Weekend on the Promenade

Convention
Name:	Weekend on the Promenade
Dates:	1997, 1998, 1999, 2001 (perhaps others)
Frequency:
Location:
Type:
Focus:	Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Organization:
Founder:	Gayle Stever
Founding Date:
URL:
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Weekend on the Promenade was a Deep Space Nine con.

From a fan in 1998:

The Weekend on the Promenade is not a convention in the usual sense. It is a celebration organized by the official fan clubs of several of the cast members of Deep Space Nine, with the express purpose of raising money for charity. This year this group of Star Trek afficianados [sic] raised over $22,000!

Lunch with the Doctor

This con was associated (at least in 1997) with Lunch with the Doctor, a gathering for fans to eat with the actor who portrayed Julian Bashir.

1997

Scottsdale, Arizona. September 27-28.

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  flyer for the 1997 con

• 

  flyer for the 1997 con

1997: Con Report

When the buffet had been raided (and even my stomach sufficiently appeased), Irene presented the ten-minute "Save the Children" video, recorded by Andy during the Robinsons' trip to the Middle East at the end of last year, and later on edited by Sid. The film was without sound, so Irene did all the necessary talking, describing in detail the work of STC in the areas they visited, naming and explaining all kinds of projects, and it was absolutely fascinating. It was *so* special, and Irene was great.

some photos from the 1997 gathering

At some point, she ceded the spot in front of the crowd to her husband, but not before they had been presented a large quilt several club-members had collaborated on as well as a nice Arizona souvenir, a vase of local design. Prior to saying anything else, Andy emphasized how great these small, family-like club gatherings were; so different from conventions, which were more like part of the business. He talked at length about his activities in the past months (inside and outside the confines of Paramount), calling back into mind a weekend in June during which the most fascinating mystery was the riddle of How Andy Got That Cast On His Foot. -- Well, *now* he confessed the true story right away, but back then we had to wait and steam for two days until he finally admitted that, no, there hadn't been fifty Klingons attacking, but simply his own two feet and a huge portion of bad luck. It was great reminiscing, though. Some of what was said and asked wasn’t necessarily unfamiliar, but then, hey, I don't mind at all. As long as it's Andy, he could recite weather reports in Chinese, for it's not just the words. I love watching him talk just as much, his presentation of whatever he is sharing with us. His narration of those certain VERY embarrassing moments in his long career was only a minor example of the spell he casts, and yet another proof of this weekend's decisively informal atmosphere.

Then Andy told us about his co-writing effort for a screenplay his daughter Rachel was preparing. He was interrupted by Rene Auberjonois making an entrance that couldn't be ignored, albeit merely to place some items on the auction table. And in that brief moment already (as I had missed Rene coming to Hamburg two years ago), I took to that personable man immediately. So glad I was that this weekend had my three most beloved actors on the show all rolled into one event, each of them adding to the whole by generously giving the best of themselves--humor, wit, genuine interest in eveiybody’s lives, and kindness, to name only a few.

Apart from the funny moments of Andy’s Q&A (like calling Chucky from Child’s Hay 3 the ‘horrific version of the Garak action-doll’ or joking about Garak’s possible venues if he ever returned to Cardassia, “if ever, then as a politician...Elim Clinton!”), there was also a lot of serious talking.

Unfortunately, not being a resident of the Los Angeles area nor having the opportunity to just fly into town for a theater- performance, all I saw of the Matrix Theater when I roamed Melrose Avenue was the exterior which still sported the sign of Dangerous Corner. Well, better luck in two years! Andy said that the next project of his with the Matrix would probably be a play by John Robin Bates called A Fair Country, rehearsals for which are supposed to start (have started) on December 2. The play would then open around mid-February.

Other than that, he put the process of auditioning and being cast as an actor into relation with casting from a director’s point of view. The castings at Paramount were just brutal, but then there was him, directing a play at the Matrix, and he had friends coming in, asking whether he might give them a part...and he had to forsake friendship and just make his choice on the professional level. Especially with good friends it wasn't nice, he said. And as an actor, he tends to understand the people who are good actors but simply have a bad day on the day of auditions, as a lot of things influence one’s performance, be it frustration, all the private worries and problems that have piled up over the past weeks; all these things inadvertently mix with the character one was auditioning for. For example, Andy himself got so agitated (under the pressure of private worries) once that he highlighted an audition by a primal scream out of the window--after which he was perfectly calm. Thus, it's quite unpleasant to say “no” to people you like but who just don’t seem to fit the part. Andy doesn't like doing that, remembering the times when it took him a great deal of faith in his abilities and in himself to continue in his chosen profession.

