KisMet (convention)

Convention
Name:	KisMet
Dates:	2007-2018
Frequency:
Location:	UK
Type:	fan-run fan con
Focus:	slash
Organization:
Founder:	Kate & Anne
Founding Date:
URL:	Convention website (2016) Tumblr (2016 - 2018) logo for the 2011 Convention
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KisMet is a small fan-run slash convention held in the UK.

Its primary focus is K/S and Star Trek fandom.

The first convention was held in 2007. The second convention was scheduled for 2009 but had to be canceled; it was however, rescheduled for 2011. A third was held in 2013, a fourth in September 2016, and a fifth in 2018.

The convention also publishes a convention zine (ex. the 2007 convention zine featured "A Yeoman's Tale" by K'Chaps that was later re-published in T'hy'la #28).

The 2009 Con Was Canceled

Very sadly, this Con has had to be cancelled as the venue has gone bust (another victim of the current recession, it seems) and we have lost our deposit. We tried incredibly hard to find another venue, but to get something even vaguely suitable at a sensible price in August, at relatively short notice, proved to be impossible.

Kate should have returned all deposit cheques by the time you read this, so if you haven't heard from her yet, please contact her directly.

We are all very upset about having to cancel, especially as it means there will be no UK K/S Con this year. However, we'd like to thank all those who have given us their support, and promise that if we can possibly track down a new venue, we'll try again at some point in the future. — Kate, Ros & Anne

2007

August 17-19, 2007 Friday 17 at Hebden House, Hebden Bridge, UK.

From a flyer:

No K/S CONnections in 2007! No Closet until 2008! Then why not come to KiS-Met?

[...]

The Organisers: We are Anne, Kate and Ros, dedicated K/S fans. If you have attended K/SCONnections in the past, then you know who we are. We are pinching -- sorry, borrowing! -- all Liz's great ideas so you know what to expect.

The Con: Well, K/S, of course. What more could anyone want? We'll talk K/S, read K/S, share K/S thoughts and experiences, watch K/S. We'll have a con zine so you can showcase those creative K/S creative talents. There'll be an orphan zine table and dealer tables. There will also be a zine library. You get the idea. It will be a weekend of K/S indulgence!

2007: Con Reports

This was the first Con arranged by Anne, Kate and Ros and as a great time was surely had by all attendees, huge thanks are due to all three. It began on the Friday afternoon soon after I arrived with Patricia Roe and had sort-of ended when we left, after the closing ceremony on Sunday, but I still managed to envy the few remaining until the Monday morning...

Meeting up with old friends as we arrived was a lovely way to start the Con...Hi Liz! A year had passed since Closet and two since the last K/S Connections was held at this actual venue, but soon, it was as though we’d never been away. This venue—w-a-y up an extremely steep hill—resembles a log cabin and lends itself to informality, which suited Kismet, of course. We had our chalet-like rooms upstairs and our meals were served in the restaurant downstairs, which we had all to our selves. The staff were hardly to be seen, but pleasant and helpful when they were. The weather was wet, naturally, but this didn’t matter at all. The Con was HOT, and so were we!

Our first treat were the wonderful Con packs! Well done, ladies.. Any one for K/S tissue packs, K/S luggage labels, sweets, a classy Kismet pen, even a nicely done complete little Con zine?! Then, you really need to come to a Kismet Con! Then, an enjoyable, varied programme throughout the weekend of both frivolous and thoughtful discussion sessions, games, quizzes, competitions and more... A well stocked zine library, a wonderful new Kismet music video to watch, as well as our favourite Camp Granada one from Connections (well done, Patricia) and more. (Have I just said this?)

Highlights for me included Gallimaufrey’s interesting panel entitled HMS Enterprise, which looked at how realistic Kirk’s ship was, as a military vessel. Coming from a naval background, she said that it was usual, even normal, for Captains and their execs to hate each other, being essentially rivals. How happy we all were that Kirk and Spock do not follow this tradition! Rosemary not only headed a great talk about ‘Canon v. Fanon’ but launched her latest Village Press zine at Kismet, the long awaited Astray in the Wilderness, complete with a generous discount for those of us complete with a generous discount for those of us who’d been at Liz’s K/S Connections Cons. Anne had prepared a session about sex scenes in zines (Try saying that quickly), reading out several contrasting and well chosen ones, to get us to think about what works for us and how a mood is created. ... The team game of Categories was a lot of fun, and not just because my team won! Something found in Sickbay beginning with K? Kirk’s Libido?? A relative of the Crew beginning with W? Mrs Riley, maybe? ! With such classic answers were the cute little Kismet teddy bears won!

