Convention Fans

I have always considered myself very fortunate, as my parents happily indulged my love of Star Trek from a very early age. When I was too young to have a car, they drove me to comic book stores, geeky events, and even Star Trek conventions. My mother even drove me out to  Star Trek Day at Kennedy Space Center back in 1998, which was my first real “convention” type experience. One of the guests that attended was Garrett Wang, also known as Ensign Harry Kim of Star Trek: Voyager. I loyally watched the show every week, and was thrilled that he was going to be there.

I remember that all of the guest events were held in the Kennedy Space Center’s The Apollo-Saturn V Center, which houses an actual Saturn 5 rocket. There was a small stage area, and a large queue line set up. I remember that Garrett’s line stretched the length of the building. I found out later that he stayed until everyone who had wanted an autograph, got one. I remember that he was really nice, and signed an autograph and took a picture with me. I was positively ecstatic, and decided I was going to attend every convention I could possibly get to from then on out.

That brings me to this past Saturday. I attended the Chiller Theatre Expo (read the convention report), which had Garrett Wang as a guest. (Oddly enough, it also had Rene Auberjonois and Walter Koenig - both of whom were with Garrett at that very same Star Trek Day event more than 10 years ago. Weird huh?)

I decided to go up to Garrett and get a picture with him, and just say “Hi”. I have always enjoyed watching videos of his Q&A sessions from other conventions, and knew he was great to talk to. When I introduced myself, I mentioned that I had met him before at the Kennedy Space Center event, and he laughed. “How old were you?!” he asked. Yeah, I was still in middle school back then.

We talked for a bit about some of his funny stories that he tells at cons, and how we’d be seeing him again at Dragon*con. I told him about my blog, and he asked for the web address (so Garrett, if you’re reading this, Hello!). Talking to him was the highlight of an otherwise uneventful convention (more on that tomorrow).

Garrett Wang is one of the nicest Star Trek guests out there. He engages his fans in genuine discussions, and is polite and funny. Having met dozens of guests from dozens of shows and movies over the years, I can honestly say that most are nice to fans. But guests like Garrett go beyond the niceties. You can tell they enjoy being there, which makes the experience for the fan so very special.

So I have to give a big “thanks” to Garrett, and all the other convention guests who go out of their way to make the experience fun for everyone involved. And if you haven’t had a chance to meet him, I encourage you to try and attend one of the conventions he’ll be attending this year. It will definitely be worth it!

You can read about other guest encounters by checking out the Convention Guest Stories category!

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