Back fi-om harsh reality to DS9, Andy said that he considered it to have always been fairly obvious that Enabran Tain and Mila were Garak's parents. Even though the writers have yet to corroborate the part about Mila, he said that it had been unmistakable that Tain was Garak's father. It's in the genes. It didn't come as a surprise", Andy laughed, telling us of a fellow director whose father was an FBI agent, "And he had all these furtive little habits...:)" Andy was perfectly adorable,and when Rene came in, this time for his talk, Andy stayed for about twenty more minutes, bantering with Rene and answering questions together with him. After that, he made his exit to rest a while before the afternoon's autograph Rene was great, too. His comments about Annin Shimerman being "a slut" (for doing all kinds of shows apart from DS9, like Butiy or Stargate One) and the reaction to a fan’s remark that he should have been playing Dax (he had the age and experience... "But I don’t have the breasts!”) range among the best of the weekend, together with Andy’s remark on the possibly-slashy contents of the club zine. He is a joy to listen to and watch, especially his yoga-like position on the chair.:) The talks were followed by the autograph session. I actually found some time to chat with Irene during that time (after I had gotten mine, I think) and I enjoyed it very much. She is a very knowledgeable, determined woman, a very admirable person. Dinner was scheduled rather early, and then Antje made my day by ceding her seat at Andy and Irene’s table that night to me (thaaaaaaaank you yet again, dear!) The food tasted twice as good that night (and Gul knows, I replenished my system after three weeks of rather limited solvency in L.A.!), and the entertainment was also provided. We had the Duras Sisters singing: (MAGNIFICENT!!! Their a cappella performance and the witty lyrics had me, an admitted filker, in stitches!); we had Sid already being quietly present, (and I couldn’t help but ’stare*! GAWD, he's so much more handsome in person!), we had the raffle (wasn't it surprising that all the people who won autographs of B5's Jason Carter had already been in Daventry, for some reason or other?:)) and an auction that went on for an eternity until all the items had found a new owner. I left the room for as long as it lasted for I knew that seeing some of the items sold would break my heart.

Therefore, I stood outside in the foyer or outside the hotel, chatting with people, only re-entering in the auction's late stages. I had missed the fierce battle for the X-Files script relentlessly carried out by Uschi and Shandra Docksey. (In the end, Uschi got it, though, as a birthday gift for Tom). The evening was sort of coming to a gradual halt already, and everybody was preparing to call it a night...but I couldn't let Andy depart without having him live through my "special treatment"...:):):) He was really quite tense...a neck like a brick... It genuinely hurt having to say good-bye that evening, knowing that I wouldn't be able to return for a long, long time (the sacrifices you make for securing yourself a well-paid job!)

Sunday morning I decided to sleep late while Uschi and Tom left for breakfast (later to be told that they had met Andy and Irene in the very same place they went to...Aaaaagh! Most of Sunday morning I passed with coffee, talking to people and packing, as I wouldn’t have much time left for that on Monday morning; by noon, I had already ordered a shuttle for my transfer to the airport the next morning. Oh boy, didn't I start my final day in America with a heavy heart! Not even the lunch, nor Sid could really change that. I tried to forget and for some time, I succeeded. Sid was so absolutely gorgeous, very intense, and that incredible voice of his just made me close my eyes and listen rather than watch. I’m addicted to his voice, which may account for my hypnotized-rabbit behavior later on at the autograph session. (I was close to just to Sid- napping him, folding him up into my carry-on luggage, and take him back to Germany the next day...) He was superb, even though quite restless throughout his talk.

[...]

