Star Trek Convention - My Experience
In my Travelling Alone posts, I discussed the joys of travelling alone on the way to the world’s biggest annual Star Trek convention in Las Vegas and decided that the convention experience itself deserved a feature of its own. It’s an experience not to be missed if you have even just a little more than a casual interest in Star Trek, but conventions in general are something that you can find for many interests and if you can find one for your interest, I absolutely encourage you wholeheartedly to dip your toe in and experience one. You won’t regret it.
It’s never been cooler to let your geek flag fly. An interest in comics or sci-fi is no longer something to be mocked for or just for the quite guy sitting in the back of science class, fandom is for everyone! Conventions aren’t a new thing, they’ve been around for almost as long as TV sci-fi has in one form or another and they’re literally a gathering of like minded people meeting up to share in their passion. There’s coming conventions like Comic Con, which have spread all over the world, with several taking place around the UK throughout the year, there’s specific Star Trek ones, of course, Sci-Fi in general, Doctor Who ones, Anime focussed ones, even a Massage and Complimentary Therapy one we discovered one year. It’s simply a large-scale meet up for people who share a common interest and usually features entertainment, panels, seminars and a sort of trade show element and often loads of night-time entertainment either official or unofficial. You can probably tell by the fact I’m writing this that I’m pretty excited about them.
Now, I’d heard of Star Trek conventions while I was growing up and my inner nerd was always desperate to attend one. Back in the nineties, Denise Crosby, and actress from Season One of Star Trek: The Next Generation (and also Granddaughter of Bing Crosby) produced a documentary film called ‘Trekkies’ which features some of the fans on the convention circuit around the United States. In 2004, came Trekkies 2 which features fans from around the world as well as checking in with some of the stars of the original film. I remember them exciting me and terrifying me, as they had a tendency to focus on some of the more extreme folk but I was excited that there were all these gatherings going on around the world with people that shared my interest and promised myself that sometime, I would travel to one. So in 2012, I did!
My very first convention was, what I now realise, a pretty small one. I can’t remember how I found out about it, but it was in Peterborough and was a general Sci-Fi convention with cast members appearing from Star Trek, Doctor Who, Torchwood, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Ashes to Ashes and many others (strangely, some of the cast of ‘’Allo ‘Allo!’ were also doing signings and meet and greets). You could see the DeLorean from Back To The Future and the Audi Quattro from Ashes to Ashes, R2D2 from Star Wars and a host of Daleks milling about (One with a bucket on its sucker arm collecting for charity which was amazing). For a very first convention, it was fantastic! I’d never been to Peterborough before and haven’t been since, but it was lovely. I can’t actually remember where we stayed, but my best friend from high school – also an avid sci-fi fan – travelled up to meet me and we went together. We’d both spent our lives dreaming of attending a convention, so it was only right that we did it together. We were amazed. There were photo ops, talks, signings, exhibitions, shops and all sorts, all in this big hanger that we got a bus to from the centre of town. On the second day, we met two women who we’re still in touch with now, purely because we were there for the same thing.
And that’s what I love about a convention. You’ve instantly got something in common with everyone there. There’s an instant ice breaker. We knew that this would be far from our last convention, but the only problem was finding ones to attend. Back in 2012, the bigger sci-fi convention scene was starting to heat up. There have been smaller ones for years, but big events were coming up now, likely due to things like the return of Doctor Who in 2005, Star Trek’s return to cinemas in 2009 and the titanic rise of Marvel’s Cinematic Universe. It was all becoming mainstream and cool. Not only could you suddenly wear nerdy t-shirts in public without being laughed at, it was fashion! You non-nerds are welcome. Welcome to the party. Took you long enough.
So, not long after we’d returned home, we hard about the first Destination Start Trek UK convention, the first official Star Trek convention in the UK since 1994, I was told. This one boasted all five Captains (there were only five then) and a host of other guests, exhibits, a museum, shopping, entertainment, night-time themed parties and everything you could possibly want, so this was clearly something we were going to. Aside from a minor hotel booking mishap, it was a brilliant weekend.
A week before going, I met a girl in once of the unofficial social media groups who used to live in the same town as me until a few weeks before. We had tons of friends in common and I don’t know how we’d never managed to meet! It would later transpire that she lived in a house just opposite my best friend, who was joining me at the con!
The first day, Friday, I was on my own, as my friends couldn’t make it up til the Saturday, so that meant I had the first day and the first night party to myself. Armed with the knowledge that I had something in common with everyone there, I made my way into my very first full Star Trek convention experience. The modern building really lent itself to the theme, as you could be forgiven for thinking you’d been beamed straight to Starfleet Command – especially with all the folks in Starfleet uniforms milling about. In fact, Starfleet uniforms and all manner of costumes from different eras made me tempted to pull out my tricorder and begin scanning for temporal anomalies! It wasn’t long before I got chatting to some people and suddenly was no longer alone. I’m still good friends with those very first people I met! Everyone was so full of excitement and energy and the day was perfect (apart from me overheating in the afternoon and having a little pass out – I now know to plan outfits accordingly!). The second day arrived and I introduced my friends to some of the guys I’d met and we all got along as if we’d known each other for years. At the end of the weekend, we were exhausted, but in a fun way. After the official parties, there were several nearby unofficial ones that kept us going way into the early hours. The group that put the best party on were brilliant and had even built small replica parts of the Enterprise-D’s Bridge! When it was announced that there would be a second one two years later, we eagerly awaited getting back together and many of us stayed in touch. It’s hardly surprising that with Star Trek’s philosophy of exploration and meeting new people that the fans embrace the same values and that’s what makes a convention so great! There’s a lot of people who travel to these alone, but know they won’t be alone for long!
