The Red Hour Festival

Convention
Name:	Red Hour Festival
Dates:
Frequency:
Location:	Bay Area, California
Type:
Focus:	Star Trek
Organization:
Founder:	Chuck Weiss
Founding Date:	1975
URL:
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"The Red Hour Festival" was a Star Trek: TOS con that took place February 22, 1975 at Lincoln High School in San Francisco.

admission ticket for the first SpaceCon, otherwise known as the The Red Hour Festival

The name "'Red Hour Festival" came from an episode of Star Trek where the residents of Beta III, under the influence of the great Landru, would celebrate a solid hour of lawlessness, debauchery and chaos when the clock would strike the "Red Hour."

Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, that changed in 1975. One fan group organized themselves and held what their first Star Trek event. They called it "The Red Hour Festival", taking the name from an event in an episode of the show. What they started that day is now recognized as the basis for Star Trek fan events that have followed over the years. This was an event produced by fans for fans. As Chuck Weiss, one of the folks behind the event described it; "This was a time when you could rent a high school for a day without having to worry about liability insurance." San Francisco's Lincoln High School was the perfect place for such an event. A large theater and good-sized cafeteria nearby just right for tables full of Star Trek items to be sold by vendors. And only two blocks away from public transit.

Con Reports

On the weekend of February 22nd, 1975, an event occurred in San Francisco. An event the likes of which had never been seen before in the history of Northern California. It was called the "Star Trek Bed Hour Festival" and lasted all day Saturday, at the Abraham Lincoln High School.

Attendance was limited to 2,000. It was really a pleasure to be at a convention where you didn't feel like a sardine everywhere you went. Many of the people attending had never been to a convention before. What with New York being out of the question for the average west coast Trekker, and even Equicon being a bit of a strain to some, no self-respecting Trekker could be kept away from a convention that was practically on the back doorstep. Many people had never even heard of a S.T. convention before this one.

After the 2,000 tickets were sold, there were still many people trying and crying to get tickets. As a result, there are already plans for a three-day festival to be held next year, presumably at a more accommodating location.

Highlights of our minicon included a panel discussion with the guest stars: James Doohan, George Takei, Walter Koenig, and Arlene Martell (T'Pring); a costume competition, a S.T. carnival, S.T. films, and a specially-edited version of the blooper reel.

As is traditional with S.T. Cons (and S.F. Cons in general) there was a Hucksters' Room — maybe that should be "closet", as it was in a small classroom, and held about 9 tables. David Gerrold had a table; so did Federation Archives and Star Trek Archives. Also there was a local TV celebrity. Bob Wilkins, who is host of the local Saturday evening monster shows, and a good Star Trek promoter.

In the main lobby, Star Trek Archives and STAR Sacramento were selling memberships and fanzines. When I checked the table around 1:30, the 500 STW flyers were all gone. Also on display in this area I had samples from my collection of ST publicity photos, as well as NBC publicity, sheets for the Star Trek Animation. These drew a crowd, right up until closing time.

Another first for S.T. Cons was a Star Trek Carnival. There were such challenging games of skill as "Throw the tribble at the Klingon", where the object was to knock the head off a rocking Klingon by hitting it with a tribble; "Horta Egg Toss", where you toss silver balls into net targets; and "Dock at K-7", where you toss a ring around the three sections of Space Station K-7; and so on.

You could have your picture taken — as a Klingon, Captain in his Command Chair, of a Yeoman. Just stand behind a drop, poke your head through, and receive a Polaroid photo. There was also a computer war game which at the end gave you a printout of all the moves, amount of time, and you paid accordingly. You could take up to twenty minutes, and the most you could spend would be $1.00.

Ape makeups (latex appliances, Planet of the Apes POTA??-style ) were available for sale, and holograms — for a mere $60.00. The real holographic attraction, however, was mounted on a rotating turntable; as it spun, you could see all sides of the subject, which actually moved. Like a 3-dimensional movie, it was (pardon the expression) fascinating!!

For a good portion of the day, there was a trivia contest and playoffs. The questions were ranging from easy ("What was Lt. Uhura's mother's name?") to the more difficult ones ("What is the distance between Mr. Spock's eartips...in millimeters?")

I was one of those fortunate enough to he allowed to attend the press conference, representing STW as well as being a free-lance photographer. I hope to have excerpts from the press conference and panel discussion — possibly a photo — in the next issue of A PIECE OF THE ACTION.