Why do all good things have to end? I feel so good while they last, and afterwards I sometimes think that I didn’t appreciate them as much as I should have. It's a funny feeling, this what we call "conblues", although it wasn’t even a convention, *sigh*. The sadness didn’t let me sleep until shortly before crossing the Irish coast...and six hours later, getting off the train in Goettingen, it all seemed like so much of an impossible dream. One which I couldn’t have enjoyed more, however, as I met the people I feel close to again. And then there’s proof in form of photographs...:)

1998

San Diego, California - October 3-4, 1998

The Weekend on the Promenade is not a convention in the usual sense. It is a celebration organized by the official fan clubs of several of the cast members of Deep Space Nine, with the express purpose of raising money for charity. This year this group of Star Trek afficianados raised over $22,000!

1998: Con Reports

The brunch that was scheduled by the poolside was moved indoors since it looked like it was going to rain. The weather was like that all weekend, it would fool everyone by being cold and wet-looking, then suddenly at around 3:00 the sun would come out. I guess it was playing tricks on us. The brunch was wonderful. I didn't get the chance to sit at Rene's table (which actually was a blessing since I would have been so nervous, I KNOW I would have done something really humiliating) but I did get to talk with the Stillwells; he and his wife were both very nice. I also sat with them on Saturday night, as did a few of the other people who were seated at the table for brunch. One woman won a prize and got to sit with them again on Sunday. I don't remember our brunch conversation with the Stillwells -- I was completely overwhelmed by being in such close proximity to greatness :-D

After the brunch was over we went up to the 5th floor for the auction (where much money was spent). After the auction Rene came in and we all gave him a hearty round of applause. He modestly waved it off, then said we would have to do that whenever we saw him in the halls, or in the elevator, or in the restaurant, etc, etc. He was wonderfully amusing! I particularly enjoyed the time he spent telling us about his kids. They both sound like fascinating people. I can't remember all of what he said (which is why I'm getting the videotape) but I do know that a lot of it made me laugh and it was all interesting.

After awhile, Armin quietly crept in and started watching from the audience. It took a few minutes for Rene to notice him until Armin made a joke about something (he was on the other side of the room so I didn't hear). Armin was invited up to the front of the room, and the two began some good-natured banter. Those two really play off each other, it gets so funny! They mentioned that sometimes Odo has his priorities a bit off, for instance in one episode where the captain was being kidnapped, yet Odo was arresting Quark down the hall. Rene said that sometimes he didn't know what the writers were doing, he wanted to go up to one of them and say "HELLO?? ANYONE THERE??" There certainly have been a lot of changes during these last few seasons, I'm sure it can be hard for all the actors to keep up with them. Then Kitty, Armin's wife joined them, making a very happy threesome. One thing that was especially amusing was when Armin mentioned his relaxation technique, which was vacuuming (Kitty's relaxation technique is watching Armin). He then went on to say that he vacuumed his dogs, which caught Rene completely by surprise. He turned and echoed "You vacuum your dogs?!" "It's alright," Armin said, "the dogs like it." Pets are strange sometimes!

Soon, the interview was over and we were hustled downstairs to get autographs. The moment I had been waiting for; the moment that I hope I wouldn't cause me to collapse to the ground in a hysterical foaming mess. I went up to Armin first because he was the closest. He actually said "hi" to me when he walked by the line so I felt very comfortable with him. He was very nice, and asked me how my plane trip was. I said that it was all right but that when we landed, I couldn't see very well (it must have been the air pressure or something) and he teased me, saying that it was probably because I drank too much. Ooooh, that Armin :-D!!

After I left Armin's table, I really began to get nervous. But Rene couldn't have been nicer, he was so sweet! I skittered over to the chair, sat down, and pretty much blubbered all that I've wanted to tell him for years. I looked up to him very much when I was younger (still do), mostly from reading his interviews, and he was a great source of inspiration and courage, he just helped me believe in myself when I was very shy and insecure. I told him this, and he seemed very flattered by it (phew!), and he asked me about my college and what I was taking. He took a genuine interest in the people he was talking to. It was a wonderful experience!

Saturday evening was the continuation of the auction and a very elegant banquet. Rene, Armin, and Andy came in, and then Armin got up there for his interview. His first question was from his wife Kitty (who was wearing a fetching tux)who asked, "Can I have the key to our room? I need to get something" So she got the key and people laughed.

