OktoberTrek

Convention
Name:	OktoberTrek
Dates:	1990-1992
Frequency:	three times
Location:	Maryland, U.S.
Type:	fan run fan con with celebrity guests
Focus:	Star Trek: TOS & Star Trek: TNG
Organization:
Founder:	Sandy Zier-Teitler
Founding Date:	1990
URL:
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

OktoberTrek is a fan-run Star Trek convention with celebrity guests in Baltimore. There were two.

This con replaced ClipperCon and after three years, Farpoint became OktoberTrek's replacement.

cover of the con zine for the 1990 convention, 45 pages, cover art by Christine Myers

Meta

• Sandy, the ex-con Promoter: Memories of OktoberTrek ‘92 – Part One; archive link (July 26, 2021)
• Sandy, the Secret Financier – Farpoint 93; archive link (August 3, 2021)

1990

It was held in Cockeysville, Maryland on October 12–14.

Guests for the 1990 convention included Gates McFadden and DeForest Kelley. Other guests were Marc Okrand (author of "The Klingon Dictionary" and Klingon conlang for the movies), Howard Weinstein and Carmen Carter (both Trek tie-in authors).

Catching the wave of popularity of Star Trek: The Next Generation, the convention drew over 2,000 attendees.

It had an auction, art show, dealer's room, programming, talent show, videos, awards, con suite, and masquerade.

One activity was a Temple of Trek Revival.

There were two original stage productions planned by "Cheap Treks and the "Not-Ready-For-Paramount Players."

The con book had an essay by a 24-year old East German fan and the topic was the recent fall of the Berlin Wall.

The DeForest Kelley Fan Communique has a party called "The De Rowdy Cowboy Roundup." See a con report from the The DeForest Dispatch #27 for more.

From a flyer:

ART SHOW - As usual we will be showcasing artwork from a number of talented individuals and our auction will bring out the "Donald Trump" in all of us. For more, information, check the appropriate box on the registration form.

MASQUERADE - Anyone registered for the con is welcome in our Saturday night contest . Awards will include Mini Trek (12 yrs & under). Star Trek, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Arena of Champions, Most Original, Most Humorous and Best in Show. When preparing your presentations, keep in mind that the judges will be seated on stage. Masquerade registration closes at 5pm Saturday. You may pre-register. Check the appropriate box for information.

STAGE PRODUCTIONS -Two original stage productions are being planned by Cheap Treks and the Not-Ready-For-Paramount Players.

VIDEO GALORE - We will have three rooms set up to show you the best in MOVIES, STAR TREK and NEXT GENERATION episodes, and other classic shows featuring our favorite stars!

COLLECTORS' SHOWCASE - To celebrate Star Trek's 25th anniversary, we will provide space for collectors to show their memorabilia. This does need to be arranged for in advance, so if you are interested, please send a SASE for details.

FRIDAY NIGHT BUFFET/CHARITY AUCTION - Come join the committee in a Friday night buffet. Following the buffet will be a charity auction to benefit the Boy Scouts and the North Shore Animal League. You do not have to register for the buffet to attend the Charity Auction.

DEALERS' ROOM - Fanzines, collectibles, that holiday gift for the Trekker on your list -- and more — can he found.

PANELS - Those who preregister for the convention will be invited to participate as panelists on panels covering all aspects of Star Trek.

THE KROYKAH SHOW- In the tradition of The Gong Show", a late Friday night treat. We are all fools on stage this night and we've got the GONG to prove it! For information, check the appropriate box on the registration form.

"TEN FORWARD" - Following the Masquerade, a Saturday night PARTY! Come in costume! Come as you are! But come and enjoy yourself!

MARSHMELLON CONTEST - Use marshmallows to create anything your imagination can come up with (PG-ratcd, of course). This will be judged by the convention membership and should be a lot of fun.

1990: Programming

Descriptions below are from the program book.

• Writers and Speakers: Lisa White, Dennis Bailey, A.C. Crispin, Carmen Carter, Howard Weinstein, Marc Okrand, Dave McDonnell (editor of Starlog), Bennet Pomerantz
• Filkers:
  • Denebian Slime Devils ("The Slime Devils consist of six Trek fans who spring Trek and Science Fiction filksongs on unsuspecting con-goers. The Slimes began filking when they were in high school, and published several songs after reading other people's parodies. (Imitation in the sincerest form of flattery!) They were talked into performing at Shore Leave II, and knew they were a hit when a member of the audience literally fell on the floor laughing (at the songs, that is!). The Slimes write filks anywhere -- kitchens, rest rooms, parking lots, picnic benches, before movies, during movies, after movies you can't imagine some of the places they have done it (wrote songs, that is!). Every presentation is different, wackier than the one before, a genuine treat for audiences. Warning! Approach a Slime with a radio at your own risk!")
  • Musical Chairs ("Despairing of solving the "Technical Difficulties" of rehearsing and performing in a bicoastal group, Linda Melnick started looking around for two new people talented enough to sing intricate 3-part harmony. She didn't have to look far to find Jean Stevenson (hey, Long Island is closer than California!), a long-time filker who had already written for and sung with Technical Difficulties. The third person was discovered right in her own backyard (Rockville!), long-time fan, but neo-filker, Lucinda Brown. Together they have formed a new trio, Musical Chairs, bringing together harmonies old and new, in a style all their own.")
• Music: Chris Soto's Song Tape
• The OktoberTrek Masquerade
• Panels:
  • Star Trek VI: The Final Final ("Gene Roddenberry has said he will end the movie series "with dignity." Our panel of fans speculate and invite your comments on how that should be.")
  • Through the Guardian and Other Ways ("Time travel is one of the most compelling and mind-boggling concepts in science fiction and STAR TREK has used it extensively, although not always consistently. An hour for the buffs and befuddled who find the whole subject fascinating.")
  • The Play's the Thing ("Months of hard work and practice go into producing a play, a showcase, a filk group or a slide show to be featured at a con, but it's a way for fans to participate. If you think you'd like to be a part of this activity, our panel of experts are here to tell you what's involved.")
  • Remember... Fanzines ("Fanzines reached their heyday in the seventies and early eighties, but now there seems to be a dearth of them available. A panel examines the reasons and questions if the demise is permanent or can we expect a rebirth. How will the lack of new zines affect Fandom?")
  • N*A*S*A ("Not All Successful Attempts. If we are ever going to see the TREK Universe become a reality, the exploration of space is primary, but recent accidents, malfunctions, delays and other assorted problems have made even the most die-hard supporter question the use of hard-earned tax dollars. Now is a chance to examine our thoughts on the condition of our space program and voice our opinions of its future.")
  • Fanzines: A Business or a Hobby ("A tax expert discusses how to keep records to please the IRS.")
  • Planet Earth: Endangered World ("EarthDay, 1990 was an all-out effort to alert us to the dangers awaiting our planet unless we begin taking better care of it. As Star Trek fans, our concern for the future is evident and as citizens of EARTH, we all must accept responsibility. This panel invites discussion, ideas and information on what we can do from Recycling, Greenpeace, Energy Conservation or Political Pressure, to preserve our planet for future generations.")
  • Boredom or Bedlam: The Wrath of Cons ("A panel of con-goers and producers invite your participation in a lively discussion of what ingredients make the difference between a fun-filled, well-run convention and a weekend disaster.")
  • Ask Not What Your Fandom Can Do... ("What motivates a person to get involved and what keeps them coming back? What is or should be the role of a fan?")
  • Doctor, Doctor ("A comparison of McCoy and Crusher, their respective positions on their Enterprises and relationships to their own Captain and crew.")
  • The Enemy Within ("Klingons, Romulans, Ferengi and other baddies have plagued the Federation for decades. An hour to discuss the antagonists, who they are, how much we know about them and their continuing associations with Starfleet.")
  • Where Are They Now? ("Classic TREK characters, McCoy and Sarek, have appeared on TNG. Do we want to see the future of other original crew members and guests and if so, who?")
  • Pointed Ears and Spotted Heads ("The new Fox series, Alien Nation, contains many of the same elements as classic TREK, including an early cancellation and fan protest, and our panel discusses the similarities.")
  • Little Tin Gods ("They live in our fantasies and grow larger than life. Have our TREK SUPERHEROES gone beyond the realm of believability, a factor that was one of the requirements of the series.")
  • Oh, God, It Hurts ("That phrase has evoked shivers of anticipation in the hurt/comfort aficionado, in both the written and spoken form. An hour of fun for those of this genre to bare their secret fantasies, and for the un-initiated who wonder at the fascination of such a "bizarre" interest.")
  • Generation Gap ("The friendship of Kirk's bridge crew is legendary and the basis of many episode and movie story lines. Now, after three seasons, we examine what relationships have or have not developed aboard Picard's Enterprise and how important they are to the series' success.")
  • I'Chiya and Isis ("They say pets tell a lot about the type of people who own them. Given this premise, the panel will speculate on what kind of animal Kirk, Spock and Co. and Picard's Crew might choose as their individual companions.")
  • Pretty is as Pretty Does ("A panel of experts discuss the importance of presentation in a costume contest.")
• Nancy Kippax's Trektalk
• Infinite Vulcan, Pirates of Orion
• Game: Trekionary ("In the tradition of shows such as Win, Lose, or Draw and the Pictionary board game, comes TREKTIONARY. Join us on Sunday for competition play on our easels, as teams decipher the doodles and scratches of clues as given to you by your host, Marc Lee. Come as a team or be a part of on-site team formation. Your artistic skill or lack thereof will determine if you will be named TREKTIONARY CHAMPS. TREKTIONARY. BE AN ARTIST.")
• Plays:
  • Trek to the Future ("Holy fuel report, Batman! Will our heroes remember their lines? Yes, this weekend, you get not one but two plays from some of fandom's finest. OktoberTrek welcomes Cheap Treks Productions, the people behind Fandom at the Opera and Bolt Upright: Space Shamus, to our stage. Come watch the magic happen as we answer the question, "How're they gonna get a Delorean on stage?!" Starring Lance Woods, David Keefer and Tom Chafin.")
  • The Ghost and Doctor Crusher ("The Not-Ready-For-Paramount Players present their latest comic smash. Remember Star Trek IV: The Voyage (the hell) Home, and Star Trek V: What the Hell? Yes, it's every bit as gruesome. If you've never been to a convention stage play, find out what you're missing! Learn what happened to Beverly Crusher in her year away from the U.S.S. Enterprise. Susan White Weinstein, Steve Wilson, Paul BaIze and Barbara Thompson star.")
• Star Trek Bloopers
• Klingon Slide Show
• Temple of Trek ("The TEMPLE OF TREK REVIVAL, now in its sixth year, brings the words of the Great Bird to his Faithful Fen at conventions in the Mid-Atlantic area. Join Dr. Trekwell and his Choir of the Robes of Many Colors as they sing hymns such as "Amazing Spock," "Kroyka T'hylla Kroyka,II "Great Bird Loves the Little Children" and other standards like you've never heard them before. If you want to get a flavor of the Temple services, visit Dr. Trekwell at his table in the Dealers' Room where he sells his "religious articles" for a small love offering. The TEMPLE OF TREK however isn't always out for fun. Collections taken at services go to various charities as have profits from bake sales and other endeavors. If you're a faithful fan, the Temple is for you! PRAISE TREK!")
• Mortas-Te-Kaase ("Mortas-Te-Kaase (Imperial Klingon Death's Hand Squadron) has been in existence for 15 years. Originally a small group, it has grown to be one of the largest Klingon groups in the world. It is a multinational, activity-oriented group, which seeks to involve as many of its members as possible in a variety of activities, ranging from Laser Battles (with Federation, Romulan, and other alien groups) to role-playing games; from excursions (both scientific and relaxing) to convention security; from Children's Literacy campaigns to the "Battle of the Bulge" (a health and fitness campaign). One of the group's goals is to provide accurate information on the Klingons of the Roddenberry/Star Trek universe. The group seeks to educate the Klingon-fan population through its membership package, newsletters, meetings, and whatever other ways are possible. The Slide Presentation, "A Tour Through a Klingon Battlecruiser," and the following Q&A period are examples of Mortas-Te-Kaase's efforts to bring information about the Klingon's ships, culture, attitudes and ways of life from Paramount to the public. The program is dedicated to the late Michael McMaster, designer of the Klingon Battlecruiser blueprints. The narrator is Richard Nocella, a veteran planetarium instructor and a college professor with over 20 years experience. In the presentation, Mr. Nocella uses a variety of techniques he has created, as well as slides which were made especially for this program. The Q&A portion will be under the command of Lord Krell Epetay-Vertah (Thomas Scheuer), Lord Admiral and founder of Mortas-Te-Kaase and veteran Klingon warrior for many years.")
• The Kroykah! Show ("Join hosts Steve Wilson and Marc Lee for Friday late-nite entertainment at the Kroykah! Show. Just like the Gong Show, we'll be showcasing the talents of any fan who's brave or stupid enough to take the stage. Expect some real dogs! Our expert panel of celebrity judges will rate the acts (giving the Kroykah! to any unfit to continue), and select the grand prize winners.")
• Ten Forward ("The committee that held the first, ground-breaking Ten Forward proudly invites you to the celebration no convention since has done without! A cash bar, dancing, and a D.J. bring a little taste of the NCC 1701-D to Hunt Valley. In keeping with the spirit of OktoberFest, a short selection of German Polka music will be played.")

