In February a promotional event in London for the European roll-out of Star Trek Online set a Guinness World Record for the “largest gathering of people dressed as Star Trek characters”. However, with only 99 costumed Trekkies, the record was begging to be broken. And that is exactly what will be attempted on Saturday May 1st in Tampa, FL. Details below.
Costumed Trekkies Record Attempt At Tampa Vulcan Con
The Vulcan Events Convention in Tampa, FL. is being held Friday – Sunday April 30th – May 2nd at the Tampa Westshore Airport Doubletree Hotel. Celebrity guests include Christopher Lloyd, Michael Shanks, Gary Graham, William Morgan Sheppard, Tony Todd, and Catherine Hicks. And on Saturday morning there will be an attempt to beat the Guinness World Record set in London.
The record event is being organized by the USS Shooting Star, a local Starfleet International chapter. They are working with the Vulcan event and a number of other local Star Trek and sci-fi fan clubs to bring in the fans. Shooting Star commanding officer Johnathan Babb tells TrekMovie that he is confident they will beat the record as he has already confirmed close to 200 costumed Trekkies will attend and he is hopeful 500 or more will show up. Babb says they are following the Guinness Record guidelines to ensure certification of the event, including having a member of the local media handle the official counting.
London Trekkies in February set first world record, now fans in Tampa will attempt to break it
Costume requirements are fairly simple.
#1 All participants must be wearing costumes representing characters from the Star Trek universe and extended canon.
#2. Characters or alien races that have not appeared in official Star Trek canon releases (including television series, motion pictures, novels and comic books) are not permitted.
Anyone is eligible to participate, even if you are not attending the convention. Just show up at the Tampa Doubletree Hotel Westshore before 11:00 AM on May 1st. The count starts at 11:00 AM on Saturday morning and the counting process and photos should take no more than 1 hour.
More information on the convention and record attempt at vulcanevents.com.
And, if you need something to wear, you can pick up Rubies Star Trek costumes at Costume Craze or Entertainment Earth.
Some Star Trek movie costumes available at Entertainment Earth
Vulcan Events Tampa Con Commercial
No offense to everyone, or anyone, but it’s things like this that make the public hate Star trek fans…
Oh me! This should be interesting and a lot of fun! Just you redshirts be careful I think the world record means living trekkies! Best of luck the record will be broken of this I know
I will be there. I hope to meet some of you!
(continued from my other comment:) Keep my above comment in mind all those who attend this; this is our chance as Star Trek fans to change what the public thinks of us, so please don’t act stupid… they think of us as basically, the guys in The Big Bang Theory…socially awkward weirdoes… so please prove them wrong…and conduct yourselves with the civility of a Vulcan…
#2 Why would they hate people who are just having fun and not hurting anyone? People have been wearing costumes at SF cons long before Trek.
I’ve done conventions in costume for almost ten years, and the nicest compliments I’ve ever gotten were from people who were ordinary folks just passing through the hotel. Alas, none knew where Kirk was hiding. ;)
The redhead still looks hot … :-)
I never knew the public hated Star Trek fans. I thought it was the French that hated Americans.
(Sorry AP. I couldn’t resist. It’s a failing of mine.)
I know you are joking, but lets not get into another geographic war here THX, I just warned someone over that
I would have gone to the London one as I am only a train journey away, but I was busy that day… (and 99 is a pretty lame number, I’m afraid). Best of luck to these guys, but as poster number #1 pointed out, this IS why non-Trekkies mock us.
I know. That’s why I had to apologize.
FTR, I like to get all garbed up in my Trek unis (yes, I have more than one) and go to Halloween parties or conventions and basically play the part and pretend. Conventions are the best, though, because you have so many like minded people in one place.
I suppose it would work better if I was going to Trek conventions instead of Shriner and Auto Club conventions but what the heck.