Armin talked a bit about Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He also said that he felt that the DS9 writers didn't explore the character of Quark, that they only used him for either comic relief or to bounce off other characters. He was going on about that for a little while, and then Rene (like a wonderful friend) got up from his table and said that the reason why they gave him such stupid or light stuff is because that they know Armin will make it work and do a good job with it since he is such a wonderful actor. Which Armin thanked him for. Then he said that many times when he was having a hard time, Rene would often bring him back down to the ground and "sometimes give me good advice." Armin said that with the emphasis on the SOMETIMES. (haha!)

During the auction the actors brought a few interesting things up, one of them being a baseball signed by Avery Brooks. During the filming of "Take Me Out to the Holosuite" Rene had a pocket of baseballs in his costume. So, being the honest man that he is, he swiped one of the balls so he could auction it off at the fundraiser :-D He wanted to get Avery to sign it because that was one of the main things of the show, you think of Captain Sisko and you picture him with a baseball in his hand. Rene knew it would go for a lot if he could get Avery to sign it. But he said that even though Avery was very nice and a wonderful person, he got VERY irritated when asked to sign things. Rene said, "He would sigh and give you this look..." So Rene was trying to think of a way to get Avery to sign the ball and not get 'the look." So, one day on the set, he comes up to Avery and starts talking about sports. Which may seem like a perfectly normal guy thing but Rene confessed that he didn't know anything about sports. (Hooray that men like that still exist!) Rene was just rambling on and Avery, being a sports person, started laughing hysterically and said, "What are you trying to do?" and Rene said "Umm... I want you to sign this baseball." Avery thought the whole thing was so funny that he signed the ball happily and I think the ball went for a REALLY HIGH price at the auction -- there were more than a few people bidding for it with wild abandon.

Rene and Armin were presented with beautiful quilts (handmade by members of their fan clubs) and their reactions were great! Then Andy got up and read from Garak's Diaries which was really fascinating. He wrote such vivid pictures and would read them in this wonderful voice; I was staring at the carpet but seeing the whole scene of Cardassia and him being young and what he saw and what he did. It was great! At one point Andy auctioned off his Cardassian face mask. And then Rene (he had a lot of things to auction) auctioned off this shirt that I ALMOST bid $300 dollars for (it sold for $285). The shirt said "No one knows I'm a changeling" on it. Rene was wearing it and modeled it quite nicely. After they sold it, he hid behind the podium and took it off! :-D I only wish my disposable camera would have taken a better picture of that! After much laughter and fun, the evening was over.

On Sunday morning it was time to greet Sid and Andy. Sid was so friendly and gracious that he is going to have a new person in his fan club very soon ;-) They signed things before the interview and the lunch(I was one of the early people). Sid was one of the most charming people I have ever met, he made me feel right at ease. We chatted back and forth (about the meaning of my name; actually, it means 'wild cow' in Hebrew which he thought was very amusing) As he a photo for me, a picture with Dr. Bashir in a tux, he mentioned that a tux made anyone look good, then said that tuxes looked really cute on women. I said, "Oh, Armin's wife Kitty wore a tux last night" (he wasn't at the dinner so he hadn't seen her) and as he was signing he wrote "All my wife" on the photo instead of "All my best." He seemed a bit chagrined, but I thought it was hilarious!

After the signing, we had breakfast in the same big meeting we used on Saturday. I even got to talk to Sid a little in the lunch buffet line(he was asking what the food was; some very strange-looking beans). When lunch was over, there was an interview with Andy. He almost went into this story about the San Diego airport and how there is a building right at the end of the runway, but thankfully he didn't go into details (he was stopped by someone). He talked about hopefully doing a play with some of the other Star Trek actors, and also doing a public reading of Garak's Diaries. Then Sid came out after a while, and the two talked about how the relationship between Garak and Bashir has been pretty much forgotten. After Andy left the audience to Sid, people began asking about Kira's hair. He said he hadn't noticed! He answered a lot of interesting questions: one that stood out in my mind was "If you had to live in a different time, when would it be?" and Sid chose either the 20s or the turn of the century, when people were just beginning to loosen up.

All four of the men were very entertaining guests -- I enjoyed listening to all of them!