Of course there was the usual assortment of Trekfans dressed in various S.T. uniforms and costumes. Some of them had very fine copies of the communicator, tricorder, and phaser. The stars arrived in a van painted to resemble the Galileo—7.

All day there was a display of very well-done artwork, including some nice paintings of the astronauts. Of course there were the fun warning signs; Nomad stated "Smokers will be sterilized" and the restrooms were labeled "Morg" and "Eyemorg".

The final event was The "Babel Conference" (costume competition). The stars were delayed in arriving back from dinner, and we were entertained by three young ladies on piano, violin, and voice. After the 42nd chorus of "What do you do with a Drunken Vulcan" (and just as the audience was about to storm the stage), the stars returned. The show was highlighted by such amusing and amazing costumes as a plant creature (who walked backward to hide the eye slits, but therefore couldn't see) who won the "most humorous" award, and a speech from a representative of the Federation, denying the existence of oversized tribbles ("scientifically proven to be physically impossible”) who was chased from the stage by a four-foot tribble. There was also a more serious matter: - somehow a Klingon slipped onto the stage and started denouncing the Federation. Arlene Martell (who, along with James Doohan, announced the costumes) ducked behind the podium, but Walter Koenig (who along with George Takei, judged the costumes) took off his jacket to fight for the honor of the Federation. Fortunately, Federation security guards escorted the Klingon from the stage, and the show continued.

Third prize went to an android from Mudd's Planet, who was built ... of long-lasting material (well, that's the way James Doohan read it!) Second prize went to a contestant with a "revealing personality” — her costume consisted of a green front panel and back panel ... but no sides.

First prize was awarded to a salt-creature; there to prove that the species hadn't died out. Needless to say, the creature had had it's daily ration of salt before being allowed onstage. First prize was a copy of the Star Trek Blueprints (which we now hear is selling for $100 at auction).

All things considered, this was a VERY enjoyable convention. Charles Weiss, the chairman, is definitely to be congratulated. The whole thing was run very professionally, with no sign of hangups. Asked how he felt about running his first Con, he said that he never wanted to even HEAR the words "Star Trek” ever again. Well, not for a while, anyway. But I'm certain a call at an R & R planet is in order, and for the entire crew as well.

The Red Hour Festival” was great fun. Dealers with all kinds of Star Trek and science fiction items to buy, a great carnival with Federation credits that one could trade for Star Trek prizes (a favorite game was the feeding of Vaal - another reference to a Star Trek episode), screenings of several episodes of the show on 16mm on the big screen in the school’s theater, and finally, appearances by some of the cast of the show. James Doohan, who played Scotty; George Takei, who played Sulu; Walter Koenig, who played Chekov; and Arlene Martel, who had appeared as Spock’s bride to be in the fan favorite episode, “Amok Time” - written by science fiction author Theodore Sturgeon. But not only did these folks appear on stage and answer questions from the audience, they signed autographs for no extra charge. Somewhere, safely tucked away, I have several Federation credits from that day with each of their autographs. If memory serves, almost 4,000 fans were there.

back of admission ticket for SpaceCon 1. This ticket is for a dealer and reads Interstellar Trader

The "red" in Red Hour could have been our bloodshot eyes after the whole ordeal was over. I won't say we didn't have our problems. On the contrary, there were several times when it looked like the whole thing might collapse, and it would have too, if it hadn't been for a few dedicated individuals (like Dick Carroll, who stayed at the school Friday night, when everyone was getting an autograph or two, to hold down the fort until reinforcements could arrive.) The real troupers, however, were the kids. One eight year old girl tended a carnival booth for three hours, took an hour break,.. and came back to work another three hours when we had trouble getting together another shift of workers. This kind of effort was typical of our younger members. But fortunately the minor disasters didn't show and the festival, all-in-all it was a big success. The carnival was a big hit too;. the three most popular 4 games being "Spin The Enterprise", "Throw a Tribble at a Klingon" and "Feed Vaal". -I understand that the planning committee for Equicon '75 is interested in our bringing the carnival down south for their big convention this May. The concession area was always busy. Kathy and her workers dispensed food and drink to the hungry hordes. We still had a lot of food left over, however. The remaining hero sandwiches were downed with champagne at the Sunday night celebration party, while the unopened cases of candy went back to Willy Wonka for a full refund. The computer war games turned out to be the smoothest running operation going. Except for the 20 minutes when the computer went down, there wasn't a hitch. This attraction, along with the carnival, was something new for Star Trek conversions. And yes, Equicon '75 wants a computer war game, too. (They say that imitation is,the sincerest form of flattery.) I would say that the hardest part of the festival was telling that long line of mothers and children that there was no way they could all get an autograph. Those who were in the last part of the line, begged just for a glimpse of the guest stars, so we wound up herding them in a bunch at a time, just to stare and snap a picture or two. Just so long as they left smiling. I can t tell you the gross or net figures as far as money is concerned; our treasurer, Alice Aho, is better qualified in that area, but in all other respects I'd say that the First Annual Red Hour Festival was a smashing success. The biggest reward was to see all those happy people. Several times throughout the day, people would come up to me and say, "Thank you for putting this on." To many, it was the biggest event of the year, arid all who helped to pull it off deserve to be proud of what they did. As for those who stood on the side lines and didn't do anything (and unfortunately there were many), well, we' ll get you next year!!!

