Star Trek Universe

Mecca or the Jordon River: Star Trek Conventions

For a true Trekker there is nothing more fun than attending a well organized Trek Convention. Here is my account of attending conventions based on attending several through out the years.

The Star Trek Experience was a commercial Star Trek venue built into a wing of the Las Vegas Hilton. It was a Trekker's paradise: everything Trek. Check out my hub page on the Star Trek Experience and learn more. It was very different from attending a convention.

Star Trek conventions are usually held in convention centers or large hotels where there are theaters, ballrooms, and meeting spaces. I have attended conventions in Houston, Kansas City, Mo., San Francisco, San Jose, and Sacramento.

The actors that star in the series use the theater for lectures and talks. Vendors set up in the ballroom areas and various meeting are held in smaller rooms. Those rooms provide opportunities for Star Trek chapters and Klingon chapters to get together. Paper sessions or performances are also held in the meeting rooms.

In the theater, Trekkers are often arranged in Gold, Silver or regular seating. Gold and Silver seating are reserved for fans who pay money to go back stage and get autographs. People seated in the Gold section get autographs first and those in the silver area go second. Those in the general seating are not allowed to get autographs at all.

If one has the money, the Gold seating is best because those people get autographs and short introductions to the actors when they are fresh and energetic. By the time the Silver people get there, the actors are tired and may not be so friendly.

When Trekkers go to hear one of the actors they sit there hushed, intense and completely focused on the speaker. During the question and answer period, they are ready to jump up and participate.

Common Characteristics and Actions of the People:

Star Trek has a very diverse fan base and that is evident at conventions. People of all racial and ethnic groups attend along with people from around the world. The ages run from 17 and up. It appears that there are more men than women attending conventions and the attendance can run from 200 to 3000 people. Trekkers tend to be very intelligent, hold at least an undergraduate degree and many hold advanced degrees. It is surprising how many engineers in my age bracket say they became interested in engineering because they watched Scotty, the head engineer in the Original series work his magic on the engines. I became hooked on the show right after I finished undergraduate school. When I saw that beautiful black woman, Uhura, on the bridge of the Enterprise, manning the communication console I had validation that I chose the right career

Thinking outside of the box is one of the characteristics of Trekkers. They are ready to think about reality in different ways. Trekkers tend to be liberal and people think of them as geeks or nerds. The other stereotype is that Trekkers are very intelligent, but out there in left field. Both of these images are true and everything in between.

The differences between the people who went to the Star Trek Experience and those that attend ST conventions are significant. Both ST fans and Trekkers attended the ST Experience, but a majority of Trekkers who attend conventions are hard core. ST conventions are not for the casual fan.

Casual fans tend to have watched only ST: The Original or ST: Next Generation. Trekkers know all of the iterations of ST. They discuss episode plots and interesting features from the episodes. Many are like me; they can see a scene and know the episode it comes from. .

Trekkers start comparing information when they line up to go in. They compete with each other based on knowledge of the series. They rattle off lists of obscure facts. They theorize and hypothesis about issues such as how a transporter might work. This is how Trekkers pass the time as they wait to go in. Very interesting conversations go on in the lines.

Trekkers belong to ST clubs and Klingon clubs. Both come to the conventions in character. ST clubs are named after ships of the Federation fleet. The presidents of the clubs usually wear the formal uniform that Kirk wore in one of the movies. They actually buy Vogue patterns and have them made. Each chapter displays artifacts from their chapters: lists of the member’s names, contact information, t-shirts, and other paraphernalia.

Klingon clubs come in full Klingon military gear. Most of them are big and tall men and women. They have been known to hold seminars on how to be a Klingon. Klingon clubs provide security at the conventions: security for the actors when there are large crowds and they provide crowd control in general. They walk around looking menacing.

Other Trekkers come to the conventions in character. There are uniforms from each series. Familiar aliens show up too: green Orion dancing girls are a favorite. They wear scanty costumes and paint themselves green. I attend as Lt. Uhura in a full uniform with ID tags from the Communications Division.

Vendors set up in trading rooms where buyers and sellers are serious. Everyone has fun examining merchandise and negotiating with the sellers to bring down their prices. Merchandise at the ST Experience was all new and commercial. Sellers in the trading rooms frequently have items that are difficult to find and have been held in private collections. Trek action figures are are popular. Posters, original art work, ST CDs, jewelry, and all sorts of things can be found there. I collect ST themed TV guides with four different covers on the same issue. I aslso own a tape of conversational Klingon.

People from other galaxies wander in at large conventions: mostly from that far, far away galaxy of Star Wars. At the Sacramento convention, I observed a Storm trooper from Star Wars. He wore the white military gear that covers them from head to toe. The Trooper came in and flashed his gun around, all in good fun. Another participant came as Darth Vader. This guy strutted around the main room flourishing his cape.

Storm Trooper guns and light sabers from the Force are the preferred accessories.

One person at this same convention brought her baby as a Tribble. A tribble is a small furry creature that makes a cute purring sound. They are great to have around as long as you don’t feed them.

If you are ever in the neighborhood of a convention take a tour. Enjoy the intensity of a convention and learn more about Trek.