After Sid's interview, both he and Andy were whisked away for more autograph signings. Sid was so talkative that he ended up signing very late; Andy had already finished and left. Suddenly, Weekend on the Promenade was over. It was an enchanting weekend, and very well organized. Everyone was thrilled with it, including the actors. I had the time of my life, and I hope a lot of other people did too :-)

This was my fifth fan club event and they just keep getting better. We had four tables worth of photos, publications and other merchandise - up from half a table at Sid's first luncheon. Saturday morning, guests drew for the chance to sit at a table with Lolita Fatjo, Eric Stillwell, or Rene for the champagne brunch. Originally Armin was to have been in on the brunch but he had to attend a Screen Actors' Guild meeting that morning instead.

Rene's Q & A was the first celebrity event of the weekend. He was asked about "Don Juan in Hell" and he explained that this year's performance was cancelled because Ed Asner was on a honeymoon cruise with his new bride. Rene has no one to blame but himself for this, because he and his wife Judith were the ones who introduced them. The entire Q & A is available on videotape, so I won't go into more detail here.

I'd met Rene for the first time at the fan club event in Scottsdale, AZ '97 and had that photo with me for Rene to sign this year. I was pleased that Rene made a special effort to include my gift in this year's photo so I'd have a souvenir of that presentation. [Note: Carol's gift to Rene was a necktie. She made a tie for each of the guests; the fabric was silvery-gray, imprinted with portraits of all four characters. With Carol's permission, Rene put his necktie into the auction - the lucky purchaser added a tidy sum to the amount donated to charity that weekend! MK]

Immediately after visiting with Rene, I took my place beside Armin who offered me some of his pretzels. Having flown down to San Diego immediately after the SAG meeting, he'd missed lunch. Armin was very friendly and appreciative. Even though he was the one guest at the Weekend I'd never met before, he made me feel as if we were old friends.

At dinner on Saturday night, it was Armin's turn to be the celebrity of the hour and guests drew for chances to sit at his table. Rene sat with members of various staffs - fan clubs, weekend event, and Paramount Studios. I don't remember much of the dinner conversation, but the subject of Rene's lengthy filmography came up and I pointed out that Sid's fan club had a distinct advantage in this area. We could count his roles on one hand. I then added that Sid had played a king twice and there'd been some on-line speculation about whether any Star Trek actor could beat that. Rene could. He's played kings three times - though two of those were Shelley Duvall's "Fairy Tale Theater" productions. (This doesn't include King Lear since we were not including stage roles.)

I don't have much to add to Leanna's account of Sunday except to say that the person who stopped Andy from telling the San Diego airport story was his wife Irene. "Some of these people have to fly out of the airport soon," she reminded him.

Leanna mentioned that Rene spoke of his children's acting careers and it occurred to me that he's the only one of the four guys who doesn't have a relative who has been on DS9. Andy's daughter Rachel guest starred in "The Visitor", Armin's wife Kitty was a Bajoran official in "Sanctuary", and Sid's wife -- well, you know. It doesn't seem impossible that Rene's son or daughter could don a Starfleet uniform or some such thing and it would be fun for his fans.

I'd been a fan of the original Star Trek series, wrote fan fiction, even helped to put on a couple conventions, but it never even occurred to me to join a fan club for an actor. Then DS9 came along with its extraordinary cast who partnered with their fans to raise money for charity. They've changed Star Trek fandom forever.

1999

Burbank, California - April 17-18, 1999

The event raised $30,000 for charity.

1999: Con Reports

René shared the stage at previous "Weekend on the Promenade" events with Andy Robinson in '97 and with Armin Shimerman in '98. The plan was to put René and Alexander Siddig together in '99, but unfortunately Disney needed René to work on Sid's scheduled day, Sunday, on a movie he began filming last fall, "Inspector Gadget." René traded days with Andy which made the pairings were the same as the previous year -- René and Armin on Saturday and Sid and Andy on Sunday.

In addition to the four host celebrities, various cast and crew members were invited to attend the event and meet the fans. The Saturday autograph group included Armin's wife Kitty Swenk (who played a Bajoran in "Sanctuary" and will play a Vorta this season), Armin's co-authors David R. George and Eric A. Stillwell, Chase Masterson, Aron Eisenberg, and Lolita Fatjo. René is shown here between Kitty and Chase with Aron and Armin.

