The Hawaii Star Trek / Xena / Hercules Convention
November 4-5, 2000
Honolulu, Hawaii

As conventions go, this is considered a small one. Hawaii fans are laid back and fans from other states find it hard to drive over to participate. We had about 250 attendees.

The Hawaii Xenites table, staffed by Jackie Young, NN and Adrian, provided a local presence. T-shirts, magnets and bumper stickers with the unique "Xenites Hawaii" design made excellent souvenirs for both locals and tourists alike.

Many Trekkies had a great time donning on the uniforms and checking out the merchandise. Even a few Klingons, Bajorans and Vulcans showed up.

Grace Lee Whitney (Yeoman Rand from TOS) willingly signed autographs throughout both days. [Celeste Yarnell (?), Barbara Luna, and France Nguyen from ST:TOS were also on hand both days for autographs. I *bit* and bought one of those motion-screen thingies showing Barbara/Marlena kissing Capt. Kirk! *hehe!* --JY]

Tim Russ (Tuvok from Voyager) was the major attraction Saturday. I missed his stage time (I was working behind the tables), but he came to the vendor room for autograph signing. That's the great thing about a Hawaii convention; everyone who wants an autograph can get one or two, all for free.

Chase Masterson (Leeta from DS9) entertained us on Sunday, with a great personality and funny anecdotes. As a special treat, she performed several songs from various Broadway shows including My Fair Lady. Her rendition of a Lament of a Ferengi Wife was hilarious.

For Herc and Xena fans, the incomparable Meg Foster (Hera, Zeus' wife) delighted us with her charming and open personality. Her tale of when she first met Ares (Kevin Smith) was priceless; something every tongue-tied fem admirer of Kevin can relate to. You've got to hear her tell it. [*Ahem!* *I* asked the question of what it was like to work with KSorbo and KSmith. ;) She said KSorbo was just as gracious and genuine as he was on-screen; but she said when she first met KSmith she was knocked off her feet because he's a *very* attractive man (*my honey!*) and she was *so* surprised at his male presence that she had to look away, then do a double-take again! ;) She also said he had a very good sense of humor, which, for those of us who've been to the mainland cons know, is very true. ;=) I also asked whether the "Hera eyes" on the HTLJ movies/TV before she became Hera were her eyes or someone else's. She said they were Roma Downey's. --JY]

Both Chase and Meg were so gracious during the autograph session, personalizing the greetings, posing for pictures and engaging in chitchat. Meg even delighted me with a hug and signed the photo "To FuzzyButt the Elder...". After all, there must be millions of "To Jim..."s.

The Costume contest drew two Xenas [Juli from Maui and TimeLadyX from Honolulu], several Trek Crewmen, a StarFleet Admiral, a Klingon, a Lady Vampire and an alien. Xena [Juli] and the Klingon won by clap-o-meter acclaim.

At the auction, some lucky persons got a signed Xena photo ($400) for $200, A Gabrielle photo ($220) for $100 and a shadowboxed set of Sais ($570) for $200. An uncooperative wallet is such a bummer. [Linda Starr of the Trek Club bid on a leather XWP jacket ($130) she doesn't want now. If you're interested in it, e-mail her at . --JY]

And of course, lots of blooper reels, music videos and episode excerpts.

Jim

Additional comments by J. Young [JY]