Klingons to Gather in Vulcan

Spock Days and Galaxyfest go further
Catherine Pooley, Vulcan Advocate, Feb. 9, 2005

It may not be the metropolis of Toronto, but many Canadian Klingons hope to make Vulcan their main stop this year. The recently combined Galaxyfest and Spock Days event is to be the annual meeting for Klingons across the country, according to Paul Carreau, head of KAG/KANADA a national group of Klingons.

That is the kind of trekker coup organizers have been waiting for since the inception of the local events over a decade ago. The group usually makes the trek to Toronto, Ont. for the annual Toronto Trek Convention, but they have decided, for many reasons, to make Vulcan the location for their annual meeting.

The guest stars for the weekend–Robert O’Reilly and JG Hertzler–is high on their list of reasons why they will make the switch this year considering Carreau says these two individuals have had, “quite an influence on Star Trek canon and lore.” Both the guest stars were top of the list for requests, and Carreau is quite impressed that Tourism Co-ordinator, Michelle Becker was able to get them. “She (Becker) asked us if there was anyone in particular that we would like to see,” said an excited Carreau. “This was our request and she got ‘em–this is exciting for our whole group.” Robert O'Reilly played Chancellor Gowron on the Next Generation and J.G. Hertzler played General Martok and later Chancellor Martok on Deep Space Nine.

Carreau is quick to tell the history and stories of his time with KAG/KANADA and he expects Vulcan’s GalaxyFest 2005 to be the “you-had-to-be-there convention that people will talk about for a long time.” Included for the first time in this year’s event will be an awards banquet where costume awards, distance traveled awards and the second annual Klingon Fear Factor will play out.

Becker is excited about the upcoming event and new additions for the year. “Every year that we do this it gets a little bit better,” said Becker. “This year’s event should be very interactive and fun, we have an unbelievable amount of people say they are planning to come.“ If you are interested in getting involved with Spock Days and Galaxyfest, call the Tourism and Trek Station at 485-2994.

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