Creation Beaming Into Boston This Weekend With Shatner, Spiner, Visitor & More

Creation Entertainment will beam into Boston this weekend – June 8-9 at the John B. Hynes Convention Center -- for a star-studded Official Star Trek Convention that will feature actors from Star Trek, The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine. Those on the guest list include… well, check out the grid right below.

 

 

 

The event will also feature Creation’s popular array of events, including auctions, photo ops, autograph signings, a massive dealer’s room, contests and more. StarTrek.com caught up with Creation Entertainment co-CEO Gary Berman, who filled us in on additional details. Here’s what he had to say:

Historically, for Creation, how big a market has Boston been?

BERMAN: It seems like from the start of us regularly doing comic book and then Star Trek conventions Boston was always prominent. The best reason I can recall was that it was fairly close to our home base at the time (NYC) and filled with college students. We usually tried to run conventions when colleges were in session, but that was also difficult because the hotels usually were rented out for something else.

Give us a personal highlight from a previous Creation event in Boston.

BERMAN: My favorite Boston memory has to do with a big Star Trek Convention we were doing at The Hynes Center (where we are returning this time).  It was huge, of course, but in those days the vast majority of fans would just show up and get admission at the door, so there was no real way of predicting turnouts. We had Sir Patrick Stewart as the headliner and many college students had kind of adopted his character as "their Captain." Hundreds and hundreds more than expected showed up and we had to stay in the lobby of The Hynes with a megaphone telling people to turn around and go home as we literally had no room. Luckily, we had a 6-foot-7 security guard who traveled with us and handled that job! Most fans were cool with it and excited that "their Captain" was indeed that incredibly popular. 

Are you at all surprised this show is already just about sold out?

BERMAN: We are working with The Hynes to open up some balcony space, so I think our website will be the best place to keep checking for seating. As you know, we don't sell more tickets than we have seats for and this is going to be a big one. It is gratifying to know that Boston still reigns when it comes to Star Trek, and everyone was very nice about having Mr. Shatner and Mr. Takei step in when we lost Sir Patrick and Ms. Mulgrew. Fans are usually wonderful about that type of thing, especially when they saw we were going to the max to get the best replacements we could. And then, Gates McFadden was able to join us, too!

Though it wasn't originally planned this way, we think the Shatner and TNG cast shot is an incredible opportunity for fans. Who gets the credit for that idea? How quickly were Shatner and the TNG actors on board for it?

BERMAN: I honestly don't know who thought of the actual idea after we booked Shatner, but I have to say that he always has seemed up for unusual and fun ideas and concepts and he has become knowledgeable and friendly with the Next Gen cast over the last some years. It certainly should make for an interesting night, both the presentation on stage and the actual photo sitting.  

Also, the Nichols-Sirtis-Crosby-Visitor photo op sounds terrific. Have you ever had that combination together before for something like this?  

BERMAN: No, first time, but the response will dictate whether we'll be trying more stuff like this. As a fan myself, I would certainly like something that mixes the different generations a bit -- and that lineup certainly covers a lot of ground.
 
What else during the weekend do you think will appeal to fans?

BERMAN: Beyond the night show, I always like to see Brent Spiner on stage as I find him to be amazingly quick and funny. I also enjoy seeing Rene and Nana work together on stage. They are both so talented and I've been catching Boston Legal with Rene and it is also enjoyable checking out his scenes with Shatner, who is incredible in that show. 
 
Anything else we should know about the Boston event?

BERMAN: Really, just a thanks to the area for getting behind having Star Trek Conventions back. Our hopes are that we will be able to continue to bring Official Star Trek Conventions to many more cities in the years to come, and with support like we've been having, it certainly makes it feasible.

Click HERE for details about the Boston event's schedule.