Survive the turkey, then head to Indy with me!

If your fandom turf in the East Midwest or Northern South actually overlaps the Indianapolis area, then by all means and best available speed you MUST head over to the ever-booming StarBase Indy convention at the Indianapolis Marriott East next weekend, after Thanksgiving Thursday.

For me, THIS one is personal.

Not only will Trekland be there, but also Nikki "Ezri Dax" deBoer, Bob and JG— the Klingon Chancellor brothers in and out of makeup (or something like that) ... plus their makeup whiz John Palladin, Alexis Cruz of Stargate fame, and my old Trek Life Etc. artist buddy and Indy local David Reddick. And lots more, including NASA astronaut and native Dr. David Wolf.

See, I'd been a guest at Indy back in 2004 and 2005, when both this convention and Star Trek itself were sagging with doubt about the future. Enterprise's flame dimmed, and then did go out, with turnout and optimism plummeting about Trek for all but the hard-core. That's why, as I told Ron Hawkins of the suburban Reporter-Times for his great profile piece, that I've been so thrilled to see not only Starbase Indy but also all of Trek make a comeback of optimism, exuberance and direction (not to mention demographics—the whole "youth thing.")

Nay, it's been transformed into so many platforms of fun it's been incredible... and again, I mean both the con AND fandom: Geek culture, fangirls and the JJ renewal have all bloomed and boomed since then. For SBI, Kim Huff and her gang stay totally locally run and fan-run to boot. With THREE charities to benefit. And tracks and great panels on indie filmmaking, other media franchises, writers, costuming, art, gaming ... of course.

What a difference seven years makes. It's been such a kick to be invited back after this bounce back for Indy... and to even have them GIVE me space and schedule gridtime for our traditional CON OF WRATH Meetup/Fundraiser Party—my documentary about the most "glorious failure" in Trek and pop culture history  ... as well as all the other stuff. Here's the "known space" where I'll be:

FRIDAY:
7 p.m.—Meet and Greet with all guests, during Opening Ceremonies,

SATURDAY:

12 noon—Trekland: Between the Cracks: Our signature "slide show"-plus of in-jokes, info and archives.... updated for SBI, of course, with even some JJverse updates.

10:30 p.m.-1 a.m.—Our Meetup-Fundraiser for THE CON OF WRATH where, as always, $20 not only gets you your screen credit (as per any donor) but also two hours of prize trivia, rare Trek video, and new clips yet unseen from our shoots for THE CON OF WRATH. Can Indy outpace even Vegas and Comic-Con (at right) and the blast we had back home in OKC, and just recently in Austin? We'll see! (And this still leaves an hour for late-night Karaoke...)

SUNDAY:
1 p.m.— Star Trek: The State of the Franchise: Our patented past-present-future Trek discussion forum where, as we recover on Sunday, we provide floor mics and I kick off YOUR crosstalk and opinions, dear audience, to maybe send each others' Trek insight where it has not gone before.

AND of course I'll be no stranger at my TREKLAND table, with new CDs, photos, SECRET FUNDRAISERS, and cool stuff cleaned out of my closet like old scripts.  SBI enjoys the nighttime services of Barfleet party-givers, too, which seems like a natural watering hole as well. (I can't let the Chancellors outgun me, now can I?)

This will be the last con of 2012 for me, in what has become a groundbreaking one in many ways—and my, I can't wait to see how much little Starbase Indy has grown! If you are in the neighborhood, please stop by.