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.

Last call: LA2Vegas Tour—and a NEW 1-day 'Kirk Trek'

It's been 20 years since Generations gave a whole new meaning to the phrase, "Captain, you have the bridge."

It seemed like a great anniversary reason to spur something we hadn't done in 2012 with our debut "LA2Vegas" Trek Film Site Tours with moi: make a stop at Nevada's breathtaking Valley of Fire State Park, site of "Veridian III" and J.T. Kirk's controversial death scene after he and Picard battled with that living Nexus magnet, Dr. Tolian Soran.

After Teras Cassidy of Geek Nation Tours and I decided to make our tour bi-annual—and still keep it a lead-in to the annual Vegas Khhaaan bash in August—we tweaked this year's itinerary to include this awesome new stop in the desert canyon, by popular request! 

And now, it's "all aboard" with a last call deadline of this Sunday, June 15—and you can still jump in with a deposit, for now.

We kept most else from what fans loved on the 2012 debut: the stops famous and not-so, with guests like Bobby "The Gorn" Clark on hand to talk about filming the iconic scenes at Vasquez Rocks from "Arena."  All stops are Trek-related, plus make pretty good snaps to impress even your mundane friends, too (Santa Monica Pier and Griffith Observatory, anyone?). And who can resist a stop inside the Q Continuum? Or Starfleet Academy in both its Prime (above) and SubPrime versions?

We've talked about the tour many times on podcasts near and far, my original post about it in 2012, and of course the tour description here. So I won't go on and on about it, if you promise you'll take a glance and just know that we've traded in the mountain leg to Lone Pine for the day out on "Veridian III"—which includes not just the film site (right) but a visit to the KIRK DEATH BRIDGE itself, which was donated by the film crew to the park after they wrapped! As well as a stop in the (air-conditioned) visitor center for the park's real-life petroglyphs, Native American spiritual vibes, and more natural history.

What's NEWS this year is the simple OMG thunderbolt we had this year: Offer the new Valley of Fire segment, a trip the day before the Vegas Convention opens, as a ONE-DAY TRIP for those coming into Vegas a day or two early, anyway. It's a smaller hit to the wallet, you get a taste of what the full tour of Trek in-your-face awesomeness is like—and you see some jaw-dropping scenery far from the Strip. His work schedule permitting, I'll be joined on host duties by our buddy and now FaceOff star Mike Westmore, who as makeup designer was among the small skeleton crew who shot the beautifully bleak scenes for Generations in the gorge 20 years ago.

PLUS: A big new wrinkle this year are all the sponsors we have on board with goodies for tour-takers: Robe Factory, Bye-Bye Robot,  Stronghold Games, con-producer Creation Entertainment themselves—and now Anovos costumes.

Again: Deadline for the main tour sign-up ends June 15 —and you only need a deposit to hold your seat for now. Plus, 5 of the 12 add-on day trips seats are already gone. So hey, read up, check the site and then give Teras an email so he can call you back and get personal on this. It's what his boutique GNT offers—amid gaming, convention, military, historical and other geek-out topic tours around the globe, all listed on his main site.

And may I say: you expect the awesome tour stops, Trek tie-ins, all kinds of Trek shooting data from me and our guests. What you don't expect is gaining all the new friends on the bus—many of whom are from other countries. Don't forget: they're all bound for the very same Vegas Khhaaan you are. (So look out: If you come alone, after this trek you're guaranteed to waltz in the front doors of the Rio a stranger no more.)

Aside from the Tour pages and my post, you Facebookers can also check out our fans' many photos from the debut 2012 tour over on the GNT Facebook photo gallery for "LA2Vegas."

See you on the bus!