1990: Flyers and Pocket Programs

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  a 1990 flyer

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  another 1990 flyer

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  the pocket program for the 1990 Saturday programming

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  the pocket program for the 1990 Sunday programming

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  movie trivia quiz for 1990

1990: From the Program Book

[by Sandy Zier]:

Maybe the date July 29, 1989 should go down in history next to other historical events such as the Berlin Wall coming down, the dismantling of Checkpoint Charlie and Glasnost. July 29, 1989 was intended to be the last official get- together of the ClipperCon Committee and ended up being The First Official Planning Meeting for OktoberTrek. At first, none of us were really sure if we were being serious, it soon became evident that we, in fact, did not want ClipperCon 1989 to be our last convention. Dates and guests were discussed and suddenly planning began in earnest. The weekend you will now enjoy is the product of over a year's hard work by a group of people without whom I would have never even considered being chairman. I'm not saying that my job has been easy {I've learned more about accounting than I ever wanted to know!}, but the OktoberTrek Committee works like a fine-tuned piano, with each subcommittee fitting together to plan a weekend full of fun with a variety of programming. Although Marion McChesney is not officially a part of this Committee, she has to take most of the credit for putting this group together. And, while I'm at it, I must thank Marion for her idea for the OktoberTrek logo.

The entire committee has been there when I've needed anything -- from advice on decisions to moral support. While I don't have the space to thank each member individually, I must single out a few. First, George Laurence {aka The Miracle Worker}. George, who is in charge of logistics, has the patience of a Vulcan and such a reputation with the Hunt Valley that when first booking OktoberTrek, they made sure that George would be handling logistics. Second, thanks to all of the committee heads. The expertise in their specific areas cannot be overlooked. Third, Carolyn Venino. Carolyn seems to have become a "fixture" at preregistration tables at Baltimore conventions. I turned the entire job of organizing preregistration over to her for OktoberTrek. Of course, she didn't think we'd have 500+ preregistrations when she agreed to do this, and despite the death of her mother earlier this summer, she has taken it all in stride. And lastly, Bev Volker, our Programming Chairman, has taken the individual events and molded this weekend into a smooth running convention. Bev knows her job so well that the schedule was, for the most part, locked in by the first of August. These people, along with the rest of the committee, have worked hard to produce the weekend you are about to enjoy.

I also owe a debt of gratitude to Sue Keenan, President of the DeForest Kelley Fan Club and, more importantly, a friend, not to mention Christine Myers for being willing to do our Program Book cover on short notice. It is truly wonderful.

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1990: Convention Reports

The DKFC party ["De Rowdy Cowboy Roundup"] actually started Friday morning when I opened the DKFC table at the con. (Sandy provided the table free for selling memberships and items to benefit the NSAL.) I had worked up a little game where the members would have to find each other before the party on Saturday night. That was a good ice breaker for many of them. I spent most of the time at the table except for a few panels I was on and to catch a bite to eat. That gave me a great chance to meet our members. I must admit that I was a bit nervous about this party. I know most of the members in the West, but this was my first East Coast party and I'd never met most of those coming. So I had a chance to meet a lot of you and renew old friendships with others. That was great.

[...]

By the time Saturday evening rolled around I was feeling a little less nervous (but only a little). I was less prepared for this party than usual and had never had more than 35 people there. It started at 7:30 but we took a good half hour or so to get eats and drinks. Then Krazy Kris did a comedy routine and we had a <^ick draw contest. Several members came in western dress in keeping with the cowboy theme and some were even packing guns. Krazy Kris took on Laura Guyer in the first showdown, then was challenged by Mississippi Gambler Sherry Veltkamp. Kris seemed to be the winner but no one really cared (they all got the same prize!) Sometime toward the start of the party I did something I'd never done before. I don't know why, but I said a few words to the group about what to do if De and Carolyn should show up. Nothing elaborate, just not to press forward, stay in their seats and vacate two chairs near the door. Even though I did not expect them to show up, I had a funny feeling at the back of my neck... Hell, Sandy had told me they weren't coming!

So about 9 pm we started the charity auction. We had a lot of groat stuff and I figured we'd make about $1,000-1,500 which would be a new record. We were just getting started on our second item when there was a knock at the door. Someone opened it and there was Sandy. She asked if she could bring a couple of guests who were not pre-registered. Hmmmm. The back of my neck was jumpin'. "Sure," I said. In walked De and Carolyn. The room jumped up in a standing ovation. De and Carolyn settled into 2 miraculously vacated chairs near the door and members settled back into theirs. De wanted to meet the members, so we went around the room as each one introduced themselves by name and where they were from. De spent about a minute talking to each member and astounded several by remembering letters they had sent or meeting them at previous conventions. If he didn't know them, he talked about their home town if he had been there or near there. The Kelleys stayed about an hour, then apologized for interrupting, and left. (Did anyone mind that interruption?) For the next half hour the suite was in a state of bedlam. Members were bouncing off the walls and ceiling like crazy. What happened to my quiet, well-behaved club? When we finally got back to the auction, I was astounded at the prices things were going for. Of course, De had given me a lot of great stuff to auction off including his Star Trek V script and revisions, his shooting schedule , autographed photos, etc., etc. and the members also donated a bunch of goodies. Several items went for over $100, but the most was $425 for De's ST V script". When the final tally was done, I almost fainted. The DKFC party had $2500 to donate to the NSAL! Fantastic! We adopted the NSAL as our club charity in August 1986 and in the past four years we have raised $7,837 for them, not to mention what we may each contribute individually. I think we can be pretty proud of that.

So ended another DKFC party. It may not have been as organized as usual but it certainly had some great "perks."

This year I decided to spend my birthday at OktoberTrek and it was the best birthday I ever had. On Saturday evening I went to my first DKFC party [called the "De Rowdy Cowboy Roundup"]. After losing the quick draw contest to Krazy Kris, I settled down to spend mucho money at the auction. Sue warned us that De never comes to these things, but "just in case", we should vacate two chairs, not take any pictures, and stay in our seats if the impossible did occur. As the auction proceeded, there came a knock at the door. I looked over eagerly as the door was opened, but there was a lady I didn't recognize standing there in the hall. She asked if she could bring a couple of unregistered guests. Sue agreed, and the guests appeared — in the persons of De and his lovely wife Carolyn! Well, at that moment the only sound to be heard was that of our jaws dropping to the floor. Then there was pandemonium as everyone jumped up and applauded wildly. Then I remembered Sue's words and leaped from my chair, stumbling over the poor girl in front of me. I pounced on Carolyn, took her arm, and said, "Take my chair, please!" I hope I didn't frighten her too much. I asked her if she had received the picture I had sent her from Los Angeles and she said yes and thanked me. By this time the chair, next to mine had been vacated for De and I plopped myself on the floor next to it. He took his place and apologized for disturbing us. Now I don't know about any of you, but I could have tolerated such a disturbance all night. Anyway, Sue suggested we all introduce ourselves. As we did so, he greeted each person warmly. Fortunately, I was near the end and so had some time to remember how to speak. I was enjoying myself tremendously watching De from my vantage point on the floor. By this time I had scooted around in front of him and was sitting at his feet. When he finally focussed his blue eyes on me, I thought I'd melt into a puddle. But I managed to utter my name and where I was from, and ungraciously stuck my hand out to him. He graciously took it and held it firmly while commenting about his last trip to Denver. I replied with some inane remarks and hoped he wouldn't think I was too retarded. And then the most thrilling moment of my life was over. But I'll never forget meeting the sweetest guy in the universe.

The next day I bought a plane ticket to the New York con over Thanksgiving. What better way to spend the holiday?

