gathering.

SphinxCon Axacon was designed as a “con within a con,” hosted by SphinxCon; some Axacon events are open to SphinxCon attendees.

Location While Axacon is officially housed at SphinxCon’s convention hotel, the airport Crowne Plaza, some events (as noted below) are scheduled to be held more than 42 miles away at OWC Studios in Lawrenceville, Ga.

ELIGIBLE ATTENDEES Click each date below to view its scheduled events
All Axacon attendees Special ticket required Open to SphinxCon attendees 💸Axanar donors only

Friday, November 2

Time	Event	Panelists/Hosts	Location
2 p.m.	Axanar set tour	Alec Peters	OWC Studios
4 p.m.	Axanar Live!	J.G. Hertzler, Gary Graham, Alec Peters, Steve Jepson Keith M. Sedor, Jonathan Lane	OWC Studios
5 p.m.	Reception at Alec Peters’ home	Alec Peters, Crysstal Hubbard	Peters’ home near OWC Studios
10 p.m.	Axanar hits the bar!	Fans mingle with con guests and Axanar team at the hotel	Crowne Plaza

Saturday, November 3

Time	Event	Panelists/Hosts	Location
9 a.m.	Fan Film Top 10	Alec Peters, John Adcox Keith Sedor, Jonathan Lane	Crowne Plaza
10 a.m.	Axanar update	Alec Peters, Paul Jenkins Mark Edward Lewis, Keith Sedor	Crowne Plaza
11 a.m.	Honor Harrington’s influence on Axanar	Alec Peters	Crowne Plaza
12 noon	Star Trek moments	Gary Graham, J.G. Hertzler, Keith Sedor	Crowne Plaza
1 p.m.	💸Axanar donor lunch	Alec Peters, Steve Jepson, Paul Jenkins	TBA
2 p.m.	Axanar fan fiction	Jonathan Lane, Mark Largent Mark Payton, Alec Peters	Crowne Plaza
3 p.m.	Scripting Axanar	David Gerrold, Paul Jenkins, Alec Peters, Jonathan Lane	Crowne Plaza
4 p.m.	The Axanar ships	Alec Peters, Keith Sedor	Crowne Plaza
5 p.m.	Star Trek fan film preview	Pacific 201, Romulan Wars, First Frontier, Jonathan Lane (host)	Crowne Plaza
6 p.m.	💸Axanar donor dinner	J.G. Hertzler, Gary Graham, Alec Peters Steve Jepson, Mark Edward Lewis, Jeff Barklage	TBA
7 p.m.	Klingon costuming: From screen to con	Don Gaffney	Crowne Plaza
8 p.m.	Axanar: The fans’ perspective	Reece Watkins, Lee Benjamin, Steve Dixon Lee Mavity, Keith Sedor	Crowne Plaza
10 p.m.	Axanar hits the bar!	Fans mingle with con guests and Axanar team at the hotel	Crowne Plaza

Sunday, November 4

Time	Event	Panelists/Hosts	Location
10 a.m.	Starship combat in Axaverse	Alec Peters	Crowne Plaza
11 a.m.	Actors on Axanar	J.G. Hertzler, Gary Graham, Alec Peters, Jonathan Lane	Crowne Plaza
12 noon	Garth of Izar: Kirk’s hero	Alec Peters	Crowne Plaza
1 p.m.	Axanar lunch	Alec Peters, Steve Jepson, Paul Jenkins	TBA
2 p.m.	Admiral Slater: Misunderstood	Steve Jepson, Alec Peters, Jonathan Lane	Crowne Plaza
3 p.m.	Fan filmmaking vs. fan-to-pro	David Gerrold, John Adcox, Matt Green Alec Peters	Crowne Plaza
4 p.m.	Axanar trivia	Alec Peters, Steve Jepson	Crowne Plaza

Full descriptions of all the panels offered at SphinxCon and Axacon are available at the SphinxCon website.

Axacon’s cost has been criticized by some Axanar supporters, as high for such a small, three-day convention, ranging from $91 to $129; attendees are required to purchase admission to SphinxCon. They are also required to find their own transportation for the 80-mile roundtrip to OWC Studios outside Atlanta.

DragonCon $85-95
By comparison, Atlanta’s immense five-day Dragon*Con, featuring dozens of well-known guests from many genre films and TV — especially Star Trek — costs a minimum $85, if purchased a year in advance. Closer to the event, admission is $95.

Star Trek Las Vegas $300-$1000
The official Star Trek convention, a five-day star-studded annual event, costs a bare minimum $300 if tickets are purchased on a daily basis; daily admission ranges from $50-75. Premium packages go for about $1,000.

BRIDGE PANELS Volunteers are working against a November 2 deadline to complete the Axanar bridge set, featuring artwork like this. Click to view full size.Images/Axanar Productions

Treklanta $45-60
This local Star Trek convention also in Atlanta, and like Axacon also three days, costs $45 in advance, $60 at the door. Attracting more than 300 attendees a year, it offers many more celebrity guests than Axacon for less than half the admission price.¹⁾

Peters has led the effort to complete, or at least get closer to complete, the U.S.S. Ares bridge set, which was to have been featured in Axanar: Unmade, the feature film foreclosed by the copyright infringement lawsuit brought against Peter and his Axanar Productions by CBS and Paramount Pictures in 2015.

Meanwhile, Peters pleaded with supporters to volunteer to pull off the convention, with no discount for the free labor:

“I need you sounding off if you will be attending Axacon. I will ask each of you to volunteer 2-3 hours a day. I can’t give away any free passes as SphinxCon is not giving me any, and I am putting in a ton of my own money to make this happen.”²⁾

SphinxCon chairman Dave Weiner explained no SphinxCon volunteers, including organizers, are getting free admission to their own convention.

Convention guests, such as actors J.G. Hertzler and Gary Graham, are paid to appear. Guests such as pro-Axanar fan film blogger Jonathan Lane and Axanar podcaster Keith Sedor do not have to pay to attend.