So, by the time I would experience my first Star Trek Las Vegas convention, I already had a tiny bit of convention experience under my belt, which is probably what made me so excited about it. I may have been going alone, but I knew it was unlikely I’d be alone very long. In fact, I’d just arrived from the airport and had to wait an hour before I checked in, so I sat in the first bar I found, The Masquerade, and had a beer while I waited. I’d been sat there about five minutes before someone I knew from the UK conventions appeared and we excitedly had a catch up and made some plans. Then, another friend I knew arrived from the UK and we suddenly had our own little group of adventurers before the convention had even begun! This was exciting! It was so nice to have some familiar faces to share the excitement with, as it was a first time for all of us. I then heard there were some more of the UK contingent there, so we kept an eye out for them. There was so much to see and do that the extra sets of eyes and ears were handy. If one of us had heard about something the others had missed, like parties and such, we’d have a better chance of finding out. And there’s no shortage of parties going on! There was one night I even found myself invited to what was pretty much a Trekkie Swingers’ party, which resulted in the only hangover that’s ever actually made me cry!
In fact, there’s another thing about conventions that’s amazing! The freedom! People free to be themselves regardless of race, sexuality, disability, anything. The thing that’s very clear when you look around is that everyone here is accepted and we’re all among friends. I thought that was because of the Star Trek philosophy, but I’ve heard it’s like that at other conventions too. But it was so refreshing and comforting to spend a week where people are just there to have a good time and conventional divisions just disappear. It proves that it’s actually possible! That’s another thing that keeps me going back. The chance to spend time in the world we should be living in. It’s a respite from the upheavals of the ‘real’ world while also really bolstering your hope for the future. There are people of every kind here and no-one is above anyone. It really is something special to behold.
There are actually several large LGBTQIA+ events scheduled each year and there is a fabulous LGBTQIA+ presence , which isn’t really surprising in an environment that’s so safe and friendly. I like to think that there are so many gay Trekkies because of the positive and inclusive message that’s always been at the core. There was even a brilliant Pride meetup in the Rotunda area presided over by the iconic George Takei from the Original Series!
The actual event itself is also really special. America, and in particular Las Vegas, does everything bigger and better! Most of the big hotels in Vegas have convention centres and you’ll likely find several conventions in town at a time. I know in the Mandalay and a couple of other hotels around the same time as STLV each year, there are computer, technology and digital security conventions at the same time and I know in The Rio itself the World Series of Poker is usually the week before STLV. In fact, my second year, as few days after the convention, a good friend and I took a wander down to the convention area to see what STLV had been replaced by and we found ourselves at a massage and complimentary therapy convention getting free demo treatments and bags of free swag! It was brilliant! It did feel a little odd, seeing no star fleet uniforms and other things in our space, a little like going into your childhood home after someone else has redecorated, but this must be the norm for people who live or work there!
If you manage to go to a big US convention, like STLV, the first thing that’ll hit you is the scale! Everything’s big, exciting and slickly executed. There’s even a version of Quark’s Bar from Deep Space Nine in the convention! The halls are carpeted, which makes such a difference for your feet as you’ll do a lot of walking and it’s comfortable everywhere. There’s ample seating in the luxurious corridors, as well as the occasional set-piece for a photo op, like the Borg Alcoves, Transporter Pad, the Guardian of Forever and the pile of Tribbles, which are all free. Then there’s the room with the original Enterprise Bridge, complete with sounds and blinking control panels! It’s honestly breathtaking! You can go in for a look when there’s not photos taking place, or you can book a paid photo op there. In the Rotunda, the entrance hall to the convention, there’s a giant Star Trek badge, a different one each year in the centre of the impressive round room (I also can’t help having a good stare at that ceiling every time I’m there either that looks almost organic, made of stained glass and subtle backlighting). I can’t even describe everything, but needless to say, it’s impressive! And, now that we’ve got Star Trek back in regular production, there’s also fresh, new exhibits each year of what’s to come, in addition to those celebrating the classics. And for a drag queen taking a wander through the halls to have the chance to meet some of your heroes while decked out in your finest Trek Drag, that’s just incredible (not to mention getting an enthusiastic finger strap and ‘yesss!’ from Nichelle Nichols! I could’ve actually died! What a lady!). In fact, no matter what costume you want to wear, no matter how outlandish or obscure, you can do it in confidence here. I’ve seen a Crystalline Entity, a light and sound multi legged Tholian, the Farpoint Jellyfish, Species 8472, and mobility scooters converted into shuttlecraft or even The Enterprise. Out if that’s too adventurous, I’ve got a good friend who wore perfect replica Speedos from the episode Captain’s Holiday and paid homage to Picard’s finest beachfront look. This is Vegas!
So, It’s apparent that I can’t possibly squeeze in everything good about convention visits, especially the Vegas ones, but I think it's obvious why I keep going back. And I haven’t even had time to acknowledge all the lifelong very close friends I’ve made thanks to conventions! There are many! Real friendships really do start at these experiences and I’m so lucky to have met some of the people I’ve met. Especially those who delight in sharing a crazy adventure together. The dinners, the dancing, the shenanigans, the suite parties, costume parties at rooftop nightclubs 54 stories in the air, the shows, the ‘away missions’, everything! All this awaits you!
You don’t have to go crazy and go to every single party, you can tackle it at your own pace. In fact, there’s no point trying to do everything because it’s just not possible, so just make peace with that first. There’s always next time. So, whatever your interest, find a convention and start experiencing this wonderful new world! It’s the greatest trip you’ll have!
Live long and prosper and I hope I bump into you in the Vendors Room someday!