The con hotel was despicable! Pat and I entered our rooms (after Pat had waited SIX HOURS!) to find it knee-deep in 700 balloons. So much for the hotel's amenities: we couldn't SEE them, anyway. It was wonderful, however, to find our very own "Bones" luxuriating in the tub. . .. That was a nice touch. Name me one other hotel room on the planet that had something that nice in THEIR tub! (Carolyn's room probably had a nicer one. Sue.) Sandy Zier welcomed us briefly on Friday, then fled! (We didn't understand that at ALL, until later. We hadn't reached our hotel room yet.) Then on Saturday morning, Sandy put us to work stuffing convention packets. (We offered to help and she actually took us up on it! What nerve! hee hee hee) After that, we wandered around and studied the wide array of activities available to con-goers: a fantastic dealer's room, art room, speaker's panels, you name it — OktoberTrek had it! Anyone who was bored at THIS con was hopeless. Most of our time was of course spent waiting for De's appearances (the reason we had flown there, after all), and when he came out, the audience went wild. He was obviously having a lot of FUN both days: He was positively animated. At one point he got to clowning around with the public address system. The microphones into which the audience questioners spoke were connected to an audio speaker which had been placed right on the stage with De, so it was almost blaring into his kneecap. He pretended as if the actual questioner was standing where the box was... knee level on the stage with him. One audience questioner kept telling him, "Mr. Kelley, I'm over here... over here..." and De would look over and wave at him and then when he would begin to ask the question, De would look back at the speaker on the stage! So the questioner would say, "No, sir. I'm over here! Over here!" and he'd look back again. It was hysterical. The audience was laughing like crazy. Finally he threw up his hands in mock exasperation and Said, "Boy, this is a crazy bunch." Not that he had anything to do with that craziness... oh, no. Not at all! At another point I specifically remember De mentioning a unique plaque that had been presented to him earlier by two fans as a measure of their esteem for him and Carolyn. (Ahem.) As I recall, he referred to them as "a smart-ass group." (I don't think he had any appreciation of the amount of sh— I had to go through in order to create that precious item to express our deep appreciation for him and Carolyn.) (We made one for Sue, too...) (But that's another story... which will appear in our REBUTTAL in the next issue of The Dispatch. It is very kind of Sue to offer us equal time. I assure you, SHE WILL REGRET IT! hee hee hee But vou'll like it!! Guaranteed!) (If you think we just threw up our hands and surrendered, you will DEscover otherwise in the next issue! Stay tuned!) The topics covered during De's appearance included serious and humorous references... anecdotes of some of his days in westerns... why he decided to appear in The Next Generation... what he does on a typical week at home... (I mean, fans got really nosey!)... But many of the comments were simply thank-yous for the many years of pleasure he had given those in the audience. He graciously acknowledged their thanks with thanks of his own— for their support and the many years of pleasure they have given HIM! *sigh* It's no mystery why De's fans feel so much affection for him — he returns it unabashedly!) In two words, this beleaguered, tormented, completely unbiased attendee thinks OktoberTrek was the BEST EVER!

My heartfelt thanks to Sandy and Sue and the entire OktoberTrek Committee for making it that way for every person in attendance. They knocked themselves out, and it showed. Bravo! Congratulations on an unqualified success!

Oktobertrek was held just outside of Baltimore, Md. on October 12–14 in the ever hospitable Marriot. Our trip started off uneventfully enough, that is until about 3 AM on 1-95. As Libby drove, Teresa chatted, and I slept, a piece of concrete threw itself in front of our car and blew out our back tire. And after the kindness of a stranger and an encounter with an even stranger stranger, we arrived at our hotel none the worse for wear. And then four or five hours later the craziness started on Friday. The dealers' room opened at noon and Teresa and I soon found ourselves lost among all of the nifty stuff for sale. Aside from the dealers' room, there were only the Charity Auction and The Kroykah Show to really attend, besides of course the non-stop movies. The Kroykah Show was a talent show that turned out to be okay. The Bonny V/Hawkeye entourage arrived at our doorstep Friday night and made themselves at home for an hour or so. Saturday began with the Temple of Trek, which for me was very interesting since it was my first time being blessed by the Rev. Trekwell. I was told by those who had seen the Reverend before that this was not one of his better services - pity. After services, Teresa and I got in line for Gates McFadden's autograph. Our place in line proved to be quite a rumor mill. It seemed that everybody we talked to brought up the Jonathan Frakes fiasco on Arsenio Hall. We had personally not seen the episode but were quite appalled, to say the least. In the meantime, the honorable Dr. Crusher was ruffling a few feathers of her own. It was announced that she would only sign for 1/2 hour instead of an hour. She also would not allow any video cameras in her presence, which was inconvenient because I brought mine to shoot some stuff for the possible TV show. Needless to say I did sneak some while she was signing. Immediately afterwards we found our seats and waited for Gates to do her stuff. I personally was not impressed with her. She seemed to dodge a lot of the questions and had a bit of an attitude. That didn't bother me though because I was really waiting for DeForest Kelley. And when he finally got on stage, it was well worth the wait. De was very personable and had the crowd in the palm of his hand. Afterwards Teresa went off to the masquerade contest and I grabbed my video camera. It was then that I ended up waiting in a jam packed lobby for an hour for the con committee to open the auditorium for the costume show. The show was pretty good, the costumes inventive but some of the judging left something to be desired.

We caught up with the Bonny V group in Ten Forward and danced the night away. An early retreat by the Bonny V to their quarters for a quietless night, left the remains of the Kitty Hawk to close down the party, They had to kick us out at 4 AM. It was from there that we went off to the IHOP to terrorize the mundanes. By the way, Pat, tell Jim that he can pick up the cuffs at my place as long as I get my scarves back. Sunday brought about more adventures in the dealers' room and finally a tape of De's presentation. Dr. McCoy is twice as good the second time around. We left right afterwards a little bit poorer, but a little happier.

STARDATE: 9010.14 - We are on our way home from one of the most poorly organized conventions we have ever been to - Oktobertrek in Hunt Valley, Maryland. The guests were Gates McFadden and DeForest Kelley. We left home about 2 AM Saturday and drove 6 hours to arrive at the hotel at 8:00 AM. We looked around for a few minutes, then got in line for registration at 9:00 AM. We got our badges ($20 for one day! De sure takes his toll on our pockets!) and went straight to the dealers' room. There was not a bad selection, and there were more big ticket items here than at most cons. I met up with Jack Hopkins and company almost immediately. He said they were in the hotel across the street. We caught up with each other often during the day.

Later in the day, we (my friend Jim Dillard and I) caught up with Teresa and Kristen waiting in the autograph line. We said hi, etc. They were among the lucky few that got autographs that day. We waited in line for over an hour when security cut off the line about 20 people ahead of us. He came my direction and I asked him about it. He said I could come back tomorrow. I told him I had a one-day pass and wouldn't be attending tomorrow. He said, "Sorry." I said, "You mean to tell me that I got up at 2:00 this morning and drove straight through for 6 hours to hear 'Sorry'?" I was not impressed. If I had not gotten Gates autograph at Vulkon, I would have really been mad.

So we rejoined my mother and went to find seats for Gates' presentation. It was still about 2 1/2 hours before her time to appear, so we sat through 45 minutes of a Klingon Language Forum, but we figured, hey, at least we got seats, even if they are in the back of the room. At the end of the forum, however, they cleared the auditorium to allow people to set the stage for a play. Thus, there went our seats! I was ready to hang it up right there, but neither Mom nor Jim had seen Gates before, so we figured we'd stick it out. Well, we went back to see the start of the play and got stuck standing behind the last row of seats in the auditorium. We didn't stay long. So, when we came back for Gates' presentation, we were still stuck in the back since, of course, no one moved. We stayed for about 10 minutes. Then my Mom, who is slightly arthritic, said she wanted to stay, but her legs couldn't take it anymore, so she went back to the room to rest, and Jim and I sat in the hall and listened.

Later, we went in for the costume contest. I entered for the workmanship part of the contest. I was very pleased to note the judges pointed out to each other all the details I had wanted them to notice and one of them wrote "excellent" on his pad. YEAH!! They said the prizes would be awarded in about 3 1/2 hours, so Jim and I hit the pool and came back a couple of hours later. Teresa came up to me and asked what happened to me. I stared at her blankly. She said, "They called your name to go up on stage a bunch of times, but you didn't show." I explained to her that I had assumed, according to the instructions I was given, that the workmanship part was separate from the presentation part, when actually, the workmanship was above and beyond the presentation; that is, you could be in the presentation part without being judged for workmanship, but not vice-versa. So, when I didn't show up on stage, I was disqualified from any judging at all. I was not happy. But, to quote Riker to Picard in the episode "Shades of Gray": "When you drop a hammer on your foot, it's hardly useful to get mad at the hammer."

Anyway, later in the evening, about 10:00 PM, they set up a ten-forward. Jim and I had a few drinks and joined Kristen and her group. Kristen, Teresa, Jim and I alternated between the dance floor, the bar, and our seats until about 2:00 AM. Then, when they were kicking everyone out, about 3:30 AM, the four of us decided to go to IHOP (that's Intergalactic House of Pancakes). We had breakfast and conversation (most of which I won't repeat, even if my mind is melded or sifted) and got back to the hotel about 5:00 AM. We walked the ladies to their room and said goodnight.

Sunday morning, my eyes opened about 11:00 AM. I couldn't believe that I slept that late at a con! We decided to take one more quick (and expensive) trip through the dealers' room, find everyone and say goodbye before we left, so we did just that.

In conclusion, the only saving grace for this convention in my mind (besides the leather and handcuffs) was the fact that some of my fellow crewmates were there to spend time with because if I had been alone, I would have left at 2:00 PM Saturday. I was that unimpressed (to be polite) with the planning and organization of the event. But, I got by with a little help from my friends. Thanks, people! (And you know who you are!)

This year I decided to spend my birthday at Oktoberfest, and it was the best birthday I ever had. On Saturday evening I went to my first DKFC party. Alter losing the quick draw contest to Krazy Kris, 1 settled down 10 spend mucho money at the auction. Sue warned us that De never comes to these things, but just in case, we should vacate two chairs, not take any pictures, and stay in our seats. As the auction proceeded, there came a knock at the door. I looked over eagerly as the door was opened, but there was a lady I didn't recognize standing in the hall. She asked if she could bring an unregistered guest. Sue agreed, and the guest appeared—in the person of De and his lovely wife Carolyn! Well, at that moment the only sound to be heard was that of our jaws dropping to the floor. Then I remembered Sue's words and leaped from my chair, stumbling over the poor girl in front of me. I pounced on Carolyn, took her arm, and said, 'Take my chair, PLEEZE." I hope I didn't frighten her too much. I asked her if she'd received the picture I'd sent her from Los Angeles and she said yes and thanked me. By this time the chair next to mine had been vacated for De and I plopped myself on the floor next to It. He took his place and apologized for disturbing us. Now I don't know about any of you, but I could have tolerated such a disturbance all night. Anyway, Sue suggested we all introduce ourselves. As we did so, De greeted each person warmly. Fortunately I was near the end so I had some time to remember how to speak. I was enjoying myself tremendously watching De from my vantage point on the floor. By this time I had scooted around in front of him and was sitting at his feet. When he finally focused his blue eyes on me, I thought I'd melt into a puddle. But I managed to utter my name and where I was from, and ungraciously stuck my hand out to him. He graciously took it and held it firmly while commenting about his last trip to Denver. I replied with some inane remarks and hoped he wouldn't think I was too retarded. And then the most thrilling moment of my life was over. But I'll never forget meeting the sweetest guy in the universe. The next day I bought a plane ticket to the New York con over Thanksgiving. What better way to spend the holiday?"