All too soon, it was Sunday and we had to say goodbye... Still, we’d raised money for an excellent Con charity, I had some new zines to read and cherish, and memories to savour. It was great to see all the Con who’d attendees and spend time talking about our favourite subject. I hope we all meet again next year at Closet Con 9 and that Anne, Kate and Ros are already planning Kismet 2 for 2009. (Well, I can dream, can't I?)

2011 Convention

The 2011 convention was held on August 19, 2011 in York, England. People from the UK, the US, Belgium, Germany, and Czech Republic attended.

From the 2011 flyer: "This convention will concentrate and clearly focus on TOS and offers panels as well as quizzes, caption competitions, bring & buy, raffle, episodes, movies, a zine library – and much more! There will be also a Con zine and contests - best K/S drabble * best K/S limerick * best K/S cartoon."

2011: Con Zine

See 2011.

2011: Con Reports

As a small con, the programming was all very informal. We had panel topics, and while some were quite structured...[others drifted on and off topic, but it was all very interesting and it's quite remarkable to be able to go for a whole weekend on one pairing without running out of things to talk about. Even the mpreg panel held my interest, and that's saying a lot!...Other than the panels, we had a quiz, in which my team only managed third (albeit with a person missing), but as a splendid commiseration prize I got a lovely K/S pen and post-its in the lucky dip...And of course I spent far too much money on old zines. There was also a really cool competition involving pictures on the walls illustrating a scene from a fic, with one accompanying paragraph, from which you had to guess the fic title. I was utterly hopeless at this. There was a lot of "oh, that's that fic where...y'know...", but titles? Titles are hard. tracionn ended up winning with a grand total of 5/15 (I think?), whereas I managed a paltry 3. There was also the con zine, featuring haikus, limericks, drabbles and fics on which we had to vote....

2013 Convention

2013 convention banner

Kismet 2013 was held the weekend of August 9–11, 2013 in Buckinghamshire, UK.

the 2013 cake

It's possible there was a US counterpart that year: "Blackbirdsong is planning to hold KiScon in or near Boston sometime in mid-October to mid-November in 2013. I’ll include more details when available."

2013: Con Zine

See 2013.

2013: Con Reports

This Kismet Con was the third that Anne and Kate had run, and this time it was held at the Lane End Conference Centre, an almost ideal Con venue, set in lovely grounds: I even meant to explore these more, but it was such an engrossing Con, I never really did! Many of us had been here last year, for KisCon 2012, and it was great to be back. The facilities were of a high standard, and the food was lovely, with plenty of fresh fruit and tempting choices. Sharing meals and chatting is always a wonderful part of a Con, isn't it?

But on to the Programme: our Organisers had devised a fascinating, to borrow a term, schedule of activities and panels, some intriguing, some just fun! We had an effective ice breaker game involving guessing which Trek character name we'd each had pinned to our backs, and when I was Sarek, my good friend Joan was Amanda, which was fun!

At the opening ceremony on Friday evening, Anne introduced our guest of honour, drum roll..., Elise Madrid! Elise was a great guest, running several panels and I hope she enjoyed herself. I think she did. I'm pretty sure we all did. Meeting old and new friends in K/S is a lovely aspect of Cons and Anne and Kate had thoughtfully arranged us into teams for activities on both evenings: we played a game called K/S Connections and took part in The Big Quiz! Fiendishly difficult, I might add, but great fun. I think my teams came a respectable second or third and we were well pleased and relieved with this! Some of the so-called connections were obscure in the extreme. An amazing feeling when we got some correct, though!