A lot of people dress up in unusual costumes on the weekend. One of my father’s co-workers was a Revolutionary War reeanctor. Nobody made fun of him for dressing up as one of General Washington’s men, and pretending to shoot at guys dressed as Hessians and Redcoats once a month.
It’s the media that makes fun of what they can’t comprehend. Not the public. Remember them? They went in droves to see a Star Trek movie last summer.
Just how many wars were started by men in Star Trek uniforms? None. :)
Best wishes to the Tampa project! If only there was more advanced notice!
Try going to a Star Wars Celebration and being surrounded by 800+ stormtroopers. Trekkies (and I’m one) just don’t get out in costume like the Lucasfans do. Sad, really. I’d love to see a crowd of 430 TOS uniforms together, representing the crew of one starship.
Let Tampa take theri shot at this, then it should be tried at the Las Vegas ST CON and see how many can be counted to break the record. I’ll be there to add to the numbers.
#12 You’ve never been to a Klingon room party gone horribly wrong? ;)
I sometimes still think of that anonymous Trekker in the last crowd scene in Logan’s Run who flashed a Vulcan salute. I wonder if they’ll ever come forward?
I wanna go. Badly.
I never concerned myself what the so-called “cool” people thought. I’ve always done my own thing and thought my own thoughts. Trekkies don’t worry what others think. As I said once before the “cool” ones don’t pay your rent or bills. Many have troubles in the real world a lot due their own making. And messed up priorities. Lost money stockmarket,worried about looks beautiful office people. Loosing the edge. I could go on. However they deeply resent us the geeks we have fun share a vision of lasting values. A bit lighter of a load. Maybe the cool ones can’t live with me. But I can live with myself. So say I’m a trekkie! Say it loud and be proud!
To clarify before as to why the general public hates Star trek fans: HAVE U SEEN THE BIG BANG THEORY?? although thats comedy, it is based on a societal archetype and is in part the reason why JJ Abrams needed to reboot trek in the way he did for any form of it to be popular to mainstream audiences again…
Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, the Superman/Batman/Spiderman stuffetc were always the cooler sagas to the mainstream… because they were more fantasy-oriented..Trek was always more science-oriented…or at least it was from the late 80s-on… the point being the public got turned off and so Trek fans got lobbed in with the World of Warcraft/Dungeons and Dragons crowd, and no offense to the Star Trek Online game, but that game may have solidified that effect…
The public thinks Star Trek fans take things too seriously…the costumes being one of the stereotypes pertaining to that opinion…we need not fan the flames by acting like idiots as well..so behave yourselves and dont go too seriously into the role-playing…LOL…
Have you ever seen a convention of shriners and cons of chichen pluckers talk about childish tomfoolery. And well role playing. Trekkies and shriners do a lot of charity work how maney cool yuppie types can make that claim. Beats keeping up with the jones
Its a shame the “science”. May have turned the public off no wonder we have a shortage of qualified math and science or. Low scorees in math and science by many. Students they are afraid of being geeks
#21 speaks the truth
I’m a former high school science teacher and I’ve seen a lot of people afraid of science and math, and I’m not only talking about students.
The reason why I like Trek more than any other sci-fi franchise is because the science is as “real” as it gets, going to into blackholes without spaghettifying not withstanding.
Is the guy in the Worf Wedding costume disqualified because he looks too much like The King from the Burger King commercials?
“Attemp?” Shouldn’t that be “attempt” with a “T” at the end?
What’s weird and sad to me is people who are obsessed with Star Trek being deemed “cool” by “mainstream” culture? Its so high school. “Oh no, the cool kids will make fun of us!” Who cares what people think. Follow your bliss and let your freak flag fly.
nuSpock…who cares what ‘they’ think? What does it even matter if they think Trekkies are nerds?
Just let people live their life how they see fit and let’s all be happy.
@25 & @26. Exactly right.
@nuSpock … How sad for you. I fear you are surrounded by Herberts (or, gasp, might actually be a Herbert).
Too thine own self be true.
