Vegas Khaaann! Here's my stuff and MY NEWS!

UPDATE: The room site (Masque Rm 4020) and Facebook Event page for Saturday's "Dr. Trek Show" for The Con of Wrath are now posted (more below).


The big Creation Star Trek #STLV Las Vegas KHHAAANN! faces the same challenge as Star Trek itself: How do you do the same fun thing year after year, but have something new as well?

Everyone from Creation, CBS and all the actors, crew and fans on down face that challenge and meet it swimmingly each year.  For so many folks it's just a big reunion  There's already more of the new photo op and stop-in features around the con site you saw last year ... but for ME here in Trekland, this year is fresh on two counts:

FIRST, we'll have the WORLD DEBUT of the fourth entry in our TREKLAND: ON SPEAKER themed and remastered archival CDs—this year for the 20th anniversary of Voyager's launch, and it;s titled "Taking Care of 'Caretaker' " with the 1994-95 voices of Jeri Taylor, Dan Curry, Richard James and Rick Kolbe. At the table, and available for signing! Plus, some Vol. 2s and 3s.

And SECOND—the all-new debut of my PORTAL 47 backstage beam-in pass, the all-new Star Trek insider "savvy fan" home experience I've been talking about developing for years. You can hear about it and get the info sheet at any of my events this long weekend —or the table. (Stay tuned for more here soon, too).

Best of all, the new On Speaker edition and/or a three-month pass through PORTAL 47 will be among the prizes at several of my events this weekend! 



So what's the TREKLAND DAY BY DAY?

First up: This year I'll be returning to posted TABLE HOURS at my booth, which will not be a 24/7 affair!  So check the table for final hours posted by Day 1.

Just know I will be there 4-5 hours a day at least… especially with both my brand-new offerings as well as the latest breaking news about ENTERPRISE IN SPACE,  the Con of Wrath, Star Trek Continues, 

Look for a few "live" TREKLAND TRUNK items with me on-site, for those interested, who'd like to save postage or even freight. (Watch for updates at table and at the Trekland Trunk Facebook list.) We are already planning a "T-Trunk Regulars" meetup, with about a dozen or so of them on hand.

I"m sure we'll also try for a LA2Vegas tour alumni photo as well!

But my big agenda of course begins before the actual con starts:

WEDNESDAY—

—7 am sharp, Rio front doors: We'll be loading up the SUVs for our second annual "Kirk Memorial" Valley of Fire adventure (and lunch) with Geek Nation Tours—check to see if we still have any of our 20 spots left. This is the "off year" for the big week-long tour, but for the Big 5-0 in 2016 we already have the "LA2Vegas" planned to feature some all-new sights AND also include our first-ever "SFx2" option —location sites and stops around SAN FRANSISCO! Teras of GNT will be at his booth all weekend for more info … But on Wednesday, we'll be back by mid-afternoon for plenty of time to rest up, cool off and get ready for ….

—9-Midnight?, Masquerade Bar/Rio: The FIFTH ANNUAL LANDING PARTY co-sponsored by Trekland along with the Roddenberry MIssion Log podcast, Glue Guns and Phasers, trekmovie.com—Games, trivia, prizes … and my first real public unveiling of PORTAL 47. At the Rio's Masquerade Bar, of course—since the Rio's  Irish pub space is STILL closed. But everyone will be there! 


THURSDAY:
—For the first time in ages—aside from table hours, I'll have no scheduled events this day…aside from meetups  and gladhanding. Which means after all these years I might finally make it to karaoke!


FRIDAY:
—9:55 AM, Secondary Stage: The STLV debut of CAPTIONS LOGGED, where I preside over a goofy blooper image caption contest based on part of my official Trek magazine column. Compete against your fellow fans, winners by audience choice! Prizes and fun, for 35 minutes. so don't be tardy.

—NOON, Main Stage: Leonard Nimoy Memorial:  Not sure the exact time yet, but one of the emotional highlights this year has to be Adam Nimoy's appearance and update on his documentary about his father. Creation's Adam Malin asked me to join him and Richard Arnold to reminisce during a slide show, either before or after his interview with Adam.

—11:30 pm,  AMC Town Square 18 off-site, 6587 La Vegas Blvd.: A special FREE screening of Star Trek Continues' Ep. 4, The White Iris, with much of the cast and some fellow crew (see the link)—just like last year. This actually follows a 9-11 pm screening and panel of Star Trek Renegades, with specialty Trek drink-drinks in-between.  FREE tickets will be distributed by trekmovie.com  AT THE SCREENING SITE to the first 250 people in line!


