STLV 2017

 

The big annual Star Trek convention in Las Vegas is akin to a celebrity cruise: Even though you're confined to the same space with the same 5000 people for five days, you're never bored thanks to a jam-packed schedule of activities that include panel discussions, interviews, trivia contests, costume competitions, photo opportunities, and lively nighttime entertainment. Plus there's always the chance you'll share an elevator ride or two with your favorite stars.

Karen and I enjoyed last year's convention, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the original Star Trek (ST) TV show, so much that we decided to return again last week. This year's theme: the 30th anniversary of our favorite and arguably the best of all the ST series, Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG). Even Tim decided to tag along and took many of the photos below. 

 

 TNG anniversary logo

Arriving at the con

 

Convention highlights included: a museum of costumes and artifacts from the upcoming new TV show Star Trek: Discovery; behind-the-scenes slides narrated by ST creator Gene Roddenberry's assistant; an early morning program featuring concept art for new ST starships (I was one of the few women in the audience!); Klingon karaoke; a panel discussion of my favorite TNG episode, "The Inner Light;" a mash-up costume contest, where cosplayers cleverly used iconic non-Trek elements to create new ST characters (see several examples below); competitive compilation of Sir Patrick Stewart's top-ten non-Trek roles (our nominations did not win); and a closing night concert by the Rat Pack, several "minor" ST actors who wear tuxedos and sing standards with a special—and usually very funny—twist. And, yes, we did get to ride the elevator with a couple of our fave ST actors: John deLancie, who played Q on TNG and Star Trek: Voyager, and Robert Picardo (twice!), the Doctor on Voyager.

Celebrating ST:TNG

 

Sir Patrick Stewart (Captain Jean-Luc Picard)

 

Michael Dorn (Klingon and security officer Worf)

 

LeVar Burton (Geordi) and Brent Spiner (Data)

 

 TNG costumes: Guinon and Data

Borg Queen's skull and spine (cool!!)

 

Wearing my Ten-Forward t-shirt in front of a replica of

Ten-Forward, ST's first intergalactic bar

Other Celebs

 

 William Shatner (Captain Kirk)

Kate Mulgrew (Voyager's Captain Janeway)

 

 Star Trek: Discovery

 

Klingon armor (made on a 3-D printer!!)

 

Klingon helmut

 

Klingon uniform

 

 On the bridge of Discovery (replica)

 Favorite Costumes

 

The Gorn (Tim's fave)

 

Guinon (bartender extraordinaire

on TNG)

 

Klingon females: the Duras sisters (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)

 

Klingon (original series)

 

"Plato's Stepchildren" (original series)

 

Harry Mudd

Green Orion women and Ferengis

 

Vulcan ambassador

 
Kermit as starfleet officer

 
Captain Cruella deVil and commander Spot

 

The "away team" (Wrath of Khan)

 

Spock

 

(Can't remember its name!!)

Best Mashups

 

Santa Gorn and ST Jack Sparrow (left)

Miss Gorn

 

ST Minions

 

ST Elvis

 

Snow White and the Seven Worfs

Klingon Jedi

 

Wookiee Klingon

 

Steampunk science officer

 

"Walking red . . ."

All the Rest

 

Up early to see the costume parade

 

Parade participants

 

Even dogs cosplayed!

 

 Great signage

 

In Klingon as well as English

 

Klingon karaoke: Duras sisters singing "Killing Me Softly" 

(in Klingon!)

 

Live long and prosper. . .

Back to Vegas

 

Entrance to Fremont St. Experience

 

As I've said many times before on this blog, I may not be a big fan of today's Las Vegas, but I do have a soft nostalgic spot for the Vegas of yore, when the tourists and entertainers were a lot more glamorous than the buildings. Luckily, our good friends Suzanne and Mike feel the same, so we were happy to meet them in "Sin City," earlier this week, to help celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary.

An hour after arriving, we found ourselves eating at Siegel's 1941, an old-school restaurant in the El Cortez, the longest continuously-running hotel and casino in Las Vegas and a favorite of 1940s mobster Bugsy Siegel, who, along with Meyer Lansky and others, bought the place in 1945. Following dinner, we walked over to the Fremont St. Experience, dedicated to preserving the neon heyday of mid-century Vegas. Situated in the heart of the old downtown area, the two-block Experience is covered by a protective ceiling that projects films above pedestrians, casinos and shops. Though I'm glad my parents' favorite casinos (from the old days) have been saved, the whole thing smacked of the worst elements of Times Square and Hollywood Blvd., so we did not stay long. (But we do love neon, so more about that part of Vegas in my blog entry below.)

 Tim (lower righthand corner) looking at all the neon and

ceiling projections

Mike in front of the Four Queens casino

Binion's casino

 

The next day, we spent a couple of hours touring the Nevada State Museum, an unassumingly hidden gem located in Springs Preserve, far from the hub-bub and gaudiness of The Strip. In addition to a permanent collection of artifacts tracing the history of Nevada, from dinosaurs to present day, the Museum is currently featuring two small but fascinating exhibits:"Les Folies Bergère: Entertaining Las Vegas One Rhinestone at a Time," about the Tropicana hotel's now-gone cabaret show, and "Branding Las Vegas, 1941-1958," highlighting hotel memorabilia collected by Richard and Nancy Greeno. Both are wonderful reminders of Vegas' true glory days.

 

Typical "pouf" headdress worn by 

Folies Bergère dancers

 

1960s costume (front)

 

 And back

 

 Men, as well as women, danced in the Folies

 

Greeno collection: memorabilia from the now-gone New Frontier hotel

 

Tiki items from the once fabulous Stardust hotel

 

Frontier hotel poster

 

 When smoking was sexy: Tropicana hotel ashtrays

Desert Inn roulette wheel ashtray

Flamingo hotel: paper ephemera

 

Museum's permanent collection: old one-armed bandit slot machines

BTW, we stayed at the Signature at MGM Grand, a completely smoke- and game-free condo property, a couple of blocks off The Strip, that was relatively cheap, too. Highly recommended if, like us, you don't smoke or gamble.

 

Saw this double rainbow as we were leaving Vegas

 

Good luck followed us back into California