As for the panel topics, we talked about humour in K/S, diverse sexualities (during which I learned new things!), compared classic with reboot Kirk and Spock and looked at the concept of a non This was a most satisfying Con indeed. It ran smoothly and it was evident that the Organisers had worked hard to achieve this. I appreciated how Reboot Trek was an integral aspect of the K/S we all talked about if we chose to include it A true example of IDIC indeed! The Con charity, about educating young women in the Third World, was well chosen. The Con packs, in useful tote bags, were a delight and I loved the way that T'Rracionn's beautiful Con artwork, featuring Kirk and Spock at different times in their lives, was reproduced in many forms. A shame I couldn't do the anagrams or the picture quizzes, but I guess I was too busy pestering everyone to buy yet more tickets!

Well done to all my fellow attendees, who made the Con such fun and a huge thank you to Anne n Kate, our Con OrganisersExtraordinaire for the most wonderful Con Experience! ! YAY!

2016 Convention

2016 con

Kismet 2016 was held in High Wycombe, 2-4 Sept 2016. Attending members came from the U.K., Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, the US, Belgium, and Austria. Highlights of the convention were a Trek-themed concert on Friday night, the great Kismet quiz and the vidshow on Saturday night, an art show and auction, a large raffle (the proceeds of which were going to The British Lung Foundation in memory of Leonard Nimoy who died of COPD), and several competitions. A zine library and a book browsing box were available throughout the weekend.

2016 banner by tracionn

"It’s fate, it’s destiny, it’s KISMET! And IT IS HAPPENNING!

From the organisers Anne & Chrissy:

Kismet - The K/S Convention in the UK will welcome fans again in 2016, this time to celebrate 50 years of Star Trek!

Where? At Lane End Conference Centre, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, UK

When? 2nd - 4th September 2016

How Much? £235, all inclusive. This includes a single room with ensuite bathroom, all meals, refreshments, games, quizzes, fun and joy, of course!

We are open for registrations from September 2015.

.....

I’ve been to and with this con twice and can assure you it’s gonna be SO MUCH FUN. Also, the location is wonderful, lovely and perfect for a nerdy slashy con weekend."

2016: Programme

Friday, 2 Sept 2016:

• Every Kink But The Kitchen Sink (Presented by: Angel Grace)
• Yes, I have! Here's the opportunity to meet and get to know everyone in the group. Can you say "Yes, I have"?
• Opening Ceremony (with an especially created vid by Rhaegal)
• The Kismet Concert: Listen, laugh, cry, and sing-a-long! (Performances by Soral, Samy and Blackbird Song)

Saturday, 3 Sept 2016:

• Always Number One: has Spock always been "number one" for Kirk? (Presented by: Anne)
• Cracking Up: Humour in Star Trek & K/S (Presented by: Soral and Tydomin)
• Remembering Leonard Nimoy: bring your favourite memories of our best beloved Vulcan to share (Presented by: Blackbird Song)
• Vidding Workshop: always wondered how it's done? Dying to give it a go? Come along and find out all the secrets to making a good songvid! (Presented by: T'Lara & Rhaegal)
• Alternative Session for those with no technological abilities or interests! A fun game (created by Arwen)
• We DO Speak of it amongst ourselves – writing Pon Farr: a look at how (and how well) writers have tackled this ever fascinating topic (Presented by: Dunyazad)
• Histories, Mysteries and Lover Victories: K/S was the first slash fandom. How was it in the beginning and how does it stack up against other "/" fandoms now? (Presented by: Elise Madrid)
• Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Modern K/S Fandom (But Were Afraid To Ask): We're not afraid to tell you! (Presented by: Arwen)
• Gene Genie: Medicine in the 23rd Century (Presented by: Lynn)
• The Kismet Quiz: sharpen your pencils and your brains and show off your knowledge – if you can! Prizes for the winning team members!
• The Kismet Vid Show!