SATURDAY:
—9-11 pm, Rio Masquerade Tower RM 4020: Yes, of  course it's another DR. TREK SHOW crowdfunder party for THE CON OF WRATH—you now the drill: Kick in $20 or more for your screen credit (or add to past gifts), and live we'll have trivia, prizes, rare Trek video AND doc clips—including this year's latest from Laura Banks and Nichelle Nichols!  This may overlap some other nightlife still not announced, but hey—having 15 or 20 is just fine. Of all the live cons where I gratefully host this event, there's none like STLV! 


SUNDAY:
—Again, a day I'll be "off the grid" aside from tabling.

So, tell me again what's so big about a five-day Khaaaann is in 2016?


Well, that's my end of it. Lighter this year on hard-core talks, so more for me to focus on of "mine"—and to just enjoy seeing everyone. Aside from the official Creation schedule, check out these boards on Facebook — like Unofficial STLV and STLV After Hours.

VEGAS ALERT: See "The Green Girl" bio-documentary, but get tix now!

UPDATE: Wow, folks—you did it! With an hour to go, the 66-seat threshold was met. Now, there's still 30 more seats available, so don;t wait til Thursday of STLV: if you want to go, reserve it now at the same site.

Yes, I was proud to be part of this wonderful documentary "The Green Girl," about studio rebel, glass-ceiling-breaker and go-to guest star Susan "Vina" Oliver. But as an indie film, it's been hard to see on a big screen--until now: Director George Pappy Jr. has a chance to show it very near the Rio during Vegas Trek weekend!

But you have to act fast to make it happen—by THIS Monday night, July 21.

George has an IMAX showing set up a long block away from the Rio at 9-11 pm Thursday, July 31—but to make it work, the house needs to clear 66 tickets at the GATHR system online on-demand website. Go here to get your tickets now and help make sure it "makes." (Your card is not even charged until the quota is hit, and it is "for sure" happening.)

At the time I write this, the showing still needs 28 tickets sold—but surely out of the thousands pouring into the Rio for the Khhaaaann, a few dozen fans have no Thursday night plans and would love to see a rare big-screen treat about this woman we know so well, and yet so little.  A panel and giveaways, too! And once the minimum 66 sell, there will be more seats.

Best of all, no fears: Like me, you can attend this 9 p.m. event and STILL make the midnight free screening and post-panel for Star Trek Continues' "Fairest Of Them All" at the AMC Town Square 18 on the Strip.

I was pleased to join a near-full house for "The Green Girl" premiere and panel in Hollywood last spring (at left); and since then, there's been just one Gathr screening set: July 29 in L.A.—so this is indeed a rare treat as the film is just starting to get known. (I'm sure George would love to have you Like the Facebook page as well.)


Here's the invite George wrote on the Unofficial Vegas Trek Facebook page:

Hi everyone. I just wanted to introduce myself and invite you (if you’re in Vegas Thursday night, July 31) to stroll one block down from the Kahn to see my documentary about Susan Oliver (who you’ll all remember as Vina from “The Cage”/”The Menagerie.” Her Orion Slave Girl remains one of TOS’s enduring icons even 50 years after her original work on the pilot. Sadly for Susan, she died quite young and missed out on the modern convention era, so she never really got the chance to connect with all her fans like so many others continue to do even today.

This film has been a 3-year labor of love and tells the remarkable story of one of the most prolific actresses of her era, an accomplished female pilot (one of the first to ever fly the Lear Jet), and one of only a handful of women who directed television in the early 1980’s (including a M*A*S*H).

We’ve been lucky enough to get this chance to show you the movie at the IMAX just one block from the Rio on Thursday, July 31 at 9pm. I hope to have Larry Nemecek and Celeste "Yeoman MArtha Landon" Yarnall (who are both in the movie) there with me to do a Q&A afterwards, and we’ll be giving away some free Green Girl T-shirts and copies of the DVD (which is making its first public appearance at the convention).

The IMAX will only hold the theater for this screening if we can get at least 60 more fans to reserve their seats by July 21 (I know, that’s really soon!). We really hope you can come and that you’ll help us make sure the screening happens – Susan Oliver’s amazing story deserves to be seen and shared (so please tell all your friends, too)!

You can reserve your seats (AND see the movie’s trailer) here:

http://gathr.us/screening/8411

Blast from the Past: The "old" ST.COM team at Vegas '07

I just realized, again, that I refuse to wipe out the oldest photo still on my "old" Canon Elph (below). It's so iconic: it's a dinner gathering of the old StarTrek.com team—and the smiles of guests and spouses with us together reflect a total unawareness that this would be our last Vegas together as a unit.

