Shore Leave (US convention)/2008
| Convention | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Shore Leave (US convention) |
| Dates: | 2008 |
| 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.
2008: Shore Leave 30
George Takei was a guest of honor.
2008 Photos
- photos; [ archive link] (mostly 2008 and 2009)
2008: Programming
- Showcase: Con Skit: Opening sketch: George Takei sings country (2008 video, features George Takei singing a country song, Peter David, Keith RA DeCandido, and Robert Greenbereger dancing in the background), Episode MST-ed: TOS: “Catspaw” by Mystery Trekkie Theater (see for more information on the con's skits in general)
- other unknown
2008: Con Reports
Well, another memorable Shore Leave has come and gone, and just like all the others, it was a wonderful four days spent celebrating my love of K/S with cherished friends, laughing, partying, and having endless discussions about our two favorite boys. All-in-all, it was an unforgettable time spent with even more unforgettable people.
[...]
Then it was time for the auction to begin and Robin took her rightful place as auctioneer. The first item up was one of Deeb’s famous K/S necklaces, but there were no bids. Robin looked at us and said, “What’s the matter, you ladies already have one?” Almost the entire room shouted out, ‘Yes!”
Next up was Helena’s wonderful CGA called “Intimacy”. Carolyn Spencer started off the bidding with $25.00, and then Robin told everyone to bid a lot of money so we could all see Carolyn cry. Deanna and Gilda quickly joined the bidding and Deanna emerged triumphant with a $60.00 bid.
Next up was a pair of Deeb’s famous penis earrings. The first bid was for $20.00 and to encourage the bidding, Robin said, “Hey, you won’t find these at Big Lots!” They ended up selling for $30.00.
Next up was a new pic by Shelley called “Composition”, which involved a new coloring technique she did on the computer. The end result was absolutely lovely and Deanna had the starting bid at $95.00. Robin tried to stir things up by saying that she’s been dying for years to see Deanna go down, but she didn’t get her wish, at least not yet, because no one bid against her.
Then it was time for Susan Y.’s CGA called “Tenderness”. Although Robin was quick to point out that judging by the look on Spock’s face, she could name it something else. Then she told us that the bidding really needed to get going because “the food ain’t free!” She herself started the bidding off at $21.00 and told us, “Don’t worry if you bid against me, I won’t kill you.” Well, apparently a lot of people believed her because soon a fierce bidding war began and once again Deanna emerged on top with the winning bid of $65.00.
Next up was a pair of K/S earrings, which Helen V. won with a top bid of $25.00. Then a really neat puzzle that Susan Y. made came up for bid. The first bid was made by a gentleman named Robert, whose wife I believe is a K/S fan, although I am not sure if he is. One thing I am sure of, in all the years we’ve had a K/S party at SL, he’s only the second man I’ve seen in attendance.
[...]
Next up was a pair of Deeb’s famous penis earrings, which, for those of you who’ve never seen them, consist of two penises, one for each ear, one pink and one green. And as Deeb was quick to point out, they were both anatomically correct, as the green one had double ridges. Deanna won them at a bid of $20.00.
Nest up was Shelley’s wonderful Kirk portrait from “City on the Edge of Forever”, which she drew probably about fifteen years ago and to this day still remains my favorite Kirk drawing of all time. Debbie C. started off the bidding at $20.00, then Helen bid $21.00 and Debbie countered with $22.00. At that point, Robin turned to Kathy Resch and said, ‘You know, you really need to serve more liquor at these parties - it’s hard to work with a crowd that’s this sober.” Anyway, after another brief bidding war, Debbie won the pic with a winning bid of $26.00.
Next up was another Shelley pic, this one brand new, called Composition #2, which was pretty spectacular and I believe is slated to be the cover for the next issue of Bondmates. Deanna had the one and only bid on this pic and no one decided to bid against her, so she ended up victorious once again.
[...]
...we found ourselves in front of the display of Star Trek portraits by a company called Lightspeed. Its featured artist, Keith Birdsong, has done some wonderful work involving Kirk and Spock, including a piece celebrating their relationship. For anyone who wants to see it, along with the other lithographs available from the company, you can visit their web site at http://www.lightspeedfineart.com/tos.html
As Deanna and I stood admiring the Kirk/Spock litho (Deanna, by the way, has the much larger one, framed and hanging proudly in her home), the gentleman who owned the company told us an interesting story about it. As Lightspeed has contracts with all the Star Trek stars to autograph their work, the company often sends the examples to the stars for their approval. He told us that normally when he sends something to Leonard [Nimoy], Leonard's response was usually something like, "Yeah, that's nice." Well, when Leonard first saw the Kirk/Spock litho, he called the owner and said, "I love this! It's emotional, it's going to be a big seller, I want one!" He ended up with print #2 (the artist got print #1 and Deanna got print #3).
[...]
The three of us then went back to the Lightspeed display where Helena was examining a pic of all the captains from the various series. She asked the owner why, when all the other captains were in their uniforms from the various series, Kirk was in his TMP uniform. The ownee said he really didn't know, but Helena said, "oh, that's okay, but you have to agree that Kirk never looked better than he did in TMP." The owner looked kind of puzzled as if he didn't know how to respond and I told him the safest thing to do was just to agree with her. Thankfully he did so, because the last thing I wanted was another "T-shirt guy" incident.
[...]
... time for the K/S panel, the five of us headed down to the conference room where it was held. The hosts were Deanna, Helena, and Kathy Resch, and the title was "When did K/S begin, the series or the movies?" [1]
References
- ^ from The K/S Press #145 and #146