Sunday, 4 Sept 2016:

• The Search for Plot: Can every story really fit into one of a limited number of plots? (Presented by: Chrissy)
• Logical or Highly Illogical? Are the Vulcans really what they say they are? (Presented by: Samy)
• The Yin & Yang of Kirk & Spock: the blending of similarities and differences that make the K/S magic (Presented by: Caren P)
• Good & Bad Sex Scenes (Presented by: Ilana and Blackbird Song)
• The Science of Star Trek: as entertainingly explained by a real live scientist (Presented by Rhaegal)
• The Kismet Art Auction: a chance to buy some of the glorious pieces that have been on show all weekend! (Presented by: Samy and Caren P)
• The Closing Ceremony (with an especially created vid by T'Lara), followed by prize giving and raffle draw
• K/S Art Slide Show: wallow in some of the gorgeous K/S artwork produced in recent years (slideshow created by T'Racionn)

2016: Vid Show

List of all vids shown at the con in order of appearance

Opening Ceremony, Friday, 2 Sept 2016:

Rhaegal: I Gotta Feeling (premiere)

Vidshow, Saturday night, 3 Sept 2016 (VJ: Larissa Bernstein):

Mortmere: Jeeves Trek

Bellizaria: A Thousand Years

T. Jonesy & Killa: Falling in Love (not online)

Joe Eva: Oblivion

Zi (YT: Lys Blanche): We’ll Never Die

Jess Brown & Fiona Graves: Friend in Me (not online)

Rhaegal: Landslide

AnnaKnitsSpock: Fight Song

Ashayavar: Hey Jealous Lover

BrTutty: Crazy in Love

Killa & T. Jonesy: Knights of the Round Table (not online)

Silver-Thyla: I’ll Never Find Another You (premiere)

Here's Luck: The Test

Bluefairy1113: All I Need (vid on YT is unfortunately muted)

Starcrossedgirl: White Rabbit

BrTutty: Say You’ll Never Let Me Go

T. Jonesy: You're So Vain (not online)

Indrikhole: Brothers Under the Sun

Putnik68: The Bad Touch

Kerinaty: HeadLOCKhearT

Chris Soto: Wind Beneath My Wings (not part of the competition) (VCR-era vid; not online)

EimeoMoon: Save the Last Dance

MissSheenie: Spock’s Down on his Knees (not part of the competition)

Helen & Virginia Sky: Hello Again (not online)

Yorki (YT: parapandaful): Officer’s Tango

T'Guess: Desert Rose

MissSheenie: Spock's Fantasy

Jess Brown & Fiona Graves: Hero (not online)

Severny Sneg: Home is Where the Heart is

Imaginary Sanity: Can’t Help but Love You

Melodysheep: The Good of the One (Nimoy tribute)

MissSheenie: Tik-Tok

RDJrAdmirer: Cosmic Love

Mortmere: Touch Me

Nessa: You (download from vidder's site)

Severny Sneg: The Road is My Home

Rhaegal: Hello (not online)

T. Jonesy & Killa: When I'm 64 (not online)

Qingniao: My Body is a Cage

T’Lara: Kirk Fu

Lithaveta: The Lightning Strike

Xkelociraptor: Time Will Tell (not online)

Closing Ceremony, Sunday, 4 Sept 2016:

T’Lara: L’Amour Toujours (premiere)

KISMET VID COMPETITION: The Search for the Best Songvid

All songvids that were shown during the con weekend were eligible (unless otherwise noted) for the songvid competition and were voted on by the attendees at the end of the con.

There were two categories. The overall tone of the vid determined its category.

▪ “Humour”: upbeat and fun vids, angst-free, comedy

▪ “Drama”: vids with a more serious tone, character studies, including all kinds of angst

Winners

... in the category "Humour": Putnik68: The Bad Touch

... in the category "Drama": Qingniao: My Body is a Cage

2016: Con Zine

This year the con zine was published in digital form only. The authors were only disclosed after the convention to keep the voting anonymous.

See 2016 Con Zine.

2016: Costume Competition

Costume competition

Rhaegal won Best Costume for her Kara, the Eymorg from "Spock's Brain".

2016: Art Competition

Winners:

... Best Photomanip: T'Racionn

... Best Original Artwork: Samy

... Best Photomania: Caren P

2016: Wall Quizzes

Winners:

...Hats: spockshair

...Uniforms: Jess

2018 Convention

KiSmet 2018 was held in High Wycombe, 31 Aug - 2 Sept 2018.

