MIchigan: Let's talk "Happy Trek 50th" at your library

Well, THIS is different...

And so exciting: I'm going on a five-library tour of Michigan to celebrate Trek's ongoing golden anniversary next week. I mean, you didn't think the Big 5-0 ended on Sept. 8, did you? The anniversary year has only begun!

And this is doubly intriguing as it won't be a hard-core fan audience, but lots of armchair fans or just newbie-curious (I';m guessing) at local regional libraries all around suburban Detroit. Just as when the Alexandria, La., library had me visit last spring, I can't wait to see what kind of curious mainstream patrons come out to hear the amazing, wacky, and above all inspiring attraction of Gene Roddenberry's vision —and how and why it has lived long and prospered, generation after generation.

I'm counting on seeing plenty of the Michigan Trekfan faithful, of course, who can make it.

I've only been to Michigan once—at a weekend internet convention two years ago—so this is literally new ground for me.  I'll have a 60-90 minute talk, with a special "Between the Cracks of Trek" slideshow of course,  and then table time in each venue.  My thanks to Rob Butler at the Caroline Kennedy Library in Dearborn Heights for sparking the idea, then talking to more sister sites to add to the tour while I'm in-state.

So here's the schedule, as you can see at ln.com's NEWS page. Times are for the actual talk start, but since all but Saturday bump up against closing time at each site, I'll be there at least an hour early with a table to avoid the "closing rush."

Hope to see a lot of our Wolveriner Treklanders next week!

Here's the schedule:

Monday, Sept. 19, 6:30 pm

Redford Library

Redford, MI

Tuesday, Sept. 20, 7:00 pm

Caroline Kennedy Library

Dearborn Heights, MI

Wednesday, Sept. 21, 6:30 pm

Berkley Library

Berkley, MI

Thursday, Sept. 22, 6:30 pm

Lincoln Park Library

Lincoln Park, MI

Saturday, Sept. 24, 10:30 am

White Lake Library

White Lake, MI

Treklanders around Detroit? Come meet up at Midwest Media Expo!

And now for something completely different…

It's a combination of my:
—a) setting foot in Michigan for the first time ever
—b) doing a convention as a fivesome with my Star Trek Continues cohorts, and
—c) guesting at a convention without any top-line actors or author/artists, but indeed some bigtime voice actors  (STC company included!).

It's otherwise known as the Midwest Media Expo in downtown Detroit's Renaisssance Center, the second edition of this "celebration of all popular media, including: Animation, Television, Film, Literature, Video Games, Tabletop Gaming, Comics, and Internet Culture",  and runs from 2 p.m. Friday/25th through 5 p.m. Sunday/27th. I'll be there doing my own thing, but also appearing with the hootful otherwise known as STC's Vic Mignogna, Todd Haberkorn, Chris Doohan, and Steve Dengler.

Outside voice actors, the other guests are all leaders in fandom movements like indie films and other productions, web stars, podcasters, and cosplay… and I can't wait to see what the audience shapes up as. For me, this is truly a new kinda deal…but I have hunch that, whatever happens: fans will be fans. We'll see how Trek turns out at this multi-genre show… but I know we'll have a good group for our screenings. 

And, above all, I'm looking forward to being on Michigan turf for the first time ever… and meeting the fine folks of the USS Intrepid club chapter again, at least. 

Not to mention some of our ST Continues crew visiting from adjacent Ohio—the great Liz, Abbey (my Nurse Temple), and her hubby Adam! 

So here's the weekend for me: 

FRI:
4-6 p.m., 4th Floor West Foyer: STC group autographs/LN tabling

SAT:
11 am-12:30 pm, Main Events 1/Cabot Ballroom: ST Continues panel

9-10:30 pm, Panel Room 2/Ambassador 3: Our "Trekland: Between the Cracks" show

11 pm -1 am: TBA close by: My crowdfunder "Dr. Trek Show" meetup for The Con of Wrath
(Not on advance con schedule online) 

SUN:
12:30-2:30 pm, 4th Floor West Foyer: STC group autographs/LN tabling

And just to be clear-ish:

I will indeed be doing a "Dr. Trek Show" crowdfunder meetup for "The Con of Wrath" as well, but right now it's looking like 11 pm-1 am… at a site close by, but TBA. Stay tuned, MME'ers.

Away MIssion Tampa, and beyond!: The Dr. Trek spring con tour is about to ROLL

UPDATED with Tampa times/details!

Whoa! It's Away Mission Tampa time this weekend, and I am so looking forward to hitting the I-4 corridor again!  And seeing all our newfound friends from the state I've been to five times since my first visit in only just 2011.

Never been to Tampa, but Javier and the team that had me out for their 2011 show in Orlando have another great one lined up here—and what a line-up... including Leonard Nimoy back at a con, even if via Skype.

I'll be busy! Amidst the other great guests, here's my line-up:

—FRIDAY:
7:30 pm/Main: Bigscreen showing of a Star Trek Continues episode—audience choice!—with my live commentary/Q&A.

—SATURDAY:
11 a.m./Main: Our 2014 edition of the Trekland "Between the Cracks" show
6:30 pm --Cocktail mixer!

7:30-9:30 pm/Green Room (Parlor 112):  Our live crowdfunder-meetup for The Con of Wrath, of course, with the Dr. Trek Show


Thanks to the con—we'll be doing our crowdfunder meetup for "The Con of Wrath" that I do whenever I guest ...  IN the convention space, the comfy con Green Room! Save back your $20 and get in on the rarity and hilarity of trivia, prizes, rare clips, sneak peeks and tipsy storytelling ... while you help support my doc and preserve a piece of Trek history.

—SUNDAY:
2 pm/Panel Room: My "State of the Trek" fan forum, starring you. Come prepared to spout off!


Hey, I'll also have some Trekland Trunk items for the charity auction ... plus, for table-time I'll also have a limited few copies of Star Trek: Stellar Cartography... a couple of very rare black-cover TNG Companions... and remastered-archive Trek creators' original voices on "Trekland: On Speaker Vol. 2" CDs...and my newer photos.


And then—no rest for the weary! This three-week road trip moves on, with something old, something new...and here's the skinny:

—WONDERCON Anaheim April 18-20, where you can find me tabling at the "New Starship" booth area, this year sporting an Enterprise-D Transporter Room for photo ops while the bridge pieces are at Salt Lake City Comicon. No panels for me, so come by the table and say hi...pick up some goodies... snap pics, see who else comes by—you never know!)

And then we'll have another Wrath crowdfunder-meetup Saturday night at the rear of the Sheraton Lobby again, peeps !

—MIDWEST MEDIA EXPO in Detroit April 25-27: Boldy going where I've never gone before, i.e. north of Indy or Lincoln (as O'Hare Chicago layovers don't count) and I can't WAIT to see the country here AND the fandom at what is a very atypical con. I'll be with fellow STC'ers Vic MIgnogna, Todd Haberkorn, and Chris Doohan... and some of our STCcrew will bop over as well, and old freinds of teh local USS Intrepid group. I'll be doing my panel lineup AND a Wrath meetup there as well—stay tuned.


So, Tampa, Anaheim, and Detroit—followed by:
—Wagnerian FedCon Germany  May 29-June 1, after 10 years away....
—then huge Phoenix Comicon June 6-8,   
—BayouCon June 20-22 in Lake Charles, LA
—good ol' SoonerCon back home in OKC June 27-29.

And that barely gets us to Comic-Con San Diego and then the LA2Vegas Trek Tour and of course Vegas Trek in late July/early August. Whew.

But come help me survive April now... June later... and I'll promise you a good time.

(Except in the Northeast. They have to get me there, first!)