I didn't make a transcript of this convention but a couple of things stand out in my memory. I was sitting in the auditorium listening to Gates McFadden and reading a zine at the same time, when the audience burst into uproarious applause. I looked up to see that De had come out from backstage to give Gates a hug.

During De's appearance, in the question and answers session, there were microphones set up on the sides and in the back of the room. It was a pretty large room, so mikes were necessary. The speakers, however were on the sides of the stage. So when the person at the mike spoke, his or her voice came from the speaker on stage. De pretended he couldn't find the person who was speaking. He kept looking at the speaker on the stage and saying, "Where are you?" The person would answer, "Here," and he would look at the speaker and say, "Where?" This went on for a while and really cracked us up. Finally we convinced him to look out into the audience for the person speaking, and he acted very surprised and said, "Oh, there you are!"

1991

It was held October 4–6, 1991 at the Marriott Hunt Valley Inn in Maryland, US.

The celebrity guests of honor were Jonathan Frakes, LeVar Burton (his first con appearance), Nichelle Nichols, Robert H. Justman, Bruce Hyde (portrayed Kevin Riley), Arne Starr (artist and Asst. Sysop of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Roundtable on the GEnie computer network), Marc Okrand, and Howard Weinstein. While A.C. Crispin wasn't an official guest, she spoke at a panel in exchange for her door fee waived.

The con charities were Juvenile Diabetes Foundation (Jonathan Frake's choice) and Kwanza Foundation (Nichelle Nichols' choice).

The program book is 44 pages long. It contains programming info, bios of the guests, about Star Trek's place in history, maps, rules, and finally, an an essay by Sue Keenan ("To Boldly Go..."); Keenan was President of the DeForest Kelley Fan Communique (DKFC), and this essay originally appeared in the DKFC Newsletter in September, 1991.

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  cover of the 1991 convention book

1991: From the Program Book

[excerpt from the program book]: Twenty-five years. A quarter century. How many times will people ask the infamous questions: Why has Star Trek endured for 25 years? What has made it so popular that we have seen 79 episodes that are forever in reruns, five -- soon to be six -- major motion pictures, and a new series that has seen over 100 episodes become one o fthe top-rated first-run syndicated shows on television today? I don't claim to have the answer. I can, however, add my opinion to everyone else's.

In the 1960's when Star Trek first aired, we had, among other things, war and racial tension compounded by negative feedback on television, the radio and in the newspaper. Star Trek was an escape. It was a show that told us there was hope for the future... that people were inherently good and, despite their differences, people ofall races, creeds, sexes and handicaps could work and live together. People old enough to understand looked to Star Trek for a temporary escape. Young people found heroes they could idolize and mimic.

Personally, it was a time spent with my father, who watched Star Trek because DeForest Kelley was in it. My father recognized De from his various western roles and felt a show with De Kelley couldn't be all bad. As I became more involved in fandom, I grew... from a shy, insecure person to one who is fairly self-confident. Star Trek fandom is a place where people can go and not worry about their image. Everyone belongs.

We find ourselves at OktoberTrek 91. This is a convention run by a group of fans -- many of whom were part of a group that welcomed me a short eight years ago. We do this because we want to. There is no underlying motive -- be it profit or fame -- we merely want to share our love of Star Trek with people who have the same interests. We may make mistakes along the way, but the bottom line is that we want each and everyone ofyou to leave ·this convention having had a wonderful time. We offer you a lot of choices in programming. While most of you are here to see our guests, I encourage you to sample our alternate programming -- programming you will only find at fan-run conventions.

1991: Programming

• Temple of Trek and Reverend Trekwell
• a 24-hour computer room
• informational gatherings about American Sign Language and sight impairment
• Panels
  • And the Beat Goes On ("If Spock and McCoy go, can Kirk be far behind? Not to mention Sarek. It seems our classic TREK characters are making the move, one by one, to appear on Next Generation. This panel examines how we, as fans, feel about it. Does it give Trek a sense of continuity or is it a betrayal of our fantasies for the future of our classic heroes? How do we feel about seeing these adventures 80 years hence?")
  • The Cast You Love to Boo ("What is it about characters such as Chekov, Wesley, Chapel (occasionally Riker and even Kirk) that raises fans' ire? If one of these is your personal favorite, come to defend his/her position -- no weapons except words, please.")
  • Convention Update ("Informed panelists present current news on the problems fan cons are facing with a certain pro-con's apparent intention of a monopoly. A follow-up to the discussions at Shore Leave XIII.")
  • Costume Calls from the '60s to the '90s ("Ever since the firstStar Trek fan put on a pair of "Spock ears", costuming has been a part of fandom. A panel of experts discuss the changes in these events, examining improvements, new techniques and materials and explore the attitudes of costumers and spectators over the years.")
  • Dinosaurs? ("They're not extinct. They pioneered Trek Fandom, wrote letters, published zines, held conventions that expected 300 and drew 3,000. By special request, these panelists share experiences and enthusiasm. They'll make you proud to be a Star Trek fan if this is your first con or if you've been around as long as they have.")
  • Gender and Power in Starfleet ("There seems to be a dearth of female admirals or even captains on Next Gen causing panelists to wonder if indeed the 90's TREK has gone much beyond Uhura's "opening hailing-frequencies" or Chapel's doe-eyed adoration of Spock of the 60's. Does the Starfleet of either series really reflect the future of Women's Equal Rights.")
  • I Saw It the Movies ("...but it ain't necessarily what I wrote. Before the Motion Picture, fan writers speculated beyond the five-year mission... then we saw beyond. A fun panel to discuss what kind offuture we might have seen for our heroes, better or worse than what the producers gave us. Let your imagination go wild or keep it conservative.")
  • In the Spirit of the IDIC ("A panel of interested fans discuss the feasibility of a gay character being featured on Next Generation.")
  • Kirk vs. Picard ("If the Earth were in jeopardy, who would be the better man to save it? Frustrated by the inability to do more than punch a number in reply to the questions recently posed in a T.V. Guide poll? Now's your chance to listen to our panelists' thought-out defense of their choice and to voice the reasons behind your decision.)
  • Klingons, Klingons, and More Klingons ("The only race outside the Federation to play so prominent a part ofthe original series, all the movies, and the Next Generation. Spawning a fandom of their own, a panel ofKlingon sympathizers, examines what makes them so fascinating and asks "Are they perennial baddies or is there a redeeming side to the race that remains both an adversary and ally?"")
  • Pro Panel ("Illustrator for D.C. Comics Arne Starr, and Author Ann Crispin, reveal the perks and pitfalls in the world of publishing.")
  • Riker and Geordi ("A panel of "counselors" examine the psyche of our two guests' characters and discuss their strengths and weaknesses, assets and personality flaws in their positions on the Enterprise and relationships to other crewmembers.")
  • Star Trek VI... What???!!! ("Yeah, I know they told us this was the last movie, but on Good Morning, America last August, nearly every cast member expressed a desire, and in fact, implied a good possibility for a Star Trek VII. So, do we think it will happen? Should it?")
  • The Third Generation ("Panelists discuss whether or nor ST:TNG will spawn six movies and another "generation" series as the original has done. STAR TREK: 2016. What's the 50th anniversary prognosis?")
  • Three Faces of Jim ("In the 1970's panelists at early cons discussed how McCoy and Spock were designed to represent the logical and emotional sides of Kirk (i.e. every man). Our 90's panel recreates that subject and adds the knowledge gained by exposure to five movies and the friendship of these three men.")
  • True Confessions of a Fan (" Brave panelists reveal bizzare, hilarious and downright outrageous things they have done in the name of fandom and challenge the audience to top these feats in a side splitting hour of tell-all.")
  • What Would Kirk Give Up for Spock, etc. (" In 1991 we know that Kirk gambled his career, destroyed the Enterprise, and lost his son in his effort to return Spock's katra to Vulcan. And conversely, Spock willingly sacrificed his life to save Kirk's. But let's step through the Guardian. It's 1970. The movies didn't exist, most fan-fiction hadn't been written and panelists were examining the 79 episodes to discover the depths of the relationship between these two characters.")
  • A Writer's Guide for Next Generation ("There was an unwritten guide for fan-fiction of Classic TREK. Fan writers generally "played-by-the-rules," going to great measures to justify what might be considered "unusual" behaviors by specific characters. This panel discusses the "do's and don't" of Next Gen fan fic and attempts to discover why there is so much less of it than there is of Classic Trek.")
  • Reading Rainbow (A children's story hour. Volunteer teachers and librarians read to children.)
• Skit ("Cheap Treks Presents Planet of Dark Shadows. It begins when Kirk, Spock and McCoy follow mysterious crewman Zebediah Collins to his hometown on earth. There, they find a coffin in a secret room and... well, you know what comes next. Join this renowned fandom comedy troupe for their latest (and possibly silliest) musical comedy.")
• Ten Forward ("Following Masquerade Saturday night, join the OktoberTrek comnrittee and fellow fans for a bash so unbelievable it could only have come from outer space. A DJ will take your requests dance songs, a cash bar will be and (new at OktoberTrek!), music videos.... pro and fan... will grace our projection TV.")
• The Kroykah! Show ("Steve Wilson and Marc Lee (who?!) host as a panel of fandom's funniest, most bizzare and even most offensive acts. (There will be a limit to the number of Andrew Dice Kirks, however.) Who will win the trophy and who will be Kroykah!d?")
• Omicron Ceti III: ("It all started on the 10th anniversary ofStar Trek at the Bicentennial 10 Con in New York. OCIII debuted with the filk "You're My Home, Enterprise." The applause from 5000 fans and a trophy from the costume call judges spurred Martha Bonds and Kathy Burns to compose songs celebrating Star Trek. The group at various times consisted of 3, 4, and 5 members but the themes of their music remained the same—Classic Trek adventures, the friendship between Kirk and Spock, and the Star Trek movies. Martha and Rodney Bonds joined by Russ Volker went on to perform at cons from Baltimore to Cleveland to New York and Ottawa, Canada until their "retirement" several years ago. On this 25th Anniversary ofTrek, they are proud to return to the Hunt Valley stage—come join them to sing "One Last Song."")
• filking by The Slime Devils

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  from the 1991 program book

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  from the 1991 program book

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  from the 1991 program book

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  from the 1991 program book

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  from the 1991 program book

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  from the 1991 program book

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  from the 1991 program book

1991: Convention Reports

The Kitty Hawk was represented at Octobertrek in Maryland by a number of members. Four of us (Kristen, Teresa, Larry and I) drove up on Thursday night, arriving in Hunt Valley at 5:00 A.M. Friday was a slow day - we spent much of the day (and much of our money) in the dealer's rooms. After that we decided to go out for a while, and had fun investigating the local antique shops, hobby stores, and nursery-water garden-deli-Christmas store. On return to the hotel, we met up with Pat. That evening we attended the charity auction and were disgusted by the prices some of the items were going for (hundreds of dollars for xerox copies of set drawings brought in by Bob Dustman, for example). Anyway, several of us managed to purchase items anyway at the auction.