The one day Star Trek convention I attended was the Star Trek Archive's Red Hour Festival. I have little idea what it was like, as I was shackled to a dealer's table all day long, selling TCTS and whatever anybody wanted me to get rid of. As I cannot afford a liscense [sic] from Paramount for Star Trek material, I could only trade wallet size Star Trek photos for film clips and whatever else came along. Among the more interesting things I was traded were 5 Star Trek bubble gum cards from the American series. [snipped]

I was stuck in the dealer's room from 8 am to 7 pm, back to back with local monster movie host celebrity Bob Wilkens half the day. (You won't believe the number of people who said I looked like him, even sounded like him; several asked if I was his son.) David Gerrold was selling tribbles, as usual. But eventually [I] made it out to see what I could see of the rest of the con.

I caught the last 15 minutes of AMOK TIME, then waited in the auditorium for two hours for the costume competition; I was afraid of losing a good seat. (There were 2000 people at the Festival; the auditorium only sat 1600. As was, only about 1000 at most showed up for the event.) The last 45 minutes of waiting was filled with a musical performance and singalong, conducted by three young women, a piano, a violin, a bottle of Saurian brandy, and a problematical sound system. I loved the musical interpretations on violin and piano of the various ST themes and songs played, but the vocal portions were barely passable half the time, as the effect was destroyed by the pianist singing too close to the microphone. (And you never blow into a microphone to see if it's working; you tap.) The crowd finally joined into the singalong near the end of the 28 verses to "What Do You Do With a Drunken Vulcan?"

Judges for the competition were James Doohan, George Takei, Walter Koenig, and Arlene Martel (T'Pring). Mr. Doohan and Ms. Martel also did the announcing. There were about 26 contestants, plus a disgruntled Klingon roaming about. Some costumes were good, with a lot of thought and design put in. Others, like a three foot tribble, were for amusement. The winner was a salt creature. All in all, it was relaxing for me, after what I had seen of the rest of the con. (They're threatening to have a three day convention next year.)

In 1975, an item in the San Francisco Examiner caught my attention. A group of Star Trek fans was holding an all day event in a few weeks on a Saturday at a high school in San Francisco. They were calling it “The Red Hour Festival” after a rather rowdy event seen in an episode of Star Trek. If memory serves, a stamp of approval came from an aunt who knew one of the people involved. So on that Saturday, February 22nd, my brother Larry, his friend John and myself found ourselves in line outside Lincoln High School along with a lot of other people for a day of Star Trek.

And in the 16 millimeter sound movies shot that day? There I am, seen in line, wearing a green jacket and a red baseball cap with a with circle patch.

“The Red Hour Festival” was great fun. Dealers with all kinds of Star Trek and science fiction items to buy, a great carnival with Federation credits that one could trade for Star Trek prizes (a favorite game was the feeding of Vaal - another reference to a Star Trek episode), screenings of several episodes of the show on 16mm on the big screen in the school’s theater, and finally, appearances by some of the cast of the show. James Doohan, who played Scotty; George Takei, who played Sulu; Walter Koenig, who played Chekov; and Arlene Martel, who had appeared as Spock’s bride to be in the fan favorite episode, “Amok Time” - written by science fiction author Theodore Sturgeon. But not only did these folks appear on stage and answer questions from the audience, they signed autographs for no extra charge. Somewhere, safely tucked away, I have several Federation credits from that day with each of their autographs. If memory serves, almost 4,000 fans were there.