Star Trek Saturday

Convention
Name:	Star Trek Saturday
Dates:	December 1981, possibly 1986 as well
Frequency:	once
Location:	in the Memphis, TN area
Type:	fan con
Focus:	Star Trek: TOS and NASA
Organization:	Allies for Star Trek (fan club)
Founder:	Debbie Gilbert
Founding Date:
URL:
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Star Trek Saturday was a fan-run mini-con organized by the fan club, Allies for Star Trek.

There was one in 1981, and another one planned for 1986.

Star Trek Saturday: 1981

This was held in December 1981.

There were about 400 attendees.

Con Report: 1981

My club is elated over the success of our venture this weekend [December]. "Star Trek Saturday" was a way to present some of the flavor of a con without the responsibilities and financial hassles. We reserved both meeting rooms of the public library (no charge) for the entire day. In one room we had two displays, "Star Trek - The Dream That Would Not Die" and "Space: The Final Frontier". For the former, we combined the best parts of our personal collections of books, zines and all kinds of merchandise, I have never seen so much ST stuff concentrated in so small a space! All the visitors were overwhelmed. On the other side of the room we showed ST's NASA tie-in (NASA was very cooperative and sent tons of free material). There was a continuity display of models of all the ships called "Enterprise", and we plastered the walls with posters, both of ST and of the solar system. In addition, we had constructed five or six plasterboard displays featuring 8x10 stills, fan art, club photos, etc. In the adjacent room we showed videotapes - TRIBBLE, BABEL, CITY, and the blooper reel about four times. All of our members wore ST uniforms or our new "Allies" T-Shirt. The response was tremendous; we estimate close to 500 people between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Everyone was interested and intelligent. We were pleased to see so many adults, and no one threw away their program (we'd only printed up 300). We had two drawings for door prizes, for adults and under 12. The folks hung around waiting to see if they would win. Wc gave out ST comics and tribbles for the kids, and the adult prizes were model kits, stationery by Verina, and copies of our club's own zines. I was MC for the drawing, and we all had fun. One or our members is an apprentice filmmaker, and he videotaped the event for a documentary. We received coverage in the papers, TV and radio. The reporter who in interviewed us was so impressed that he wants to join the club. Many people expressed similar interest. Afterwards we had a "dead dog" party at the ubiquitous Shoney's, then we watched ourselves on videotape and told crazy stories. It was great. We plan to make a big trip to Space Trek in St. Louis in April.

Star Trek Saturday: 1986

It was originally planned for September, but took place November 22, 1986 at the Cossitt Library.

From a planning report:

A REPORT ON THE NEW YEAR'S EVE BUSINESS MEETING/PARTY: The usual 20-some odd people filled Jean Ann's tiny apartment for an enjoyable combo business meeting and party. Since details on the cons are still vague, the main outcome of the meeting was the decision to host another "STAR TREK SATURDAY" as the club's celebration of the 20th Anniversary of ST. The tentative date has been set for September 13th, providing we can book the facilities, etc. For those of you who weren't around for the event we sponsored a few years ago, let me say that STAR TREK SATURDAY will be basically a community service project offered free to fans in the area. We provide numerous displays, ST news and info, and video.

In December of 1981, we threw a "small" one, expecting maybe a 100 people to browse through during the day. We ended up with about 400! We may not draw that many this time, but we are hoping to have a small celebration of Trek, and stir up a little interest for the new movie. If you'd like to be involved, please let us know. More details will follow as plans progress.

Con Report 1986

The second Star Trek Saturday which was held on November 22, 1986 at the Cossitt Library downtown was a success. We had approximately 250 people wander through during the six hours we were there. Everyone had a really great time and I really enjoyed the trailer and the background film from the movie. We had the movie displays from each of the four movies, pictures of the stars, as well as memorabilia from member's personal collections. The door prizes included various autographs of the stars and passes to the movie review. We had informational handouts and T-shirts for STAR TREK IV.

The largest round of applause goes to those people who gave the most; some of the members of the Little Rock Club gave of their time and money to drive to Memphis, where they then donated their time and energy to make Star Trek Saturday a success.

We owe a large debt of gratitude to David Jackson, without whose presence, we would not have had the pat answer to all questions ("Go ask him! He is the president of this club!").

We wish to give a special thank you to Inge and Jean Ann for their expert assistance. Like any group effort it is hard to point out each personal contribution and give praise, but our deepest thanks goes out to all of the people who volunteered and gave of themselves.