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Star Trek Missions Are AWOL
In April 2021, ReedPop took over from Creation Entertainment as the officially licensed runner of Star Trek conventions. The first event was Star Trek: Mission Chicago in April 2022.
At the close of the Chicago event, it was announced that the followup would be Star Trek: Mission Seattle, to be held May 26-28, 2023. However, tickets never went on sale, and ReedPop only released this brief statement a few months ago:
After careful consideration, unfortunately the decision has been made to not move forward with the Star Trek Mission Seattle event in 2023. We are working on new ways to bring our favorite Trek fans the optimum experience, and we look forward to celebrating together again in the future.
Nothing further has been announced since then, and speculation about the reasons has run rampant. One theory is that the date of the Seattle convention was supposed to be linked to the production of the next Star Trek movie, and with that “shrouded in mystery and defeat”, the convention was no longer workable. But there is still plenty of new TV Star Trek to promote, and Star Trek conventions have of course been able to keep going strong through periods where there was no new Star Trek being produced at all.
More prosaic explanations seem unlikely as well. ReedPop runs the Emerald City Comic Con in the same venue that was planned to host Mission Seattle, so venue problems can be ruled out. Even if the venue were the problem, ReedPop is a big enough operation that it could have moved the event to an alternate city. And if the issue was that the event framework that was debuted in Chicago wasn’t turning enough profit, the Seattle announcement could simply have been held back.
It is possible that Mission Seattle was killed by the same thing that ended Destination Star Trek London last year. As reported here previously, the marketing director for Destination Star Trek put the blame on Paramount’s new fan events team. The new team had wanted to micromanage the events into cutting back, and at one point wanted to cancel permission for Destination Star Trek’s Germany event as well.
One would hope that in making a contract with a company that has extensive experience in running fan events, Paramount would have trusted that company’s experience to run the best event possible, but the Destination Star Trek situation suggests that the new team might have had unresolvable creative differences with ReedPop as well.
Ironically, Creation Entertainment will still be running its now-unofficial Star Trek event in Las Vegas this year. Now called STLV: 57-Year Mission, it will take place August 3-6.
In Brief
A bid to hold the 2025 Eastercon (the UK national science fiction convention) in Belfast is reportedly coming together. Any other incipient bids should contact the chair of this year’s Eastercon, Conversation 2023 (Birmingham, UK, April 7-10). The winning bid will be selected on April 9 at Conversation.
The inagural European Fan Fund, which launched last November, has two candidates, Matylda Naczyńska and James Shields, for this year’s trip. Voting is open until April 10. Candidate platforms and voting rules are available at Fandom Rover.
Aselia Con (Irving, Texas) has been retired.
Tulkon (Tulsa, Oklahoma) is skipping 2023 to retool and expects to return in 2024.
Norwescon 45 (SeaTac, Washington, April 6-9) has added Grace L. Fong as its Artist Guest of Honor.
ATL Comic Convention (Atlanta, Georgia, February 24-26) has added Kevin L. Johnson and Daryl Mitchell as guests.
Event Calendar
Weekend of February 10-12
Atlanta Steampunk Exposition: Steampunks in Space, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
DualCon (gaming), Charleston, West Virginia, USA
Game On! 2023, Bellevue, Washington, USA
AmberCon NI 2023 (diceless RPGs), Belfast, UK
Kami-Con Season 14: Darkness Rises (anime), Birmingham, Alabama, USA
Animangapop (anime), Plymouth, UK
Savannah Animazing Con (anime), Savannah, Georgia, USA
Brick City Anime Festival, Ocala, Florida, USA
SWFL-AnimeFest, Fort Myers, Florida, USA
Zipcon 2023 (anime), Akron, Ohio, USA
Farpoint 30 (media), Hunt Valley, Maryland, USA
Mumbai Comic Con, Mumbai, India
Capital Sci Fi Con (media), Edinburgh, UK
Weekend of February 17-19
Boskone 59, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Radcon 8C, Pasco, Washington, USA
Life, the Universe, and Everything (symposium), Provo, Utah, USA
DunDraCon 46 (gaming), Santa Clara, California, USA
Polar Vortex 7 (gaming), Lisle, Illinois, USA
Con of the North 2023 (gaming), Bloomington, Minnesota, USA
Orccon 2023 (gaming), Los Angeles, California, USA
LVL UP EXPO (video games), Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Williamsburg Muster (wargaming), Williamsburg, Virginia, USA
Decepta Con (social deception gaming), Atlanta, Georgia, USA
J-Popcon (anime), Copenhagen, Denmark
ExpOtaku Logroño (anime), San Millán, Spain
