GalaxyCon Raleigh 2026 and Revisiting Planet Gideon
From July 23 to July 26, 2026, I attended GalaxyCon in Raleigh, North Carolina. It had been two years since I attended GalaxyCon, or any fan convention, so I was looking forward to spending time with my greater nerd tribe. I enjoyed myself, but to be honest with the reader, my overall review is mixed. While I will focus most of my article on the positives, I feel obligated to briefly touch on the negatives as well.
I arrived Thursday afternoon and that evening had my first celebrity “encounter.” Three actors from Deep Space Nine were present that evening, Armin Shimerman, Terry Farrell, and Nana Visitor. Trying to save money, I purchased the photo opportunity with all three actors together, which turned out to be an unexpectedly great decision. Apparently, they love seeing each other at these events and having them all in the photo booth together put them in a playful mood. When it was my turn, I walked in and stood where I was directed. Just before the photographer snapped the picture, Farrell leaned towards me and whispered in my ear, “Are you having fun yet?” She very innocently reverted back to her pose, while I was left completely floored! Click! The picture was taken, and I was hustled out of the booth wondering, “Did Jadzia just blow in my ear?”
Afterwards, all three actors came out to do autographs, and I succeeded in getting all of them to sign the newly minted photo. More importantly, I had an extended conversation with all three actors, talking Shakespeare with Shimerman, inclusion and diversity with Farrell, and childhood injuries with Visitor (who was wearing an arm sling). When I thanked them all for making time with fans, Farrell thanked me (and all fans) for providing a way for the cast of the show to get together, have a good time and enjoy themselves. This interaction with the three of them was by far, the highlight of the convention.
Over the next three days, I attended panels on Star Trek, Dungeons & Dragons, and “the End of the World.” I also had photo opportunities with Karl Urban and William Shatner and attended their Q & A sessions afterwards. Urban’s session was very crowded as he is a newcomer to the convention scene, and everyone wanted to see him. He was very humorous and gregarious. Shatner’s session was also well attended and at 95, he is still clear headed and coherent. However, his answers were close to stream of consciousness, something he himself admitted. Close to twenty people had been in line to ask Shatner a question, and he got through only three! Nevertheless, it was very entertaining to listen to him.
I must report that the most popular celebrity at the convention was someone I had no interest in, Hayden Christensen. He was so in demand that they gave him his own private room on a separate floor for photographs and autographs. There was a separate ticketed event for him, entitled “The Hayden Christensen Experience.” His Q & A session was reservation only, and the machinery surrounding his participation at the convention was quite impressive. Obviously, most of the fans seeking him out were ones who grew up with the prequel Star Wars movies, whereas I was in my 30’s when they came out. So, this generational divide is only natural.
Watching the hoopla surrounding Christensen also led me to notice something else; how much of the convention was about pop culture that I was unfamiliar with. I could not identify most of the costumes that I saw people wearing and several panels were about franchises that I had never heard of. I think most of it was either “Manga” or “Anime” entertainment, which coupled with the Christensen hoopla, had me feeling my age a bit.
While I am reluctant to end my review on a negative note, I must if I am to be a credible correspondent. The crowds. The crowds. THE CROWDS!! You recall an episode from Star Trek original series, “The Mark of Gideon,” which had crowds of people in the background of several scenes, all pressed together and trying to move around. I felt that GalaxyCon was doing its best to recreate the planet Gideon. Certainly, I have experienced crowds at these conventions before, but this was a magnitude greater, and unfortunately it did detract from the overall experience. It made it difficult to get to places on time, put a damper on fan interaction, and overwhelmed the escalators to the point of constant malfunction. I did not get nearly as many photos with cosplayers as I wanted. But this does seem to be the future of corporate run conventions, where they will sell as many tickets as possible.
The other disappointment was the quality of the panels. I was underwhelmed at the offerings and the subjects, finding few that held any interest for me. And the vendors on the floor were much the same as years past, so there was little that was new for sale.
In conclusion, I must say that while I enjoyed some of my time in Raleigh, overall I found the experience lacking. Whether I return or not in definitely in doubt and I may look for other ways to connect with fellow nerds that are less expensive and easier to navigate.
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