Really Frederick? I love Logans Run n i never noticed it–when do you see it? Is old man ustinov in the scene? I will have to look at my bluray of logans run to find it now hah
no one ever told me about this!
It’s just an excuse to get cute young nerd girls into sexy boots, and I say the world is better for it!
I live right across the bay, and Im off weekends so I could make it over there, although I hate driving in Tampa. I would have to come up with something to wear.
Anyone up for doing this in New York? I think it’d be awesome to turn Grand Central into DS9’s promanade
Hey NuSpock, Have a since of humor,
If “Nerd” is the worst thing people call me, I’ll dance a jig til my pocket protector falls out.
I’m a Trekkie, and I take a huge amount of extra classes in science. I guess that makes me some kind of super-nerd, doesn’t it? I hear people tell me all the time that I’m such a nerd for knowing the answers to questions and getting projects done early. I’ve even been called Spock before.
nuSpock, they may think we are retards, yes, they may shove us into garbage bins, but in truth they should shut up because we’ll be the ones changing the world in high quality jobs while they are slaving away in McDonald’s.
I’d rather be a nerd right now than a hobo later.
Oh yeah, and….. I want to go to the convention ssooooo bad!!!!!
4. I AM a socially awkward weirdo. It’s got nothing to do with being a Star Trek fan though. I blame not having any sisters
T.’.
Let’s be honest — as nerdy as it is, to wear the uniform means that the star trek fan (trekkie/trekker, etc.) has finally embraced the dream, and, though I do not have one, I am not ashamed to say its eventual purchase is down the road. As long as we keep our sense of humor, wearing the uniform/st costume of your choice can be a revolutionary act.
T.’.
Why is it of all places that I see the least love for Big Bang Theory on a Star Trek site?
People love Big Bang Theory! And not so they can laugh AT he characters, but so they can laugh WITH them. And there is a difference. There’s a little geek in all of us! Embrace it!
Let’s hear it for the Trek fans in my hometown!
As for Big Bang Theory, I so totally dig that show, it’s not even funny. Even my daughters (3 1/2 and 2) dance to the theme music. :)
There are a lot of social events that people attend were one wear’s a “costume” so to speak. Even high end events where you wear formal attire like a suite is a statement of sorts. Star Trek is no different, just because some poeple dont “get it” doesnt make it silly or make someone a geek. Be individualisic, dont conform to group “think” and you’ll come out ahead, to many people simply go with the flow and follow the crowd without the first grain of common sense attatched telling them what the crowd is doing is stupid or even destructive. Hense the rotton state of our current culture.
#28, Jim Nightshade (like the “Something Wicked” ref), when you watch Logan;s Run, look at the very last scene as the city dwellers are reaching for the old man, and raising their hands. When Logan waves to him, and he waves back, look on the left/middle of a foreground extra, who lifts his hand and turns it into the salute. It’s at 1:56:22.
Here’s a screen capture:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_of7mShM5N1g/S8ZTqj0lBHI/AAAAAAAABZ0/xnDHGw_7Bho/s1600/logans_vulcan.jpg
I wonder if the folks in Tampa are think about how many Trekkers will be at the Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas this year? I believe that there will be more in Star Trek costumes at a Star Trek Convention than at a SciFi Convention that has Star Wars, Star Gate SG1, and other SciFi area. I know that there are more at the LV Convention than any other Convention I have ever attended. Even StarFest or ComicCon.
Att. Trekkies. Europe is about to give some stiff competion! We all better be in Tampa 11am SHARP!
Thanx Frederick that vulcan salute in logans run is great! Yah i also luv something wicked-jim nightshades a rather complex kid,losing his dad,being good but attracted to the dark side if not for his pal will keeping him good–one of bradburys better stories–ive used that name as a handle online since the 70s before internet when computers were local bbs s where you entered halls n rooms n left messages-ahhh the parties we had-then the net made everything global n the many local boards closed down-thats progress for ya–it was a blazing fast 300 baud back then hah