Anime STX, San Antonio, Texas, USA
Katsucon 2023 (anime), National Harbor, Maryland, USA
Animefest 2023, La Jolla, California, USA
Con Nooga (media), Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
Fan Expo Vancouver (media), Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Fan Expo Portland (media), Portland, Oregon, USA
SD Rocket Con (media), San Diego, California, USA
Hickory Con (media), Hickory, South Carolina, USA
Boston Sci Fi Film Festival 48, Somerville, Massachusetts, USA
Gallifrey One 33⅓: Long Live the Revolution (Doctor Who), Los Angeles, California, USA
Weekend of February 24-26
MystiCon, Roanoke, Virginia, USA
Ret-Con, Cary, North Carolina, USA
Total Confusion 37 (gaming), Marlborough, Massachusetts, USA
Plattecon XXXVI: Year of the Haunt (gaming), Platteville, Wisconsin, USA
CalCon 29 (gaming), Kalmar, Sweden
SoRCon 14 (boardgames), Basildon, UK
Gamicon Gallium (gaming), Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA
DualCon (gaming), Charleston, West Virginia, USA
LootFest (gaming), Fort Worth, Texas, USA
Festival International des Jeux (gaming), Cannes, France
K2 Convention (gaming), Dungarvan, Ireland
GenghisCon (gaming), Aurora, Colorado, USA
Fire and Ice Convention (gaming), Manitowoc, Wisconsin, USA
Escape Winter Con 2023 (gaming), Orlando, Florida, USA
TantrumCon (boardgames), Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
PrezCon 2023 (boardgames), Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
Kawacon (anime), San Antonio, Texas, USA
Fanime Expo (anime), Pasadena, Texas, USA
Japan Expo Sud 2023: Ready to Investigate? (anime), Marseille, France
Anime Crossroads 2023, Plainfield, Indiana, USA
Nerd Fest (media), Swedesboro, New Jersey, USA
Alaska ComiCon, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA
Shawicon (media), Shawinigan, Québec, Canada
StocktonCon (media), Stockton, California, USA
Wilkes Comic Con, North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, USA
ATL Comic Convention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Weekend of March 3-5
AggieCon 52, College Station, Texas, USA
CoastCon 45, Biloxi, Mississippi, USA
Cleveland ConCoction, Aurora, Ohio, USA
Roscon-2023, Moscow, Russia
VancouFur 2023: Beyond Furmageddon (anthropomorphic), Surrey, British Columbia, Canada
Fur the ‘More 2023: Time Travelers' Reunion (anthropomorphic), Arlington, Virginia, USA
Cardboard*Con (cardboard sf costuming), Atlanta, Georgia, USA
BashCon 37 (gaming), Toledo, Ohio, USA
Dice Tower West (gaming), Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
SaltCON Spring (gaming), Layton, Utah, USA
CincyCon 2023 (gaming), Hamilton, Ohio, USA
Tennessee Game Days Spring 2023, Franklin, Tennessee, USA
Intercon U: Ultraviolet (LARPs), Warwick, Rhode Island, USA
FreeCon 19 (anime), Tallahassee, Florida, USA
Made in Asia (anime), Brussels, Belgium
Tora-Con 2023 (anime), Rochester, New York, USA
PeoriaCon 2023 (media), Peoria, Illinois, USA
Middle East Film & Comic Con, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Hill Country Comicon, New Braunfels, Texas, USA
Hall of Heroes Comic Con, Elkhart, Indiana, USA
Emerald City Comic Con, Seattle, Washington, USA
Sunrise Comic Con, Sunrise, Florida, USA
Cult Classic Convention (media), Bastrop, Texas, USA
Mid-week convention: Harucon 2023 (anime), Jerusalem, Israel
Weekend of March 10-12
Picocon 40, London, UK
Nerdi Gras, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
MarsCon 2023: When Books Come Alive!, Bloomington, Minnesota, USA
Pulp Fiction Central, Dania Beach, Florida, USA
Wild Wild West Steampunk Convention 11, Tucson, Arizona, USA
World Steampunk Exposition, Lafayette, Louisiana, USA
Cosplay Up! 2023 (costuming), Manila, Philippines
AireCon (gaming), Harrogate, UK
Granite Game Summit, Nashua, New Hampshire, USA
Great Plains Game Festival, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA
Terminal City Tabletop Convention (gaming), Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Arizona Game Fair, Mesa, Arizona, USA
GAD-CON 2023 (gaming), Aberdeen, Maryland, USA
ShushCon 2023 (gaming), Pawleys Island, South Carolina, USA
MidWinter ‘23 (gaming), Haugesund, Norway
Sioux City Game Con Spring 2023, Sioux City, Iowa, USA
Louisville Arcade Expo, Louisville, Kentucky, USA
PrinceCon 46: Le Petit PrinceCon (marathon RPG), Princeton, New Jersey, USA
Lost Golaricon 2023 (Pathfinder & Starfinder RPGs), Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Cold Wars 2023 (miniatures gaming), King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, USA
MinamiCon 28 (anime), Southampton, UK
Banzaicon (anime), Columbia, South Carolina, USA
Animeverse Fest (anime), Pasadena, Texas, USA
Banzaicon (anime), Columbia, South Carolina, USA
Mississippi Anime Fest, Jackson, Mississippi, USA
Colorado Anime Fest 2023, Denver, Colorado, USA
ACEcon 2023 (anime), Palm Harbor, Florida, USA
TFcon (Transformers), Burbank, California, USA
Coda
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