After the fans had a chance to meet the actors, get autographs and have their pictures taken with them, it was time for the banquet. René created souvenirs on his computer for all the guests and I placed one at each place. It was a stylized picture of his Odo make-up being pulled off for the last time with the caption "It's a wrap!"

In addition to the autograph group, Alexander Siddig, Nana Visitor, Andy Robinson, William Sadler, and Bjo Trimble arrived for the banquet and each sat at a round table with fans. Celebrity couples sat at adjacent tables to maximize the number of fans who'd get to share a table with an honored guest. Instead of having eight fans sit at a table with Sid and Nana, for example, you could have eighteen fans sit at a table with one or the other. Django failed to see the logic in this. "Sit with us, Daddy," he protested. "Sit with us!" Since Django was sitting between Nana and me, he must have thought I was sitting in his father's chair. He shot me one resentful look, but soon resigned himself to the situation and shuttled back and forth between the high chair by his mother and his father's lap. Nana said that was fairly typical for him. Sitting still is not Django's strong suit.

[...]

After dinner, Sid, Andy, Armin, and René got up one at a time to distribute the "thank you" gifts to the event's volunteer staff. Sid let his son Django help him pass out his batch and the two of them were on stage together briefly during this time.

[...]

After dinner, we watched a videotape of memorable scenes from Deep Space Nine and the fan club gatherings. What a great trip down memory lane!

Next, Andy was scheduled to read from his Garak's Diaries, but the hotel staff placed the podium on the stage with no light. René and Armin picked up the podium and moved it over to the white screen where the videotape had been shown so that Andy could see and be seen. I was impressed with their consideration for a fellow performer. Andy has sold Garak's Diaries, which is scheduled for an October release. We all hope there's an audio book in its future, since hearing Andy read it makes it perfect.

The celebrity auction began with a Buffy the Vampire Slayer script, contributed by Armin and signed by the entire cast of the WB show. When the opening bid was $100, Armin turned to René and said, "I should have brought more scripts." René had liberated various props, plans, and accessories from the DS9 set as it was being dismantled. Here he is modeling two of three Dabo chips he contributed to the auction.

William Sadler hadn't known about the charity auction when he'd accepted an invitation to the banquet, but as Rene and Armin were taking turns auctioning items, Sadler took a piece of paper and drew a self portrait. He then announced he had something to auction and joined René and Armin on stage and remained for the Q & A. One of the fans asked him, "Is Sloan the Federation Garak?"

His jaw just dropped. He fumbled around for an answer for a moment and then said, "Do I sound a bit unprepared to you?"

René reassured him, "Don't worry. Soon you'll be able to B.S. like the rest of us."

William Sadler drew himself up and got into character as an expert and proclaimed with authority, "Sloan is the Federation Garak." René was right. It didn't take him long.

When Sadler announced that he was going to give plot summaries for all the unaired episodes, René put his hand over Sadler's mouth, but it was clearly a photo-op, not a scuffle.

Chase Masterson joined the group for a couple of questions.

[...]

On Sunday, J.G. Hertzler (Martok, Laas) had a few special items to auction and then joined Andy and Sid for their Q & A.

[...]

René had a very good response in San Diego '98 when he sold a shirt which read "Nobody Knows I'm a Changling" at the charity auction. So, this year he decided to sell the black T-shirt which he has been wearing under his Odo costume all these years. Armin decided he could do that, too, and brought his. They were so similar that the only way you could tell one from the other was by checking the name tag sewn in the back, but both were successfully auctioned off on Saturday night.

When I learned that Sid would bring his T-shirt to sell on Sunday, I thought, "T-shirts aren't really that interesting -- if you've seen one, you've seen them all."

I was mistaken. I'd never seen a padded T-shirt -- but that's what we saw at Sunday's auction. Sid explained that the contoured foam rubber padding gave Bashir "that robust chest women go for." It sold for $300.

[...]

As we were packing up our belongings to clear the banquet room, a couple people asked us when next year's event would be. "There's no event scheduled for next year," we answered. "But don't you have one every year?" For six years now, DS9 fan clubs have had events at which they could meet the actors and support various charities. Fan clubs will continue to have gatherings -- most often in connection with convention appearances. But I can't imagine anything quite like this ever happening again. It's the end of an era.