2018 Vid Show Playlist

KISMET 2018: THE VIDSHOW PLAYLIST:

KiSmet 2018 was supposed to have a vid competition with the theme humour. Unfortunately there were not enough entries to actually go through with the competition, so the vidshow curator decided to feature these premieres in the vidshow and in the closing ceremony instead. Humour is, as Saavik put it, a difficult concept...

Nevertheless, the VJ curated the vidshow with this theme in mind; the playlist was therefore a mix of humorous vids, upbeat party songvids, and a dose of silly WhatTheFuckery thrown in for good measure.

Opening Ceremony on Friday Night (31 Aug 2018):

T'Lara: Carry On Trekking (premiere)

Saturday Night Vidshow (1 Sept 2018) (VJ: T'Lara)

T'Lanza: I Got It from Agnes (premiere) (not online)

T'Lara: Loverboy (premiere)

Killa & T. Jonesy: Knights of the Round Table (not online)

Estalita11: TGIF

EimeoMoon: Save the Last Dance

AnnaKnitsSpock: Fever (not online)

Mortmere: Jeeves Trek

Ashayavar: Hey Jealous Lover

MissSheenie: Spock's Fantasy

Mary Crawford: Swing

BrTutty: Boring!

DPAK416: Here We Go Again

electra.fied.26: Star Trek Gay Sex

Mortmere: Kirk/Spock - The Movie

BrTutty: Addicted

EvilPiranha11: For Your Entertainment (not online anymore)

ImaginarySanity: Do a Barrel Roll, Kirk!

MissSheenie: Tik Tok

ImaginarySanity: Kirk: A "Man's Man"

T'Lara & Rhaegal: The Private Life of Vulcans

Insolitus: There! Right There!

Mortmere: The Prize (or: The Whipped Cream Maneuver)

William Shatner: Keep it Gay (Mike Douglas Show)

Killa: Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps

GoodGirlVideosA1: Star Trek Ghostbusters

Mary Crawford: Mystery Dance (pwd: kirk)

MissSheenie: Captain Kirk Jizzed in his Pants (not online anymore)

Paul Heriot: Lucy in the Sky

T'Lara: Kirk Fu

MissSheenie: Spock's Down on his Knees

MonteIncendio: Evil Kirk - Internet is for Porn (not online anymore)

T'Lara: 12 Gays of XXXmas

MonteIncendio: Touch-a Touch Me, Spock! (not online anymore)

Killa, T. Jonesy, Hafital: Razzle Dazzle (not online)

BrTutty: Girlfriend

Fall On Your Sword: Shatner of the Mount

Putnik68: The Bad Touch

ImaginarySanity: The Nipple Pinch

Rhaegal: Pon Farr (not online)

TheCommodore1: Shatner Eats Pudding

xStarCastle: Sexy Naughty Bitchy Me - Spock

Starcrossedgirl: White Rabbit

T'Lanza: Yakety Yak (not online)

Mortmere: Spock in Love (Slash Parody - Kirk/Spock/other)

T'Gin: Kiss Mr Spock!

TheJAMFactor: Common People (W. Shatner's version)

T. Jonesy & Killa: Falling in Love (not online)

Valoise: Fashion is Danger

T'Lara & Pamdizzle & ivycross: Fun with Jim and Spock

During the Closing Ceremony on Sunday (2 Sept 2018) the three premieres were shown one more time.

The concom decided against a con DVD (so many people don't even own a DVD drive anymore) and went with USB flash drives in its place; instead of a shorter selection, attending and supporting members received the full playlist.

2018 Fundraising and Charities

Kismet raised £658 for charity - £221 MORE than raised in 2016. £608 has gone to The British Lung Foundation (Anne Gift Aided it so it increased to £729.60) and £50 has gone to keep the K/S Archive up

The Art Auction, organised by T’racionn with Trekker and Angel Grace ...the auction raised an incredible £265 for the charity. Many donated works, especially Shelley Butler's which raised over £200 alone

Raffle: £164.50.

Charity Table: £99.76.

Supporters : £10 (1 from each supporting registration went to charity)

Other generous donations: £118 (percentage of Art & other sales and other donations)