Treklanta was an annual Star Trek convention based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States that placed special emphasis on fan-based events, activities, programming and productions. It hosted the annual Miss Klingon Empire Beauty Pageant and Bjo Awards Ceremony (formerly the Independent Star Trek Fan Film Awards).
History The founding of Treklanta (formerly "TrekTrax Atlanta") was, in many respects, a result of its founder and chairman, Eric L. Watts—who had served as Dragon*Con's Director of Star Trek Programming from 1993 to 2009—not being asked to return for an 18th year by Dragon*Con management in December 2009. In February 2010, several members of the USS Republic, the chapter of STARFLEET International in Atlanta of which Watts is "Commanding Officer" (president), encouraged Watts to continue his service to fandom by launching a new convention in Atlanta, which had not hosted an exclusive, Star Trek-only convention since 1993. Pledging their support, a core group of Republic members immediately began laying the groundwork for a new convention and three months later, on Memorial Day Weekend, Watts issued a press release announcing TrekTrax Atlanta. In October 2014, Watts announced on the convention's Facebook page that the name of the convention was being changed to "Treklanta" to make it "easier to pronounce, easier to spell and hopefully easier to remember" and because "it more clearly and more succinctly conveys the essence of what our convention is all about."Name change announcement on Facebook
The first three conventions, held from 2011 to 2013, were devoted exclusively to the Star Trek franchise. In 2014, the convention expanded its focus to include other space opera franchises such as Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, Firefly and Babylon 5. In 2017, Treklanta returned to its original focus on "All Star Trek, All the Time."
First convention TrekTrax Atlanta 2011 was held on Presidents Day Weekend, February 18–20, at the Holiday Inn Atlanta Perimeter in the northern Atlanta suburb of Chamblee. Guests included:
Tim Russ, best known as "Tuvok" on Star Trek: Voyager Barbara March, best known as "Lursa," sister of B'Etor from the House of Duras, from Star Trek: The Next Generation Gwynyth Walsh, best known as "B'Etor," sister of Lursa from the House of Duras, from Star Trek: The Next Generation Ken Feinberg, who played the Alien Captain in the Star Trek: Enterprise episode "Horizon" Diana Botsford, co-author of the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Rascals" Andrew Greenberg, a roleplaying game designer who has worked on games for Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Dr. Ina Rae Hark, author of Star Trek, a 2008 book in the BFI TV Classics series published by Palgrave Macmillan for the British Film Institute Larry Nemecek, author of The Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion, former managing editor of Communicator and current contributor to Titan/U.K.'s Star Trek magazine Emmett Plant, a writer, composer and producer who has produced over twenty Star Trek audiobooks for CBS/Paramount Dr. Brad Strickland, the author or co-author of five Star Trek Young Adult novels John Broughton, Michael Bednar and Holly Bednar from Starship Farragut, a Star Trek fan production based on the original series of Star Trek
TrekTrax Atlanta presented four concurrent tracks of programming: two dedicated to the Star Trek universe in general (Main Programming and "OmniTrek"), a third devoted to the Klingon Empire in particular ("Qo'Nos"), and a fourth specifically for costuming and makeup ("The Ready Room"). The convention also hosted three 24-hour gaming rooms, one each for role-playing games, board games and card games, as well as a VIP champagne reception, Q&A sessions and photo opportunities with the celebrity guests, a dealers room, con suite, costume contest, 24-hour video room, live performances by the New York Disco Villains, One Hard Night and Jennifer Teeter, a dance party in the hotel atrium, "Klingon Karaoke," and the 12th annual Miss Klingon Empire Beauty Pageant.
TrekTrax Atlanta 2011 attendance numbered 25 guests, 45 staff volunteers and 187 paid memberships for a total attendance of 257 persons.
Second convention TrekTrax Atlanta 2012 was held April 20–22 at the Holiday Inn Atlanta Perimeter in the northern Atlanta suburb of Chamblee. The convention was endorsed by the Klingon Assault Group International as the "National Klingon Konvention." Guests included:
David Orange, best known as the "Sleepy Klingon" in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country Morgan Gendel, author of the Star Trek: The Next Generation episodes "The Inner Light" (for which he won the Hugo Award) and "Starship Mine" and the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episodes "The Passenger" and "Armageddon Game" Dr. Lawrence M. Schoen, author, publisher, psychologist, Klingon language expert and founder of the Klingon Language Institute who has published Klingon translations of Shakespeare's Hamlet and Much Ado About Nothing, as well as the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Tao Te Ching. Fan Guest of Honor Melissa Carter, a columnist for The Georgia Voice and The Huffington Post, member of the Atlanta Police Department GLBT Advisory Board, transplant survivor and a former co-host of the morning radio show The Bert Show on Q100 in Atlanta Cheralyn Lambeth, a professional costumer formerly with Paramount Production Services' Star Trek Earth Tour and Star Trek: The Experience Andrew Greenberg, a roleplaying game designer who has worked on games for Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Emmett Plant, a writer, composer and producer who has produced over twenty Star Trek audiobooks for CBS/Paramount Michael Bednar and Michael Day from Starship Farragut, a Star Trek fan production based on the original series of Star Trek Chris Coleman, Doug Harper, Randall Landers, Bill MacKenzie and Sara MacKenzie from Project: Potemkin, a Star Trek fan production set shortly after Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country Jim Brucke, Renda Carr, Tim Carr and Keith Harris from Star Trek: Lexington, a Star Trek fan production set shortly after Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home The il Troubadore Klingon Music Project, a four-person musical troupe from Indianapolis, Indiana, that performs original Klingon music and presents its original production, "wa' Sad ram wa' ram je" (a Klingon Opera-Ballet) with belly dancers "Nerd rock bands" One Hard Night and the New York Disco Villains "Keela & Katkith," hosts of the popular "Klingon Karaoke"
TrekTrax Atlanta presented three and a half tracks of concurrent programming: one dedicated to the Star Trek universe in general ("Main Viewer"), a second devoted to the Klingon Empire in particular ("Qo'Nos"), a third specifically for costuming and makeup ("The Ready Room"), and a one-day track devoted to special guest-related events and fandom-related discussion panels ("OmniTrek"). The convention also hosted a 24-hour gaming room for role-playing, board and card games, as well as a VIP champagne reception, "Trekkies Got Talent!" talent show, dealers room, con suite, costume contest, 24-hour video room, live performances by il Troubadore, the New York Disco Villains and One Hard Night, "Klingon Karaoke," and the 13th annual Miss Klingon Empire Beauty Pageant. The convention also raised $200 for the Melissa Carter Transplant Fund and partnered with LifeSouth Community Blood Centers for a blood drive.
