Farpoint 2016 has come and gone (February 12-14.) It’s the first convention of the year for many in the Baltimore / DC area. It’s a respite from the mid-winter blues- after Kayla, the massive storm that slammed the east coast at the beginning of the month, we needed one.
Farpoint’s a little hard to describe, and the program doesn’t do it justice. It’s small, friendly and informal, It was founded by Star Trek fans and is a Trek convention, but it’s certainly not a Creation Con. This year’s headliners were David Gerrold and Firefly’s Sean Maher.
Following Friday night’s cocktail party, Prometheus Radio Theatre aired a hilarious radio spoof, THE BATMAN! Sean Maher and Keith DeCandito acted rolls very professionally, when they could keep from laughing. The send-up was a great example of the party nature of Farpoint. Last year’s GOH was Colin Ferguson; my wife, who’s a fan but who couldn’t attend, hasn’t gotten over it yet.
2016 is Star Trek’s golden anniversary (can you believe it?), and David Gerrold, the author of one of my favorite TOS episodes, “The Trouble With Tribbles” as well as many other scripts, series consultations, spin-off novels (and the great book The World of Star Trek) brought his wealth of knowledge. He’s not only a Hugo and Nebula winning author, he’s a big fan, and it shows.
Star Trek and Star Wars are universes, and it takes a lot of words to fill a universe. Over the past 23 years Farpoint’s attracted and keeps attracting a ton of writers- this year, thirty of them. Farpoint may be a Trek convention, but it’s pretty literary. Panels involving these guys and gals- Allyn Gibson Howard Weinstein, Bob Greenberger, David Mack, Michael Jan Friedman to name a few- have taught me a lot and rekindled my enthusiasm over the years. A recent innovation, an ‘Author’s Alley’, gives these folks a chance to sell their books, do readings, hang out and chat.
Farpoint’s like a reunion, a chance to see people you don’t see often but whose company you always enjoy. I’ll be back next year. I wouldn’t miss it.