Shore Leave (US convention)/1979
| Convention | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Shore Leave (US convention) |
| Dates: | Saturday, July 14, 1979 |
| Frequency: | |
| Location: | Baltimore, Maryland |
| Type: | |
| Focus: | multi-fandom |
| Organization: | |
| Founder: | |
| Founding Date: | |
| URL: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Shore Leave is an annual fan-run convention that takes place in Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
It was founded by the Star Trek Association of Towson which continues to run it. The first convention took place in 1979; the con was still running as of 2025.
The con's focus was initially on Star Trek, but it has since broadened to include other science fiction media.
1979: Shore Leave 1
Shore Leave 1 was a one-day mini-convention held on Saturday, July 14, 1979 from 8:30am to 6:00pm.
The venue was Towson State University, 3rd floor of the Student Union Building.
Cost was $3 in advance, $5 at the door. Dealers' tables were $7.50 for fans, $15 for pros.
Con committee contact members were Mark, Patti, Tim, and Gerry.
"Gerry" is Geraldine Sylvester. The USPS address on flyers was her home address.
1979: Programming
- Star Trek films and episodes: Friday's Child, A Piece of the Action, City on the Edge of Forever, Where No Man Has Gone Before, blooper reels
- Alien Factor (about a sci fi movie filmed in Baltimore)
- movie and panel discussion
- Omicron Ceti III singers
- surprise guest speaker: Ken Beatty: "The Unitarria Project" (who didn't show up)
- Star Trek bloopers
- Star Trek slideshow
- costume contest with prizes
- science fiction gong show with prizes
- 50 question trivia quiz with prized
- panel discussions:
1979: Con Reports
The con com included this description of the first con in the 1980 program book:
Shore Leave I was a one day mini-con held on the campus of Towson State University, well hidden on the third floor of the University Union. Despite this fact, we had perfect attendance (everyone we blackmailed came). Some of the highlights of the convention are immortalized in the cartoons you see within - the "Shore Leave I Scrapbook" [from the 1980 program book]. Highlights not immortalized include our film suppliers sitting in a gas line somewhere in Virginia, a surprise guest speaker who surprised us by not coming (we're still looking for him), and a newscaster who tried to convince everybody (including the committee) that Trek was dead because most of the costumes were from other TV shows and movies. Other than that, it came off pretty well. After contemplating our success and counting the pennies left in our piggy bank,we decided to do it again on a larger scale.