The inaugural FedCon was held from May 1–3, 1992. Among special guests was Walter Koenig, American actor known for his role as Pavel Chekov in the original Star Trek television series and all of the films featuring the original cast. This was the beginning of a tradition: each edition of FedCon since its inception has featured actors known for their roles in the Star Trek franchise.
Although FedCon started as a Star Trek convention, it has expanded to include other science fiction films and television series. It used to showcase some fantasy fandoms, but now there is a sister festival, MagicCon, dedicated solely to fantasy. Past editions of FedCon featured actors and crew members from popular shows and franchises such as Battlestar Galactica, Babylon 5, Star Wars, Andromeda, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off Angel, Stargate, Farscape, Xena: Warrior Princess, Grimm, and others. Other special guests attending the convention include voice artists, writers, scientists, and astronauts.
The program of FedCon features a lot of entertaining events and activities such as panels with special guests, autograph sessions and photo-ops with actors, lectures by scientists and experts, parties and masquerades, costume contests, exhibitors and vendors offering various merchandise in Dealers’ Room, fan art exhibitions, shows, film screenings, and more. One of the main highlights of FedCon are live performances by professional stunt teams, musicians and actor guests.
In 2011, FedCon set a world record for the biggest number of people in Star Trek costume at a convention (691 people). However, the record was beaten several months later at the Las Vegas Star Trek Convention with 1,040 fans.
Photo: Captain Dylan Hunt
