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Star Trek is a storied franchised beloved by millions of people around the world. People of all ages enjoy the franchise. On August 9th, 2012 thousands of Star Trek fans gathered at the Rio Hotel and Casino to attend the Official Star Trek Convention, which is presented by Creation Entertainment. Aaron and I went together and had a fabulous time, which I will recap for all my readers.
We first headed to the DeForest Kelley Theatre in the Brasilia Ballroom to attend a panel featuring Martha Hackett (Ensign Seska on Star Trek: Voyager), Jeffrey Combs (who has played multiple characters on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise), and Casey Biggs (who plays the Cardassian Damar on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine). Despite that fact that it was early in the morning, Martha, Jeffrey, and Casey were lively and full of energy. They kept the audience engaged and participated in a lengthy Q&A session with the fans. I feel like they truly enjoyed interacting with the fans and being there. Seeing this panel gave me high hopes for the rest of the day, and Aaron and I both thoroughly enjoyed it.
Then, we went over to the Roddenberry Theatre Pavilion Ballroom where Ben Vereen was being interviewed. The ballroom was huge and many fans gathered to watch. Ben is a very accomplished man, having been featured in television shows like Star Trek: The Next Generation and Roots. He also has a critically acclaimed theater career appearing in such plays as Wicked, Chicago, Jesus Christ Superstar, Hair, and Sweet Charity. It was very inspiring to watch him and I couldn’t believe that I was in the same room with a legend like him. Ben was very classy and well-spoken and was a great interviewee. This was definitely one of the highlights for me.
After that, Aaron and I headed to the Vendors Room in the Captain Dave Exhibition Hall to see what merchandise they had for sale. I was very pleasantly surprised by the selection they had and I really liked the fact that there was merchandise from other franchises besides Star Trek. There was also a wide selection of anime available. I actually stumbled upon a booth that sold corsets, stockings, and leggings which definitely interested me. As I was making my way around the room, I saw a booth ran by a friendly looking couple that looked to be in their 50’s or 60’s. They had a very wide selection of t-shirts for sale from different franchises like Supernatural, Star Trek, and Stargate. The prices were really good here, so I decided to check out they had. I noticed that they had a lot of Firefly and Serenity t-shirts, and since I am a HUGE fan of that franchise, I just had to pick a shirt up. Finding this t-shirt definitely made me happy.
We went to get a bite to eat after that, and then we headed back to the Deforest Kelley Theatre to see the Star Trek and Sci-Fi Auction and finish up our day. This was, by far, the absolute highlight of my day. The auction went by pretty fast and people furiously bid on one of a kind items. It was just insane to see something like an autographed photo jump from $25 to $250 in a matter of seconds. I myself was tempted to bid on numerous items, but alas, I did not bring a lot of money with me. Three of the items that interested me were a picture signed by Janet Leigh depicting the infamous shower scene in Psycho, and a Firefly and Serenity stamp set. There were other numerous items put up for auction including Star Trek Potato Head dolls, mug sets, autograph tickets, and more. I was surprised to see so many people being loose with their money, but if you a big enough fan of a certain franchise and see interest in a certain item, you can’t blame them.
I really enjoyed this convention. It runs through Sunday, so if you want to get your fill of Star Trek, be sure to stop by the Rio and check out everything the convention has to offer!
