After the excitement of the first day, the fans were back at the Westin for another day of hobnobbing. Walter Koenig started things off by stepping onstage and talking about some of his more recent work, such as a fan-made series(more of which will be discussed later). After that I stepped into the lobby to do some work on a blog post, when I ran into a fellow fan. We exchanged pleasantries for a bit, then I stepped back into the theater to watch John Tenuto give another lecture, this time about the creation of Star Trek Voyager, going through the cast and sharing informative anecdotes about then, such as the fact that Janeway was originally played by an actress other than Kate Mulgrew. Tenuto then ceded the stage to Tim Russ, who covered many things in his talk, including the new project that Walter Koenig was referring to earlier. It's called Star Trek: Renegades, and it promises to take a slightly grittier look at Star Trek, as well as moving the entire saga forward in the Prime Universe(i.e. separate from the timeline that J.J. Abrams is working in). Russ showed a trailer during his talk, and you can check it out at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjeX5drV9ms
After an intermission, Adam Malin(the head of Creation) and Richard Arnold(Gene Roddenberry's right hand man and an expert on Star Trek) came up to give some remembrances of Leonard Nimoy, who just passed away on February, including a promo for a film being directed by Nimoy's son, which can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLuU8v81EOw
Once the appeal was finished, all kinds of cosplayers took the stage to partake in the costume contest. This Annual event lets attendees compete against one another to win a $250 gift certificate. After the winner was crowned, the stage was cleared yet again to allow for the No Minimum Bid Auction, where all kinds of goods can be had for very good prices. While that was happening, I stepped away to do some work on another blog post, and who should sit down across from me? None other than Robert Picardo, who was doing some work at the computer. After a bit, Armin Shimerman showed up as well, doing the same thing. When I finished, I bid both of them safe travels and went back to the theater to catch Connor Trineer and Dominic Keating(both of them from Enterprise) take the stage. During their time they shared all kinds of anecdotes relating to their time on the show, the experiences that they shared during those 4 years, and even beyond to the present day.
After that, the stage was cleared for Tim Russ to sign. While we were waiting, Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final was playing at the hotel bar. So there I am, watching the Hawks game in a Star Trek costume(yeah, I did that) in a hotel restaurant(#becauseitsthecup), when Dominic Keating walks in, waiting to meet up with Connor Trineer for dinner. After about 15 minutes of watching the game and making small talk, Connor shows up, and Dominic steps away. On my way back to the theater, I run into the same person who I saw earlier in the day at the computers, and we start talking about fandom. And in fact, as I finish writing this right now, two other girls are in front of me playing cards. That seems to be a common theme here. Fans come for the weekend, make new friends at the shows, and even rub elbows with the very same people they see onstage. I guess that's what the fandom is all about, and what has been keeping Trekkies coming back for 49 years. Long may it live(and prosper!).
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