Saturday was a little busier. We acquired autographs from Nichele and some of the other guests, but not Levar or Jonathan. One of the big disappointments of the con was that neither of these stars were giving autographs. We bought more goodies in the dealer rooms, and prepared for the evening activities. The costume contest was first, and much shorter than at Shore Leave. Pat entered the costume contest, supposedly in his uniform. The contest came and went and still we saw no sign of Pat. We were beginning to be concerned, and decided to look for him. We saw someone dressed as The Rocketeer and approached him to take a picture. He removed his helmet, and it was Pat! We were all quite surprised. He had arrived at the con about 6 hours earlier than he had told us, and had been wandering around in costume all afternoon Friday, avoiding the rest of us. And to top it off, he won a prize for his costume! (Congratulations!)

Our group attended the Ten-Forward dance, and of course closed the place down at about 3:15 A.M. after which we commenced to the traditional IHOP postdance breakfast. After a couple of hours sleep, we packed up the car and dragged ourselves downstairs for Sunday's activities. We attended the stars' talks - Jonathan was entertaining and apologized profusely for his "foot in mouth" disease on Arsenio Hall. Levar was more serious, and I think a little nervous, this being his first con. Nichele was bubbly and delightful.

After the talks we left in search of food, and then shuttled back to the Triangle Sunday night. We did not attend any of the panels or other activities going on. I think a good time was had by all, despite the disappointment of not getting autographs from Levar and Jonathan. In fact, the attitude of the stars was really my only complaint. And the fact that I can't afford to attend these things every weekend!

Day One. The first official day of OctoberTrek was Friday, October 4th. We set ourselves up at the dealer’s room... The spread of vendors was pretty impressive: everything from V to Quantum Leap to Japanimation and a Planet of the Apes playset. And of course, the usual and unusual Star Trek fare. I even found — to my horror, I might add — a Kiefer Sutherland/Lou Diamond Phillips slash zine. I don’t know about Lou, but Kief would have died laughing.

As none of the major guests were scheduled to arrive until the next day, the first event I found myself wanting to attend was a panel dedicated to the discussion of why there aren't as many governing rules for Next Gen fan fiction as there are for Class. That, however, was not what the panel was about I’m not clear on what the qualifications of the three panelist were (one of them was a great guy though, I found out later), but they did seem to have one thing in common: a staggering lack of knowledge about current Next Gen fan fiction. They were quite adamant that there was nothing being written out there about Next Gen. (That came as quite a surprise to me.) In addition, they seemed convinced that the reason for this was because there was no chemistry between the Next Gen characters to inspire the fans to action. (That came as a surprise, too.) They then proceeded to discuss why this appalling lack of inspiration was leading to the death of Trek fandom in general. Hmmm. Guess two thousand a day wasn’t much of a turnout for a convention. (A convention with two out of the three main stars being non-inspirational Next Geners, no less). As if I wasn't disgusted enough with the lack of acumen these panelists displayed about their subject, one of them went on to mention that she had a script under consideration with Paramount for a Next Gen episode. This, mind you, was the same woman who said there wasn't any character development worthy of inspiration on the show. Ahhh. Now I know where scripts like 'Skin of Evil' come from. (Sorry if that episode is one of your personal favorites.)

Well. So much for panels, I went back to the dealer's room and did some more shopping. (It was either shopping or chocolate, and I hadn’t seen any likely chocolate candidates.) Ann and I hung out at the Orion Press table until the room closed down. More accurately, I hung out and Ann worked. I got a whole new understanding of what it means to do a zine. Aside from writer, editor, artist, critic, nursemaid, ego-booster and general, all-round jack of all trades, you have to be a salesman, too! Made me glad I was just a writer.

The banquet was scheduled to be followed by a Klingon version of The Gong Show called 'The Kroykah Show' (And to think I was sure meant 'stop' in Vulcan!) — starting at midnight-- I'd have to assume they figured anyone still up at that hour was either bored enough or inebriated enough to laugh at anything. The Kroykah Show actually had a great deal in common with its prototype. That is not a compliment. Acts were squirrely to the extreme, with the exception of a highly entertaining rendition of 'Doing the Star Trek Crossword Puzzles' sung with grand abandon by someone whose name I didn’t catch. (She, by the way, won the big prize. What that was, I wouldn’t hazard a guess.) Despite the general stupidity of the show itself - this is the kind of stuff that give Mundanes their ideas on 'Trekkies' -- M.C. Mark Lee and his co-host (I’m sorry, I can’t remember his name either) actually managed to take absolutely nothing from between the acts and make it amusing in a maniacal, way - out-in-left-field sort of way. I have no idea why, but the memory of a thin black man who looks a lot like Spike Lee but acts like Arsenio Hall on speed, standing, a white guy who resembles no one more than Dudley Do Right from the old Bullwinkle cartoons, belting out the theme songs from Green Acres and Mister Ed at the top of their exuberant, if excessively untrained, voices still cracks me up. My best guess is that it must have something to do with the Star Trek State of Mind.

All-in-all, what did I enjoy most about the day’s events? The truth? Watching Johnny Soko and his Flying Robot on the video monitor set up by the vendor across the aisle from us in the dealer’s room. Ann found it highly amusing that I was so enthralled by a badly dubbed Japanese monster movie that made Dr. Who special effects look sophisticated by comparison. (Hey, I was re-capturing the essence of my misspent childhood, johnny Soko was my first love. Or maybe second: I think Nick Barkley had already been cancelled by that time. My brother and I used to run home from grade school to catch Johnny on the tube. Well, actually, my brother ran to catch The Flying Robot. But I was running for Johnny.) I found it depressing. It made me begin to recollect with great fondness 'The City of Fountains' I'd left behind. What had looked yesterday like escape, was starting to look again like home. (Home is where your dog is.)

Now that’s depressed!

On the other hand, it couldn’t go anywhere but up. At least, that’s what I was hoping. Day Two. First on my agenda was a panel discussion addressing the intricacies of the main guest’s alter-egos: Geordi LaForge and Will Riker. After waiting twenty minutes outside a locked room with no sign of any official attempt to rectify the situation, I decided one should never dissect a character before breakfast anyway, so I punted and headed for another sector of the hotel. I landed in Howard Weinstein’s talk. Interesting man.

[...]

Weinstein's talk started the ball rolling. The nagging feeling that perhaps I should have stayed in Kansas City began to fade. A pleasant, unassuming mix of Q&A and persona! environmental philosophy (as compared to the rather heavy-handed sermons that normally weigh down his author’s notes) preceded a short reading from his new Next Gen novel. Nice character bits delivered in an entertaining reading voice brought the spirit of Next Gen into the room for a short while. I started to smile. Then, he moved on to a very entertaining slide show detailing Trek’s growth through cleverly juxtaposed dialogue and Classic episode stills. Though he ran a bit over his allotted one hour and was being desperately flagged by conn committee personnel, Howie steadfastly refused to abandon stage (thanks, Howie) until he was quite finished.

The next event of consequence was Bruce Hyde’s lecture. And I use the word lecture deliberately. The actor, who is best known for singing 'I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen' over the Enterprises comm system as Kevin Riley in the Classic Trek episode, ’The Naked Time,' has since moved on to a Ph.D. in linguistics and existential bullshit. By the end of the first ten minutes of his lecture, I was beginning to wonder if Sulu wasn’t at the convention as well, carrying around a little space buggie and infecting the guests.

Not that Bruce didn't know his stuff. He did. He came off very well-learned and intelligently passionate about his subject and...condescending as hell. I sat for sixty minutes and listened to him tell me: 1) my dog doesn't really love me, 2) Newton invented-not discovered, gravity, and 3) if a tree falls in the forest and there's no one around to hear it, not only does it make no sound, it's not even really a tree. Hmmm. Sounds like Southern California to me. (I can say that; I was born there.) Now, of course, I'm deliberately oversimplifying. His intent, one would have to assume, was to use deliberately inflammatory statements to get our attention. Once he get it, however, he was only interested in arguing semantics (invented versus discovered, etc). You say potato, I say potahtoe...

I will admit though, he did manage to capture my complete and undivided attention once. It was when he ’languaged' a chair as a chair by sitting in it Though the point must have been that the chair was merely a nameless object until he defined a use for it through his own perception of its identity (which he languaged 'languaging'), the message I got was somewhat different. When he placed his posterior on an object and languaged it ’languaging,' I oouldn’t help but wonder if that didn’t mean he was talking through his butt.

The final event before the onset of major guests was a ‘Pro Panel' consisting of three professionally-aligned Trek people: Dennis Putnam Bailey, co-author of the episode Tin Man; Arne Starr, DC ST:TNG Comic Artist; and Ann Crispin, author of Yesterday's Son and A Time for Yesterday, as well as Eyes of the Beholders and other various SF novels. (Ann was not a scheduled guest She was conning on her own and agreed to sit in on the panel in exchange for the door fee.) Unlike the other panels, this one consisted of panelists qualified to address their subject and well-versed in how to interact with the audience without losing direction. All three panelists were informative and unassuming. Arne addressed computer networking, with which he is heavily involved, as well as comic book concerns while Ann and Dennis answered the few questions that came up about publishers, agents and free-lancing. All-in-all, I found their hour to be one of the most enjoyable of the con, mixing informal persona! contact with useful information from working professionals who are fans themselves.

[much snipped about the presentations by the big name guests]

The second day ended with an all night soiree in the Ten Forward which Ann and I skipped in order to have our own reading marathon of Next Gen fan fiction. I hear some of the revellers were quite proud of themselves for lasting until 3:00 a.m. Heck. That’s nothing. Ann and I didn't hit the sleep deck until well after 2:00 on any of the four nights we were there.

Day Three. I got to admit, the first surprise of the day was the first event of the day: Mark Okrand. Due to the fact that my interest in Klingons stops just short of total disinterest, I wasn’t expecting much out of the guy who authored The Klingon Dictionary and who created the Klingon language for Star Trek II, II, V and VI (IV was a mono-species movie, he reminded us). That’s why I like Trek. It never ceases to surprise me. Okrand was a highly entertaining speaker. And, much to my surprise, he didn't lapse into Klingonese even once during his talk. He told us a lot of things I didn't know -- like the fact that the Klingon language is based entirely on the Klingon spoken in the first movie, which was (you might have known this, but I didn’t) created by Jimmy Doohan. I laughed out loud. No wonder it’s do damn hard to understand the turtle heads! They’re not only speaking Klingonese, they're speaking it with a Scottish brogue!

Anyway, Mark informed us that he took that foundation, and then, using his linguistics education, he expanded on it until an actual language was born.

[...]

