The founding of Farpoint Convention 23 years ago can be traced directly to the original Star Trek conventions in New York in the 1970s. Members of our committee were taken to those conventions as children and wanted to bring the fun and fellowship they found at the New York conventions home to our area. Star Trek conventions started as a place for fans to gather and share their love for Star Trek and science fiction. These conventions kept Star Trek alive and were a special and safe place for fans to gather as a community in the years before “geek culture” became accepted as it has in recent years. Encouraging and promoting the community of fandom is Farpoint’s purpose.

2016 is the 50th anniversary of Star Trek, the show that started everything for us. We are celebrating this golden anniversary with activities throughout the weekend. Star Trek legend David Gerrold will be talking to fans throughout the weekend with Q&A sessions, signings, and panels. We will celebrate the art of the Fanzine on Saturday evening at 11:00 in our ballroom with readings from classic Star Trek zines by the original authors! Zines have a special place in Star Trek’s legacy, as they were the sole source of new Star Trek stories in the long time between the end of the original series and Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Our program book cover is a special Star Trek 50th triptych in collaboration with our sister conventions Balticon and ShoreLeave. We will also be hosting a Starfleet meeting on Saturday at 9 am and Star Trek themed panels throughout the weekend. It’s time to wear your Trek uniform proudly, and no red shirts will be harmed during the weekend’s “Away Mission”.