What is your first memory of attending a Star Trek Convention?
I went to my first convention in 1985 at the Masonic Temple in Scranton, Pennsylvania (Walter Koenig was the main attraction). Just to get in, my buddy and I had to stand in a huge line full of eager fans and right in front of us was a woman (about thirty years old, with blond curly hair) wearing a perfect reproduction of the maroon Star Fleet uniforms they wore in the Wrath of Khan and the other 80s Trek movies. She also had a beautiful phaser replica attached to her belt and a tricorder around her kneck on a leather strap. We were blown away. I later got ahold of the pattern through either New Eye Studios or the Intergalactic Trading Company and wanted to get my grandmother to make me a similar outfit--after all, she'd been a seamstress most of her life and a member of the Ladies' Garment Workers Union for decades. She was in her 70s and still sowed her own pants, skirts, etc., so why not make me a Star Fleet uniform and do something interesting with her talent? Ultimately, my mother persuaded me not to ask for her help, arguing that Nana wouldn't really understand. I wound up settling for a Star Fleet Insignia button that I attached to a very 80s New Wave shirt stolen from my sister that buttoned at the shoulder and that you could unfasten and fold over the way they did with their jackets in the movies. True, the shirt was army green cordory and had a plaid lining, but it still felt kind of like the tunics worn in the movies, at least when I was by myself. I didn't let my buddy convince me to wear it to the next convention we attended, though, as I wasn't sure he was looking out for my best interests. BTW, Marina Sirtis was the guest of honor at that convention--ST:TNG had just started its first season. She was a bit of an improvement over Koenig, although I kept autographed photos of both of them on my desk throughout most of my freshman year of high school.
I know I've gone on a bit long, but I couldn't help myself. I would love to read any one else's memories of earlier Trek gatherings.
I went to my first convention in 1985 at the Masonic Temple in Scranton, Pennsylvania (Walter Koenig was the main attraction). Just to get in, my buddy and I had to stand in a huge line full of eager fans and right in front of us was a woman (about thirty years old, with blond curly hair) wearing a perfect reproduction of the maroon Star Fleet uniforms they wore in the Wrath of Khan and the other 80s Trek movies. She also had a beautiful phaser replica attached to her belt and a tricorder around her kneck on a leather strap. We were blown away. I later got ahold of the pattern through either New Eye Studios or the Intergalactic Trading Company and wanted to get my grandmother to make me a similar outfit--after all, she'd been a seamstress most of her life and a member of the Ladies' Garment Workers Union for decades. She was in her 70s and still sowed her own pants, skirts, etc., so why not make me a Star Fleet uniform and do something interesting with her talent? Ultimately, my mother persuaded me not to ask for her help, arguing that Nana wouldn't really understand. I wound up settling for a Star Fleet Insignia button that I attached to a very 80s New Wave shirt stolen from my sister that buttoned at the shoulder and that you could unfasten and fold over the way they did with their jackets in the movies. True, the shirt was army green cordory and had a plaid lining, but it still felt kind of like the tunics worn in the movies, at least when I was by myself. I didn't let my buddy convince me to wear it to the next convention we attended, though, as I wasn't sure he was looking out for my best interests. BTW, Marina Sirtis was the guest of honor at that convention--ST:TNG had just started its first season. She was a bit of an improvement over Koenig, although I kept autographed photos of both of them on my desk throughout most of my freshman year of high school.
I know I've gone on a bit long, but I couldn't help myself. I would love to read any one else's memories of earlier Trek gatherings.
There were lots of tables selling xeroxed zines and home made Trek items (tribbles made from shag carpet) etc.. the whole thing was wildly wonderful.
I expect it must have been a shock to see slash zines if you didn't know what they were! I've seen that happen to quite a few people. I don't think I've seen them at cons in ages, though.