Then I set through another Bruce Hyde talk. (Nothing better to do, and I wasn’t giving up a goad seat for the upcoming main events). More 'languaging' of chairs and the like, only a little less derogatory in nature this time around. One might assume the slight swing in attitude came from Con Committee direction to Mister Hyde (was he the good one or the bad one in the Spencer Tracy flick?) that calling a convention attendee who disagreed in a polite manner to the premise of one’s dissertation 'a jerk' mere than fourteen times in one minute was a bit excessive. Hyde went positively spastic when another existentialist in the audience asked a question he considered worthy of his attention. He went on and on about how brilliant the question was (better than calling her a jerk, I suppose) but never really got around to answering it, purportedly on the basis that it would take six or seven hours of intense discussion to come to any sort of self-realization concerning it But great question. Really.

Then 'The City on the Edge of Forever* ran to a full house. After you’ve seen it six thousand times, there aren’t many surprises (Edith still dies in the end), but it’s great fun nonetheless. Next came the Star Trek trailer: Full length version. Hmmm. Looks like an interesting movie. I want to see more of the part where Kirk gets zapped by a Phaser blast and disintegrates with this look on his face like ‘They can't do this to me. I have a contract!!!!' How he’s going to wiggle out of that one is beyond me. As I mentioned before, Sulu finally gets his own ship. Captain Sulu. The audience broke out in spontaneous applause both times they ran the trailer (Instant re-run. Catch phrase of Trek fandom: Tape it, watch it, rewind it, watch it again, rewind it...)

[...]

And then, of course, the inevitable happened. You always think you’re going to make it all the way through a Frakes con without somebody sinking low enough to bring it up, but you never do. Unsuspecting and still grinning from memories of his French teacher, Jonathan pointed to a big guy with a beard who had his hand up.

’You were on The Arsenio Hall Show...'

There it was, out in the open. Killed the mood of joviality, among other things. Several people groaned. I think Jonathan was one of them. He didn’t let the guy finish his question.

’Let me apologize for that,’ he said immediately. 'I made a mistake.’ He wasn’t smiling any more. I’ve seen Jonathan several times, and I can count the times he’s not smiling - at least in his eyes - on one hand. ’Have you ever made a mistake? Well, I made one. A big one. A faux pas. I put my foot in my mouth, and I apologize for it. I'm very sorry. It was a stupid thing to say.’

What I find amazing, is the fact that what he said wasn’t defensive. It wasn't, ’I made a mistake, Okay?!?!?’ in an outraged, indignant injured tone. It wasn’t ‘Get off my back, and let’s get on with fun and games.’ I think the audience was more disgusted with the question than he was. He was apologetic. Nothing more, nothing less. And he was sincere. I'm sure he's addressed that particular question more times than any other, but he didn't come off as if he thought he’d apologized enough. He came off like he was sorry. He didn't make excuses; he didn’t try to justify the comments he made on Arsenio; he didn’t even try to explain them. He merely said he was sorry. The man’s an actor. I'm sure he's played that scene so many times it's old hat to him by now. But it takes real guts to say, ’I was wrong. I apologize.’ I don’t think I've ever heard those same words, or even ones remotely similar, out of the mouths of other Trek personalities who’ve made equally disparaging remarks about their fans. I admire him for it And I can’t hold it against him because I figure the Arsenio episode in his life is kinda like the time I...No — Wait I'm not going to tell you what I did that was that stupid. But I’d be willing to bet that each of us can come up with at least one real seriously stupid thing we've done. We were just lucky enough not to do it on national television.

Jonathan got a lot of applause for that apology. He deserved it And the convention rolled on.

[...]

One of the first things [LeVar Burton] was asked was if he'd consider signing an exclusive contract for con appearances.

He’d been asked this the day before as well, and taking his cue from the audience, he diplomatically stated that — if approached - he would have to respectfully decline. Although the response garnered approving applause, I think the majority of the fans in attendance were more of the 'Boil-'em-in-oil' ilk. This time, LeVar was comfortable enough with his new role to ask a question himself. ‘This is a really hot topic,’ he observed in a Worf-like display of understatement ’This Creation stuff — what exactly is the deal?'

About 1500 people tried to explain at once. ’Wait a minute, LeVar snapped. ’He asked the question, let him explain.’ Good idea. Everybody shut up while the man in the back proceeded to explain.

Well, not everybody. A lady who’d been dutifully passing out ’WHAT IF' flyers for the duration of the convention -- assumabley, a vehement member fo teh Darwinits who were present in overwhelming numbs (I'm sorry, did I say Darwinists? I meant Anti-Creationists) - leapt onto the stage and tried to offer him her flyer. LeVar, not having the the vaguest idea what she was up to, wanted no part of it. He began backing away, his hands waving in front of him like a couple of windshield wipers and his eyes as big as pumpkins. I’ve never seen that expression before: it was like a Shatner caricature in live action. The lady flapped the flyer harder, trying to get him to take it, but he still wasn’t having any part of it ‘RUN,' was written all over his face. Ninety percent of the audience was rolling in the aisles. A security man stepped forward and did something. He did a great job of not laughing while he was speaking. LeVar glanced to him like 'are you sure?’ and then proceeded to take the flyer - from arm’s length, with only two fingers. He didn’t read it though. As the lady jumped off the stage and resumed her seat, he set it carefully aside (still with only two fingers, like he thought of it as a pair of dirty diapers) and went back to listening to the poor guy at the mike who was waiting for him to get done with the anxiety attack.

(Just so no one misunderstands: I'm not making fun of LeVar. It was great. He was great It was just terribly amusing to see such a graphic improvisations! reenactment of every Trek guest's worst nightmare. It was obvious from our end of the show that he was in absolutely no danger at any time. He'd just heard one too many stories about Trek fans, and what he was thinking was written all over his face. I'm sitting here laughing all over again even as I write this. That moment of total expression gave us all a gift we’d never been given before: a momentary glimpse of what it’s like from the other side of the mike.)

Anyway, the man at the mike finished his explanation. ’You mean,’ LeVar asked, already recovered from his ordeal, ’this is a fan-run convention?’ A resounding ’YES!" rumbled up from the floor. ’Well then,' LeVar responded sincerely, ‘based on my experience here, I’d have to say that I don’t have any interest in doing anything other than fan-run conventions.’

The applause was staggering.

[...]

I did get to meet Carol Davis later in the dealer's room. For those of you who don’t know her, Carol is ONE HELL of a fan writer. I really enjoyed meeting her and chit chatting about her recent internship with the writing stuff. I look forward to everything she writes from now into the future.

The last event on the con schedule was the original musical production ’Planet of Dark Shadows,’ put on by various members of the con committee. I hate to be derogatory because I know the work they must have put into it, but it really...well ...it kind of...let's put it this way: the last scene with Mark Lee as Spock doing a Trek version of Steve Martin’s ’King Tut was very funny.

All in all, OctoberTrek was a pretty good con. The guests were wonderful and you should take any chance you get to see them in the future. And please, don’t ask Jonathan how the warp drive works. There just might be a kid in the audience who knows the answer!

1992

October 9–11, 1992

cover of the 1992 program book

The guests of honor were Brent Spiner, Margaret Wander Bonanno (writer), Dr. Yoji Kondo (astrophysicist), DeForest Kelley, Howard Weinstein, Carmen Carter, The Boogie Knights, The Denebian Slime Devils, Reverend Trekwell, and Marc Okrand. It is possible that two other guests were Dave McDonnell and Ann Crispin.

There is a selection of some of the questions/answers with Brent Spiner at this con printed in Data Base v.1 n.2.

1992: From the Program Book

[excerpts from the chairperson's comments]: WelcometoOktobe:rTrek92. Alothashappenedsincelastyear'sconvention. Beverly Volker, who has been the Programming Chairman for OktoberTrek, as well as its predecessor, ClipperCon, has stepped down to allow "The Next Generation "of fans to assume the helm of our Programming Committee. Bev's daughter, Renee Wilson, has probably been going to conventions longer than a lot of OktoberTrek's attendees. She has truly earned the title of Programming Chairman. Of course, Bev is still part of our Committee and will be around to help us with her years of experience (Bev... you really didn't think you were getting out of it that easily, did you?) In addition, we have a new Art Show Chairman. Bunny Aisquith, who has been Cheryl Bobbitt's assistant for several years. Cheryl requested a transfer to Registration. I'd also like to welcome back to the Committee Suzanne Elmore and Mary Mills, who both took a year's sabbatical last year and decided they missed us too much <grin>.

[snipped]

The OktoberTrek Committee is a group offans for whom this Convention is a labor of love. No one on the Committee benefits financially in any way. We do this to keep the spirit ofStar Trek alive and while we realize we cannot please 100% of you, we do our best to please as many as possible. Star Trek fandom is a unique phenomenon -- people of all races, creeds, physical abilities, occupations and social status prove that people can get along. To those ofyou who are attending your first convention -- look around you. There is generally no prejudice, indifferences, oppression, callousness, narrow-mindedness, intolerance or insensitivity. Instead you will see people who truly care about one another and who won't hesitate to help anyone. This is what Star Trek stands for and what Gene Roddenberry wanted to teach us.

• 

  from the 1992 program book

• 

  from the 1992 program book

1992: Programming

• Skit: "Get a Wonderful Life" by Cheap Treks ("Ever wondered what fandom would be like without you? One man will discover the horrible answer for himself this weekend, as nationally-renowned fan repertory company Cheap Treks presents its latest parody smash on Sunday afternoon. Be ready to laugh, and make sure to visit the restroom first, 'cause they bolt the doors to keep the audience in! (No, seriously, they're good... would we lie?)")
• Music: Boogie Knights ("In 1982, a new filk group called the Boogie Knights made their first appearance. Ten years later, lasting longer than the average sitcom, they're still around -- bringing with them the style ofhumor, wit and -- oh, yeah -- music that has made them pseudo-famous at Maryland conventions for years. They have published three collections of songs: A Little (Boogie) Knight Music, Appearing Knightly and Knight Gallery, and plan to release another collection. So if you like down-home, porch-rockin', country-style pickin' and grinnin', then go watch Hee-Haw. If you want to just sit back and laugh, then go see the Boogie Knights.")
• Music: The Denebian Slime Devils
• Masquerade ("An Important Note About Workmanship Judging: There is a subtle but very important difference between "workmanship" and "prejudging." At OktoberTrek's Masquerade, we do not prejudge costumes. The workman- ship judging which is scheduled beforehand is so that our judges can observe distinctive and/or unique features of your costume. In turn, several workmanship awards will be presented. However, workmanship judging is in no way connected to the stage judging. Ifyou choose not to participate in workmanship, there will be no impact, positive or negative, on how you are judged during Masquerade. Everyone is welcome to join in workmanship, of course, but please be aware that it is not prejudging, and not a necessary process for everyone participating in Masquerade.")
• Temple of Trek and Reverend Trekwell
• Panels
  • Artificial Intelligence in S-F ("We all know a computer that seems almost human (except for the one that computer produced this write-up, she KNOWS she's human, don't you, dear?). With artificial intelligence in real life becoming more advanced all the time, how has Science Fiction kept up in it's portrayal of computers, robots and androids? Can machines really become human?")
  • Best Trek Novels ("Panelists will bring their favorite Pocket (or Bantam-- remember them?) Trek novels, old and Next Generation, to discuss. Listeners are welcome to bring their favorites, too.")
  • Commercialization in Star Trek ("Which one of us doesn't own an Enterprise Christmas Ornament ($24.95), a Franklin Mint Enterprise ($199.95), the Trek Chess Set ($@#&*$.95!), or, at least some of those nifty, little vinyl figures ($3.00 ea)? The kind of stuff we always wanted is now for sale.