2001

"Dinner on the Promenade" took place on the Friday evening of "Grand Slam" weekend.

2001: Con Report

Dinner on the Promenade took place on the Friday evening of "Grand Slam" weekend. Like previous Weekend on the Promenade and similar events organized by Gayle Stever over the years, Dinner on the Promenade provided a wonderful opportunity for members of various DS9 fan clubs and their friends to visit with our favorite DS9 actors and production people in a relaxed, intimate setting (a welcome contrast to the usual convention scene, where huge crowds of fans and hours of autograph lines are the norm), and to raise money for charity by auctioning off memorabilia donated by the guests of honor.

There were about 60 fans present. The special guests included DS9 staff and writers (like Lolita Fatjo and Eric Stillwell), and a wonderful gathering of cast members - René, Armin Shimerman, Andy Robinson, Aron Eisenberg, Max Grodenchik, Bill Sadler, Armin's wife Kitty Swink, and Chase Masterson. (Chase had to arrive late, but she also stayed late to chat with her fan club members.)

Fans started arriving around 4:30 p.m., and the first of the actors got there about 5:00 (René was one of the early birds) and started talking with people. The room was set up with approximately ten round tables, each seating eight people. Seating was assigned based on which actor's club you were affiliated with. But the seating hardly mattered because, except for the 45 minutes or so when we were actually eating, everyone (both fans and actors) wandered around the room a lot and sat down anywhere they wanted to have conversations.

As soon as people arrived they were able to look at items available for "silent auction." The goodies were displayed on tables around the edges of the room, with a bid sheet showing how much of a minimum bid was expected, and how much other people had bid before you. We had a nice collection of Trek-related stuff-scripts and photos and trading cards and plastic action figures and so on. One René-fan donated a collection of CDs of his Broadway musicals, but with new covers that she created herself, consisting of a big photo of René and reworded title, like "Big River - starring René Auberjonois (and some other folks)".

Until close to 6:00 there were only 15 or 20 fans present, which was starting to make Gayle really nervous-she had a list of all the people who had registered, and they had already paid for dinner, so she wasn't worried about losing money on the food. But we needed a decent crowd if we were going to raise any money for charity with the auctions.

[...]

Finally the rest of the party started to arrive in big clumps - it turned out that traffic on the nearby highway had slowed to a standstill for a while, and that was where everyone had been stuck.

When Gayle knew that most of the registered folks were there, we had dinner, which was set up as a buffet. Several salads, some hot vegetables and potatoes, a vegetarian lasagna, and a big hunk of beef from which the chef would carve slices on request-and a choice of carrot or chocolate cake for dessert. Much better food than I've had at many other hotel banquets!

After dinner, Gayle gave a short speech, thanking everyone for coming, and then presented a special award to one of our founding ORACLE members, Karen B., in thanks for all the support she has given to several of the actors' fan clubs and our charity fundraising projects over the years. René got up and presented Karen with a very nice plaque (and a big hug) and Karen was really touched and happy.

After that, each of the actors got up and talked a bit about what they'd been doing lately, and also spoke about how proud and happy they are to be involved with Star Trek fandom, because we're such good-hearted and generous people.

[...]

After the auction, the fans and actors socialized some more, and fans could have their photos taken with the actors and get autographs. Again, because this was a small group of fans, Gayle kept the "organization" casual-you didn't have to stand in line or anything. René, for instance, tended to wander from table to table, asking people if they had anything they needed autographed, whereas Andy stayed right near the table where he'd eaten dinner and let people come up to him. I was standing near him at one point while he was talking to someone, and another fan came up and asked if he could get an autograph, and Andy motioned toward his table and said, "Sure. Come into my office."

All in all, it was an incredible evening - very much a party in the best sense of the word. In addition to everyone being thrilled to spend time with the actors, we fans also enjoyed having time to chat with our fan friends! It was very much like a family reunion-the best kind, without any feuding. I enjoyed meeting several people in person who I'd previously known only via e-mail or postal correspondence. The only thing wrong with the Dinner on the Promenade was that it couldn't last longer!

[...]

Best of all, when the counting was done, we had raised over $6,000. Quite an evening's work!