TrekTrax Atlanta 2012 attendance numbered 33 guests, 45 staff volunteers and 162 paid memberships for a total attendance of 240 persons.
Third convention TrekTrax Atlanta 2013 was held April 19–21 at the Holiday Inn Atlanta Perimeter in the northern Atlanta suburb of Chamblee. The convention presented a "Star Trek Fan Film Festival," hosted the USS Republic's 25th Anniversary Celebration and, for a second consecutive year, called itself the "National Klingon Konvention." Guests included:
Manu Intiraymi, best known as "Icheb" in the last two seasons of Star Trek: Voyager Keith R. A. DeCandido, the prolific writer/editor of many Star Trek novels, novellas, short stories, comic books and eBooks Ken Feinberg, who played the Alien Captain in the Star Trek: Enterprise episode "Horizon" Dr. Lawrence M. Schoen, author, publisher, psychologist, Klingon language expert and founder of the Klingon Language Institute who has published Klingon translations of Shakespeare's Hamlet and Much Ado About Nothing, as well as the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Tao Te Ching. Emmett Plant, a writer, composer and producer who has produced over twenty Star Trek audiobooks for CBS/Paramount Renda Carr, Tim Carr, Doug Harper, Randall Landers, Bill MacKenzie, Sara MacKenzie and Christin Woods from Project: Potemkin, a Star Trek fan production set shortly after Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country Darren Hann, Tara Murphy and Joann Pelley from Star Trek: Reliant, a Star Trek fan production that takes place five years after the return of the USS Voyager to the Alpha Quadrant Michael Bednar, Michael Day and Donna Smith Parker from Starship Farragut, a Star Trek fan production based on the original series of Star Trek Andrea Columber, Toby Curfman, Dean Rogers, Jacob Stanford and Jerry Stanford from Star Trek: Valkyrie, a Star Trek fan production audio series set three months after the launch of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-B The il Troubadore Klingon Music Project, a four-person musical troupe from Indianapolis, Indiana, that performs original Klingon music and presents its original production, "wa' Sad ram wa' ram je" (a Klingon Opera-Ballet) with belly dancers "Nerd rock band" Go, Robo! Go! "Keela & Katkith," hosts of the popular "Klingon Karaoke" "Moxie Magnus," an entertainer and stage performer who writes a humorous blog about Star Trek
TrekTrax Atlanta positioned its 2013 convention as "The Star Trek Fan Film Festival and the National Klingon Konvention." In addition to screening films and episodes from more than a half-dozen Star Trek fan productions, it also presented three tracks of programming, one each devoted to Star Trek in general, Klingons in particular and costuming and makeup together; a gaming room for role-playing, board and card games; VIP champagne reception; "Trekkies Got Talent!" talent show; live performances by il Troubadore (with belly dancers as Orion slave girls) and Go, Robo! Go!; "Klingon Karaoke;" a Star Trek Universe costume contest; dealers room; con suite; and the 14th annual Miss Klingon Empire Beauty Pageant. In addition, cast and crew members from Project: Potemkin, Star Trek: Reliant, Star Trek: Valkyrie and Star Trek: Phase II collaborated to film the Project: Potemkin vignette "Closing Time," released to the Internet on August 28, 2014.
TrekTrax Atlanta 2013 attendance numbered 43 guests and comps, 41 staff volunteers and 97 paid memberships for a total attendance of 181 persons.
Fourth convention TrekTrax Atlanta 2014 was held April 25–27 at the Atlanta Marriott Northwest at Galleria in the northwestern Atlanta neighborhood of Cumberland and included programming events and activities devoted to Star Trek, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica and Firefly. Guests included:
Felix Silla, who played Twiki in Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, the Ewok Retah in Return of the Jedi, Lucifer in the original Battlestar Galactica and a Talosian in the original Star Trek Arlene Martel, who played T'Pring in the original Star Trek episode "Amok Time," Adulteress 58 in the original Battlestar Galactica episode "The Long Patrol" and a Vulcan priestess in the Star Trek fan production Star Trek: Of Gods and Men Jeremy Roberts, who played Lt. Commander Dimitri Valtane in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country and the Star Trek: Voyager episode "Flashback," and Meso'Clan in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Hippocratic Oath"