Does it bolster Trek's position of an American icon, or, in the face of the 25th anniversary, did every sleazeball and his brother just come up with a way to cash in on Trek?")

• • Elementary, Dear Android ("Gene Roddenberry had a knack for creating characters with no emotions on a search for them- selves -- Number One, Spock, Questor, and, finally, Data. After six years, how much as the most changeless crewmember changed?)
• False Utopia? (" "We don't use cash." "That kind of personal ambition no longer exists." "Humans don't try to possess each other in that way anymore." Can the Next Generation ideal of no money, no personal wealth and no marriage as we know it really work with humans? Would we want it to? What do the producers of Next Generation envision as the perfect society, and what do we?")
  • The Fandom Connection ("Many of us have met our spouses and significant others at conventions, and many ofus have been on dates from hell after ten-forward. Does meeting someone through fandom differ from meeting someone anywhere else?")
  • A History of Trek Fandom ("Fans who were there recall the beginnings ofTrek fandom, from the first con in New York to the premiere of the motion picture.")
  • J.T.K. ("Whatever happened to the Captain of the Enterprise? Paramount has sworn they'll never write Kirk's end. How would you do it?")
  • Kirk/Shatner Bashing ("This tasteless tradition may be becoming fandom's favorite parlor game -- even though Kirk won the TV Guide poll. With the coming ofJean Luc Picard, is James T. now a useless Captain Dunsel, too unrefined to command the flagship of the fleet?")
  • None of Us Are Perfect ("Saavik has been portrayed by Kirstie Alley, Robin Curtis, and (almost) Kim Cattrall. She came very close to having Spock's child (or did she?), pairing up with David Marcus, having a passionate fling with Kirk and betraying the Federation. Come try to pin this character down -- the producers sure can't do it!")
  • Sawbones ("Leonard H. McCoy: From beginnings as the stereotypical drunken surgeon on a wagon train to the stars, he became the patron saint who started many fans on the road to healing others. He's kind, unhappy, wise, bitter, combative, loyal to the core. Finally, he was the revered one who ushered Captain Picard on his wayinthenewEnterprise. Onethingiscertain--we'veseenmore character development in Bones than in most other of our favor- ites. Our panelists will try to make sense of the bits and pieces.")
  • Star Trek: Deep Space 5? 7?... (oh, yeah!) 9 ("It's coming in January, the second spin-off of Trek. Wili it work? Is it too much, or will it be, like Next Generation, a runaway success?")
  • Star Trek Over VI-ty ("Spock was already engaging in Cowboy diplomacy, McCoy's hands were shaking, Sulu was master of a ship, and Kirk was finally at peace with leaving captaincy behind. The characters ofthe Undiscovered Country were not those we'd come to know in past adventures. Panelists comment on the changes in old friends after twenty-five years.")
  • Star Trek VII ("Will they? Should they? Rumors are flying, and only one thing is certain -- Paramount hasn't written James T. Kirk off yet.")
  • Star Trek—The Comic Book ("Discussion on the comic book -- established storylines, stories we'd like to see done, what we do and don't like about the comic, etc.")
  • Wence Fandom (" In the mid-eighties, we saw a sharp drop in attendance at cons and numbers ofzines for sale. Next Generation has changed all that. Registration is back up, although zine catalogs are thinner. What is the new face of fandom, and where is it going now that the Next Generation is the current generation?")
  • Who's Running Earth? ("What is the government like on Earth in Star Trek's time? How are leaders chosen -- popular vote, etc.? How does the government fit in with the UFP?")
• Das Trekskellar (Looking to get geared up into that convention feeling? Come to the HuntValley room Friday evening for a cash food bar and a cash bar, complemented by live entertainment as only OktoberTrek can provide it.)
• The OktoberTrek Charity Auction (Our guests and committee have generally provided Trek and genre memorabilia that's rare, one-of-a-kind, and just plain fun. Proceeds benefit the North Shore Animal League and Comic Relief.)
• The Kroykah! Show (It's back, and this time it's in 3-D!! Three times the laughs! Three times the terror! Three times the Kroykah! in 3-D! (Actually, Marc and Steve are still pretty one-dimensional, but we'd have to pay for real talent).)
• Ten Forward ("Join us on the recreation deck (Hunt Room) after Masquerade on Saturday. Guinan was unavailable to tend bar, but Continuum Music will serve up dance favorites from all eras, and a cash bar will be available.")

1992: Some Unwanted Attention

Some fans at this con were bothered by the presence of the mainstream press, and subsequent newspaper article. The article was in the Baltimore Sun and titled Star Trek erotica gets some hot, others bothered.

Some fans expressed their displeasure regarding these events:

Sunday, WBFF TV/Fox45 showed up to do a smear piece. We were selling porn to children in the dealer’s room!

“Ethel, they’s pitchers o’ Cap’n Kirk an’ Doctor Spock in ther, and they’z nekkid as jaybirds n’ touchin’ each others’ doodads!”

Oh. The humanity.

People today wonder why I go into anaphylaxis any time a certain Local Anchorperson appears on screen. That Fox45 news story about OktoberTrek is why. For twelve years previous, our local TV stations had given us at worst a quick voice-over during the credits of Star Trek reruns, at best a news segment showing some people in costume. In any case, the message was, “There’s fun times for Trekkies at the Hunt Valley Inn this weekend.”

But, dammit, this was the Nineties, and there was something dark and insidious hiding around every corner. Journalists had a responsibility to find it! At Oktobertrek, the insidious thing was around the corner by the Maryland room coat check, and it was a table full of (gasp!) gay porn!

[...]

By eleven or twelve I knew that a lot of fans believed Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock were lovers, and that there were many stories and a lot of quite impressive artwork celebrating their love. I didn’t see any of this until I was much older, but I knew it existed.

So, at age 27, you could color me unimpressed that we had a few zines in the dealers room that showed Jim and his T’hy’la doin’ the nasty.

I had also been a zine publisher myself since the age of 18, and I knew damned well that none of those works were openly displayed, much less being sold to kids. Explicit images were shrouded if they were sitting out at all.

Local Anchorperson and her pushy cameramen believed otherwise. They told their viewers that this filth was being peddled at OktoberTrek, and it was a controversy, by gum!

As supporting evidence, they showed a pan over some examples of zine artwork of our boys shirtless. Then they showed footage of my mother-in-law saying she didn’t want to be on camera. Finally, they offered a “man on the street” viewpoint. A “dad” had come down to the Trekkie convention to check it out and see if his kids might enjoy it. Only he hadn’t bargained for the gay porn in the dealer’s room. So he, or someone sharing his horror, thought it was a public duty to call WBFF-TV and alert them to this threat to public mental and moral health.

Point of order? The “dad” was an attorney who was actively pursuing a lawsuit against three members of the committee. He knew full well what went on at Star Trek conventions. His clients and the people they were suing were all fanzine editors, artists or writers. So, while he may have had his opinions on the status of K/S fiction vis a vis the Trek canon, he was likely not “shocked” or “surprised” to see examples of it. And, given his relationship with the sponsors of the event, he was not an appropriate “bystander” for interview.

And why did Local Anchorperson even cover this misleading and vaguely homophobic story? Local Anchorperson told OktoberTrek committee-member Martha Sayre, “It was news.”

And that’s the way it was, Sunday, October 11, 1992.

I've enclosed an article that was printed in the local paper following the slash controversy at OktoberTrek last fall. A local TV station had sent some people out to the con to get the usual footage of "Trekkies" in costume and acting silly. While they were going through the dealers room, one of the attendees (who, by a curious coincidence, happened to be the lawyer of a fan who is suing some of the OktoberTrek committee members) started to wave a K/S zine around and loudly denounce the dealers as pornographers. The news team was delighted, and ran an "expose" on Star Trek porn. The next day, a reporter for the Sun came around to do a story on the controversy. It seems to me that he did a fairly balanced piece, but some people were still upset at the idea of any kind of publicity, especially after the article got picked up by AP.

I'm rather ambivalent about increased visibility for slash fandom. I've seen Enterprising Women in general bookstores, and my reaction changes from "Wow! They're selling books about us! We're respectable now!" to "Oh my God, now that they know we exist we're doomed!" How do the rest of you feel about this? Do you think any publicity is bad publicity, or that fandom just needs more good publicity?

Conventions, in my mind, are private parties. I would never presume to crash a Moose Lodge function nor would I try to infiltrate a Hell's Angels rally. As long as a convention is run as a private meeting, the possibility of offense/litigation is more limited. Two good examples of this are MediaWest and Escapade Con. Escapade, being an intimate con of about 130 fans, has the meeting areas plainly marked. Everyone takes an active interest in keeping the confused and curious steered in the right direction. I explained, most kindly, to one old duffer, that if he was interested in touring our dealers room, all he had to do was buy a membership. As he didn't want to purchase a membership, I can only assume that he wasn't very interested in the materials for sale.

Media just rents the whole damn hotel -- we fans fill it up, along with much of the surrounding lodgings. The hotel is happy, 'cause they're making money...a good hotel doesn't care if it's the International Left-handed Leather Crop Society as long as the checks cash. I'm happy, 'cause I can openly view and buy anything from an innocuous Yoda print, right up to a full penetration Suzie Lovett nude...and walk around stinkin' happy with them, openly in my hands, ready to share them with other like minded folks.

My personal opinion is this: I feel that the people throwing the convention have an obligation to the attendees comfort and well-being. If there is even the SUSPICION that a news crew will (a) make members uncomfortable, (b) harm an attendees mental or financial well-being, well, I would think a ConCom should take this into consideration. If after consideration the Con leadership still wants the news crew, how difficult would it be to set them up in a visible central location and allow the fans who are interested to come to them? A sort of "meet the fans" panel featuring the news crew?

At OktoberTrek, some people were emotionally and financially hurt and bothered by the TV news crew...cons are supposed to be functions were we can get together as fans and have a good time-often throwing off our mundane mantles of "respectable" wage worker, wife or mother and transforming ourselves into lecherous, squealing women out to eat too much, have a few drinks, stay up all night - and drool (in the form of fanzines) over a few good looking folks of the opposite sex. In other words, typical conventioneer behavior - whether you're a Moose or a Trekker.

