Trek Vegas Convention

[RickPeete]

I got my tickets in the mail! My son and I are sitting in Row F.  We definitely need to find each other. Are you staying at the Hilton like I am?  My family arrives on Wednesday afternoon.  I am going to try to go to the TrekMovie 'meet up'.  Maybe we could meet there.

Is it just Blackride and I going?  Anyone else coming?

I am going to bring my video camera, recording microphone, etc so that maybe we can do a quick 'video from the Con' segment for TrekSF with all of us sharing our impressions.

[RickPeete]

I am doing my photo op with Sir Patrick while at the Chicago Comic-Con.  Their prices are a lot cheaper for both autographs and photographs.

I remember way back when getting autographs didn't cost anything if you bought one of the actor's photographs...  I have autographs from Shatner, Nimoy, and Kelley from back at a Con in Los Angeles in 1977 (I think).  I won the tickets to the Con from a radio call-in giveaway at 10PM one night -- calling in on my rotary phone over and over again. LOL

[Blackride]

We are staying at the Venetian and not the Hilton. We definetly should meet up.

[Rico]

I think Mina (new member, AwesomeRococo on the forum) will be there and maybe one or two others.  Post when and where you guys will be meeting and I will try and pass it on.

[Geekyfanboy]

They are blogging (twittering) live from the event.

http://trekmovie.com/2010/08/05/vegascon10-live-blogging-from-star-trek-con-thursday/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

[RickPeete]

Well the first day of the Con has been pretty cool.  This is the ninth TrekCon in Vegas at the Hilton.  Next year, it is moving to the Rio Suites Hotel which is a lot bigger, newer space that will accommodate the growth of the event.

Last night (Wednesday), I spent some time partying with the folks at TrekMovie.com and TrekCast.  Anthony was a cool guy as was his Science Editor and London Correspondent Kayla.  Great conversation (I was mostly listening)!  There were over 100 people at the meetup.  Anthony told me that night that Patrick Steward was bowing out of the Chicago Comic-Con due to a scheduling conflict.  It hadn't been made public yet so I couldn't say anything until today (cuz Wizard World posted it on Twitter today). Bummer!

It's Thursday now and I spent most of the day in the Gene & Majel Roddenberry Theater, where most of the big panel discussions/Q&A were held.  Walter Koenig opened the Con.  He was more low key compared to the others but he had a lot to share about his experiences.  There were a lot of questions, most of them thoughtful, and Walter did a decent job of answering them.

George Takei followed after Walter.  And I must say that George is a far better public speaker -- very engaging, active, and funny.  He was must more vocal so his stories were longer and his answers to questions were more comprehensive (sometimes chasing a few rabbit holes along the way).  I really enjoyed his panel.

Then I took a break to get my Trek Auction catalog and shop the Vendor Hall with my son Ryan.  Our first purchase was a Star Wars model (go figure).  I had a chance to see Richard Hatch (BSG), Richard Keil (Jaws from 007, man is he HUGE), and Margot Rose (the woman from "Inner Light").

After a few more purchases, I went to get my Trek Auction catalog and ended up meeting David Reed -- one of the founders of GateWorld.net and manages the Stargate auction properties of Propworx. It was very cool getting to meet him and talk SG with him for a while.  Turns out he remembered my feedback calls to their podcast.

Then I spend 45 minutes listening to the panel/Q&A for John De Lancie "Q".  This was another very fun discussion with a very dynamic personality.  Other than sharing that he got the role after sleeping with Gene Roddenberry, he talked about his work on Trek and how Gene told him "You have no idea what you are stepping into" while filming the season opener "Encounter at Farpoint".  25 years and people still care about his work.

Among the questions asked of him, he shared that he would in fact be interested in participating in a Trek movie sequel if he was asked and the story was intriguing and the character "Q" was treated well.  So of course, we are all hoping that J.J. hears this!

During all of these presentations, I really wanted to record the audio/video but there are signs all over the place saying that any recordings are expressly forbidden.  So I decided to follow the rules and not break this 'Prime Directive'.  I do have lots of photos but uploading them via 3G is gonna be a bit too slow.  So as soon as I can get to the local Denny's (Free WiFi), I will upload some.  The Hilton charges for their WiFi -- go figure.

One thing I did notice is that they really control access to the celebrities.  If they are not in the Vendor Room sitting at a table, then the only way you are going to have an interaction with them is during the panel Q&A or if you have paid for an autograph or photo op.  They do not just walk around the convention like they do at DragonCon.  I understand why they might not want to be inundated by fans but still, it is a bit disappointing.  Hopefully Mina and Blackride will have more to say about their celeb interactions because they have better access that I do.

I have been tweeting things of interest during the panels so check out my Twitter for today's thoughts and those tomorrow.  I also hope to hook up with Mina tomorrow -- she is working for Creation Entertainment supporting all the autograph tables.  If it works out, maybe she and I can share some thoughts via audio together.

Live Long and Prosper everybody!  If you have anything you would like me to do, send me a tweet (@rpeete) or send me an email here at TrekSF (it will send me a notice on my iPhone).  I promise to get some photos up soon.

[Feathers]

Really interested to read the reviews like this. Please keep your thoughts coming (if you have the time!)

[Bryancd]

And pics! It's 6:30am here in Phoenix and Las Vegas and I can see Rick's online!

[RickPeete]

LOL!  I uploaded a bunch to the FTP server this morning so Rico might have them up today sometime.

[Bryancd]

LOL!  I uploaded a bunch to the FTP server this morning so Rico might have them up today sometime.

Ugh, he has this whole, silly job interview thing today. I need to see pics! Come on Rico, rush the inetrview so you can get them up! ;)

I want to party with those TrekCast guys! They sound like fun!

[moyer777]

Great report Richard!

[Rico]

Thanks for the report Richard.  Sounds like fun.  Here are Rick's pics he sent to me...

[Rico]

And some more....

[Geekyfanboy]

Cool pixs Rick.. but seeing the Space Casino makes me sad as that's where Star Trek The Experience use to be. :(

[Bryancd]

Yeah, I have been there as well, but if the Experience is going to come back, it needs a reboot just like the franchise.