Thank goodness, that after the surprise layoff wipeout just six months later and then the agonizing 2 1/2 years of the disused URL, the site is back in a new configuration and going strong under CBS Consumer Products (licensing). Thank goodness.

It was just ironic that this '07 trip marked the largest-ever contingent from then-ST.com: for the first time ever, everyone out of our LA news/digital production office made the trip in a whirlwind of both covering and providing STLV panels and games. It was also ironic indeed that, after the first time I thinned out the pics and left this one as the oldest, that it would be 5 1/2 years and counting, and I still can't bring myself to wipe it out. So there.

Clockwise from left: Wendy and Robert Jeschonek, Erin Escobar, moi, Toni and Marc Wade, David Reddick, Darianne Galden, Sandy Stone, Grace Tejano and Tim Gaskill

Meanwhile, my Vegas 2012 recap... coming up... And plenty new, too.

FLASH: One more chance at Vegas Khaaan tix? Hurry!

This is amazing... and kudos to the Intercasters at Tribbles in Ecstasy and TrekRadio for offering this last-minute pair of tickets giveaway to the 2012 edition of Creation's Vegas Trek extravaganza ... next weekend!

Thus— better hurry! Offer ends this Friday, Aug. 3!

Trekland in Vegas—and a blast from the past

As if this wasn't enough to get you in the mood for Vegas Khhaaan—and don't forget: this year you can pay-stream the big acts if you can't make it—I thought I'd toss out another goodie... and let you know where to track me down and bend an ear, if you are so inclined.

First the goodie: here's Keep on Trekkin' .... one of the dozen cloth patches officially licensed by Paramount to the old Star Trek Welcommittee as a fundraiser for the non-profit info service. Pretty groovy in all its mid-70s glory, eh? The Welcommittee was how hungry new Trekfans got info in the pre-Internet days... by mail...!  (more below the fold*).

Meanwhile, truck on into Vegas this weekend and catch what just might be the biggest annual Star Trek blowout Creation Vegas ever—and in new digs, at the Rio. Here's one clue to our curiosity: To meet huge demand, dealers and signers were advised that their area would open up an HOUR EARLIER both Saturday and Sunday—to 7:20 a.m.!

TREKLAND THURSDAY:
—2:50 pm: "1986: The Lost Anniversary"—World premiere topic—and I actually do a real "show" for Creation at Vegas.
—7-11 pm, McFadden's Bar: "Spockstar Party" meetup, co-sponsored by Trekland with Treknews.com and DVDGeeks—we'll have prizes, games, trivia and you get your own tab—ordering old-time Quark's specials at prices cheaper than the Hilton's!

TREKLAND FRIDAY:
—2:45 pm: "Rapid-Fire Trivia," for the third year, my tribute to our old startrek.com event
—5:15 pm: "Captains Smack-down" panelist on startrek.com's panel

TREKLAND SATURDAY & SUNDAY:
— Table times and party/events TBA: I will UPDATE here and Facebook/Twitter with daily tentative table times, since as usual I will not be there 24/7... just out and about. Unless I'm on a mission with a bullet at the moment, stop and say hi when you see me. But I do look forward to meeting all the new fans, seeing you oldsters, offering my works and telling you all about The Con of Wrath this year and our fan-donor opportunity for a credit and gift package. 

It's gonna be a whole new feel this year—fans, staff, actors, handlers, dealers, EVERYBODY will be busy "learning" all the ins and outs of the Rio... much less looking to see what the numbers, and the makeup of vets/rookies, will turn out to be... how the economy affects sales ... how many fans at home try the live streaming ... and if the recent TOS era in costuming  trends still pushes on, or if ST09 makes any inroads. Plus— just what kind of Trekkers will Shatner latch onto for his new film Fan Addicts with Creation about Trek fandom? And just what will author Dayton Ward think of his FIRST Trek trip to Vegas—with co-writer Kevin Dilmore in tow. Among the many fine special events, DON'T MISS Jeff Combs' free performance of his Edgar Allan Poe one-man show, either—catch our original Trekland preview here.

As usual... I just hope we all survive it again. Vegas KHHAAAAN, indeed!

*BTW, back to this mid-70s phrase and groovy font are not just a creation of Trekfen: it plays off the iconic 1968 R. Crumb comic book illo and catchphrase "Keep on Truckin' "—pirated famously for years on posters and T-shirts—that, crazily, in turn inspired two totally different hit same-named singles: soul-funk from Eddie Kendricks, and trucker-country from Dave Dudley. (And to think its roots are as a jazz-underground phrase from the '20s!).