[from Sandy Zier, the con chair, excerpted from a longer report below]:

At some point on Friday when I was offsite, there was a local television station that did some not-so-positive publicity about the convention... they focused on ONE certain dealer in a dealer's room with over 100 tables... and implied that what this dealer was selling was what the convention was all about... and it aired Friday night on the 10:00 news as the station's lead-in story. Wonderful. Nothing else could go wrong, could it? Please tell me it ain't so. Well, read on. I didn't even stay at the hotel that night... just went for a little ride (all night). [...]

Sunday afternoon, as the con was winding down, I get a message that the General Manager of the hotel was looking for me again. Oh shit. What now? He wanted to discuss the "publicity" that was aired on the local station on Friday night and the ramifications it could have for future conventions. Give me a break.

1992: Convention Reports

Our ‘B’ guest was Brent Spiner. In those days, a con booked two actors, not ten or twenty. OktoberTrek 91 was a huge exception with three headliners and Bruce Hyde on the bill; but that only happened because Levar Burton asked us if we would book him. I would point out that we also paid that short list of actors in full, so our fans got a free autograph. (Although I think De only distributed pre-signed photos at that last event. He was slowing down.)

Things have not changed for the better, in my opinion. I personally find the spectacle of actors charging money for a signature to be kind of embarrassing. I know I’m not alone. Carrier Fisher hilariously compared it to doing lap dances. I also think having too many celebrities takes the focus off the fans themselves; but I accept that I am not the demographic cons are trying to reach anymore, and I salute those who have the energy to keep them going, even as I grouse.

Anyway, back to the ‘B’ guest… Many would have said he was the ‘A.’ Getting Brent to a con in 1992 was like getting Elvis—and Elvis was dead. Proving that our committee has always faced the most out-of-left field logistical challenges, Brent overslept and missed his flight, so he was not at the airport Saturday morning as expected. He jumped right on the first plane he could get, but we were down a very major guest until about 8:00 Saturday night. His scheduled talk was, I believe, at 1:00 or 2:00.

And here’s the deal about the Trek cons in Baltimore—we don’t do reserved seating. (Farpoint did for two years, when my friend Joe Motes was our promoter. It didn’t fit our atmosphere, so we dropped it.) So, De Kelly went off stage, and all those people who were packed in to see him knew that, if they left the room, they might not have a seat when Brent got there. And, at first, we had no idea when Brent was getting there. We told people to just keep their seats. We had no mechanism (and not enough staff) to tag and hold seats for them. We didn’t think it was fair to clear the ballroom when some people had been sitting there since we opened to hold a good seat for Brent’s talk.

So we put on a show.

A few shows, in fact. I don’t recall all that we did for six or so hours while people sat there. I know we screened the week’s Next Gen episode, which had not aired in our market. I believe it was either Blair Learn or Randy Hall that had a VHS copy via some sort of satellite feed. We might have shown two episodes, but one was definitely “Man of the People.” It was a blast watching new Trek with about 1000 friends, but that episode made it bittersweet. I had pitched a script called “The Face of the Killer” to TNG, and they reportedly thought it was very strong… but they had already bought a “Troi goes nuts” story, and it was “Man of the People.” I’d have felt better if that had been a strong entry in the series.

[from Sandy Zier, the con chair]:

So you want to do a convention. Just remember... Murphy's law DOES take it's toll on the emotional health of a convention chairman and his/her committee.

For example... who would have thought that the Monday before the convention, U.S. Air would go on strike. The very airline that all guests were flying in on, the very airline that most of the out-of- town convention attendees were flying in on... the very airline THAT WAS THE OFFICIAL AIRLINE OF OKTOBERTREK? Hmmpf.

In addition, that very same week, the group we had enlisted to help with security backed out on us with less than a week's notice, saying they didn't realize "it would be so much work" (we were asking for 6 hours/person over the entire weekend).

Then, there's the rental car. I'm assured by the travel agent that all is set to go. I would be able to put two people on the car so that I wouldn't have to do all the driving. Right? WRONG. Not only was I not able to put a second person on the car... they weren't very nice about it to boot.

Next, came the guests' hotel. The travel agent arranged for direct billing (which means I have to pay nothing in advance and don't have to show any kind of credit card). Well, I get to the hotel and guess what? Yup.. no direct billing. Needless to say, I was not a very happy puppy at this point... and it wasn't even Thursday evening yet! Well, finally, the hotel was straighten^ out after threats of going elsewhere with VERY IMPORTANT GUESTS and reminders that last year the very exact thing had happened. This doesn't even include the fact that when I checked into the rooms, they weren't ready. Refrigerators weren't there... nor was ice and lemon slices for our favorite couple. Well, the refrigerator was there when I got De and Carolyn to the hotel, as were the lemon slices and ice....errr, well, by the time we finally got there, it was more like lemon and water <grin>.

Then, it was time for De and Carolyn to arrive. Well, you've read elsewhere what happened to those poor souls in Chicago. The windy city. HAH! But they've arrived, and things are going to start looking up, right? Sure.

Friday morning, I'm getting situated with Radar, my dog, when I hear a security guard yelling at me. He says that the general manager of the hotel says were are no dogs allowed. I hit the roof... literally. "Since when," I asked. We've been doing cons at that hotel for years and pets HAD ALWAYS BEEN WELCOME. One of our regular guests brings his dog (who also gets billing as a guest.) Well, I straightened that one out real quick... sometimes pulling rank as chairman does have it's advantages.

Then, Murphy strikes again.

[see Zier's comments about negative press attention at 1992: Some Unwanted Attention]

Saturday morning came. Around 10:00 a.m., I'm told that Brent Spiner is on the phone for me. I look at my watch... and I say to Sue... he'd BETTER be calling from the plane. Yup, you guessed it. He wasn't. He had overslept and missed his flight. Changes of plane reservations ensued. And after I had called him back with the changes... then it was time to make major changes in the schedule for the evening. He wasn't going to arrive until around 7:30... which meant going on stage at 8:00 p.m which meant moving the Masquerade and Art Auction.... which meant A LOT OF REORGANIZING. Thank god for a committee that knows what they're doing!

Okay... so Brent is on his plane, right? At noon, I get a call that says Brent is on the phone for me AGAIN. Needless to say, I panic right about now. What else could POSSIBLY go wrong? Luckily, though, this time, he WAS calling from the plane just to tell me about a change in connecting flights. Okay., got through that one okay. Most of Saturday was a blur after that... with all the changes, announcements, explanations and so forth. Brent did come in and get on stage., and stayed an extra 20 minutes to try to make up for his mistake. And, in his credit, he took all blame for the problem and let people know it wasn't the con committee's fault. THANK YOU BRENT.

[see Zier's comments about negative press attention at 1992: Some Unwanted Attention]

Now, I have left out the boring emergencies, such as committee members not showing up, or threatening to quit, con attendees with complaints and/or compliments (actually, the latter aren't so BORING... <grin>), reporters and the "press" coming in on Saturday, all kinds of demands for De's and Brent's time, etc. Those usual emergencies are ones I can handle easily... it's the highlights that show Murphy was at work during OktoberTrek. But, as Sue said elsewhere in this Newsletter, the Committee did their best to not let any of the problems be seen by the attendees... but this was one time where, after-the-fact, I don't mind sharing some of the nightmares with you so you can see for yourself that it isn't "a piece of cake" (or chocolate, depending on your perspective). Oh yeah, speaking of chocolate, there WAS on minor little thing that happened AFTER the convention. See, a lot of people give the guests gifts, which I offer to ship back to them so they don't have to carry them back on the plane. Well, I had De and Carolyn's box packed up (well, actually, they had packed it very nicely) and the night before I was about to take it to the post office, I came home to find an open box of chocolate fudge on the floor, well, it was an empty box of chocolate fudge, actually. Yup, Radar [the dog] had eaten it, and had to write an appropriate apology. But I think he's been forgiven.

The con ended... and everyone, I think, had a good time, except for maybe a certain Con Chairman. So, if you THINK you want to do a convention... just remember that Murphy's Law does run rampant during them! Remember... you were warned!

We looked at the art show and Jeff got some great cartoon pies at the auction. We saw the Cap'n was selling some goods, way out of our range, but nice even though. We periodically ran into and lost Larry, Elaine, Jeff, Libby, Diana, and J.R., having fun with them and seeing the goodies they bought. Liz, Michael Liz's Bro), Diana and I went to a panel "Bush, Clinton, and Perot on the Space Program". The two true political people Bush and Clinton representatives did a good job but the Perot supporter was only a fan of Perot and had no idea what he was talking about so of course he did an awful job and really was a cumbersome part of the panel. But then we got to leave and see a writer of some of the parts of the movies and he did a great job. Then at four it was time for Deforest Kelly and he was fantastic, a true gentleman. He read us a poem he had written and was presented with an award for the work he does with an animal shelter. He answered questions, let some people take pictures and even gave out some hugs. Then we went on out to the Sizzler for dinner and a quick look at the owl. And finally we saw Brent Spiner. Wow. This guy is a great speaker. His personality of having quick witticisms and interesting information makes him a definite must see in my book. He was well worth the wait. By this time it was 10 p.m., time to close up shop and head on home to Richmond for four hours of sleep and then to head back to Raleigh at 8 a.m. All in all it was a great time and one I plan on having again.

Once again, the Pischke warp shuttle headed North to Hunt Valley, Maryland on a Thursday evening, arriving at target destination at the usual time, around 4:00 a.m. For once, the night clerk had not cancelled our reservations, so we were pointed towards our room without having to get indignant, threaten legal action, or cause bodily harm. After a whole two hours or so of sleep, we were joined by the second pair to arrive, Jeff and Kristen. Later in the day we picked up another roomie, one of those Bonaventure types, Phil something or other. As usual, Friday was a slow day at the con, a good time to get acclimated and spend some money in the dealer's room. On Saturday things got into full swing. The con generally went smoothly, except that Brent Spiner overslept and missed his flight, and had to be rescheduled for later in the evening, which pushed back the time for the costume call and dance. However, when he did finally arrive, he was quite entertaining. DeForest Kelly was also a charming guest. Most of our group, and others from our crew who met up with us at the convention, put in an appearance at the 10-forward dance, and some of us, in true Kitty Hawk tradition, closed it down, and of course made the traditional trek to IHOP afterwards. Sunday was spent catching up on what was missed Saturday, and trying to grab a few more treasures from the dealer's room. This convention was different from others I have been to in one way - no one was signing autographs. I was disappointed, but it was a nice change to not spend half the convention waiting in a line. We left Hunt Valley about mid afternoon and arrived at home port at a reasonable hour, for a change. As usual, I recommend any of the Hunt Valley conventions to a neophyte looking for a well run convention to attend. See ya next time.