Here's some of the follow-up comments and questions from the convention. If you have any to add, please drop me an email at swalker@starland.com.

I wanted to begin by thanking all of the Starland staff (and volunteers). It was a wonderful con. At the risk of repeating others I offer the following: I understand about the guest situation for this year but world events still did not stop you from hosting some really great events. And loved the attitudes and approachability of the ones who did come for us. I hope they know how much they were appreciated. Frankly, I would rather see some down to earth guests (such as the ones you had) than a supposed 'A' list guest who doesn't seem to have the time or appreciation for their fans. The accommodations were much better this year. The staff of the hotel were helpful and courteous. I will second the concerns over food and the appearance that the hotel was unprepared for the volume and nature of the event, especially in regards to the restaurants and cooling. But, live and (hopefully) learn. It was very nice of the hotel to provide the water stations and was very appreciated. More or better signs, at least on some room doors, would have been helpful. Now that most have their bearings it won't as much an issue next year, but might still be helpful for those of us with poor memories or any newcomers. I would like to see a bigger vendor area, but I note your comments regarding the decrease in vendors. I also was happy to see the sales of the past con shirts that you had dug up from somewhere. I, of course, hope you sold out of shirts this year, but if you did not would be happy for the chance to pick up another bargain one next year. I especially wanted to give my appreciation to the Horror Room people for the original & remake showings they did (e.g. Haunting, 13 Ghosts, Sleepy Hollow). I really enjoyed this format and hope they can have similar such showings next con. Often I am so busy with other Sci Fi events I don't find enough time to get to that room, but this year I made a special point visiting there due to this format. I am already looking forward to next years. It is like Christmas in April! Thanks again, Craig

Thank you. Your ideas and comments are well appreciated.

Whether I'm traveling in Pagan circles, Goth circles, RPGamers circles, or costumer's circles, the topic of conversation is still how great this years con was. We all had a really good time. Amongst those folks I came across, I talked to about 200 people that attended. I compiled a list of complaints that were repeated most often. But I also put forth that if they had a complaint to also offer a solution. The most common suggestions that came up were: 1) Love the new venue but the hotel food is too expensive, service slow, and not enough variety. (Folks wanted cheap food like burgers & fried chicken on site. No one wanted to walk across the street and take the chance of missing something.) Also vending machines for soda & snacks need to be easier to find and more of them. It was suggested that perhaps for con purposes we could have our own version of "Restaurants on Wheels." Perhaps a dozen or so teenagers/volunteers could be runners to fetch fast food, or grocery supplies in the area for a nominal fee per run, and would give the runners an opportunity to earn tips they could spend at the con. Another suggestion was to contact the nearby inexpensive eateries and see if they would be interested in providing a delivery service for attendees and personnel alike for the duration of the con. The idea is to bypass the existing services that provide this because with their surcharge on top of the price of the food, it's too expensive again. 2) Dealers room too small and all the same old vendors with the same inventories. No one had a viable solution about the space. However, we'd like to see the vendors either update/expand inventory, or get some new blood in there. 3) Hotel staff was great and went out of their way to make all comfortable and needs meet. But even with the event discount, the rooms were still too expensive. Particularly when we could go to Expedia.com, Hotels.com, or TravelScape.com and get the same rooms for $35.00 a night, instead of $75.00 a night. That's $40.00 more a day to spend on food, dealers room, & autographs. The hotel's discounts need to be comparable to what's available online. It would be in their best interest to do so because when you go through an online provider, the price you pay is not what the hotel gets. At $35.00 a night with Hotels.com, the Marriot only got $22.00 of that.
4) As with any convention of this type, you're going to have a percentage of "die hard partiers," that don't quit before sunrise literally. When it became apparent to the hotel staff that the suites that were rented for all night partying weren't sufficient due to noisome revelers, quickly provided us with the Mezzanine as a place to finish our revels without disturbing other guests. Perhaps a space set aside away from rooms for this purpose with access to bathrooms and kitchen facilities (sink, refrigerator, etc, for bartending & snack food needs,) would prevent this from occurring again. 5) This next point is a very big deal to alot of people: We all understand what a huge undertaking an event like this is, many of us help with other events during the year, (Dark Arts Fest, Witches Ball, Mile Hi Con, Genghis Khan, etc,) we understand just how hard your job is. With that in mind we feel that we couldn't do all that we wanted to do because they were scheduled at the same time. Many of us would have liked to done all of the Starfleet Academy stuff, and all of the Jedi Academy stuff, and all of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry stuff without having to chose between them because they were all going on simultaneously. Perhaps in the future the suggestion is that each day of the con is for a particular school. IE: Friday=Jedi Academy, Saturday=Starfleet Academy, Sunday-Hogwarts, then we could attend them all. As it was we either had to choose only one and feel majorly left out of the others or. what most of us did was spent 20 minutes in Starfleet, then run over and spend 20 minutes in Hogwarts, and then the rest of the hour in Jedi. As a result many of our children were extremely disappointed and they didn't get the certificates they wanted to earn because we couldn't be there for the entire thing, in order to not miss out entirely on other simultaneous classes. And some of the folks that were putting on these classes would have liked to attend the other schools offerings and couldn't because of simultaneous scheduling. 6) Believe it or not there are still a lot of folks that haven't had a chance to see the second installment of Lord of the Rings, mostly because we don't like going to movies alone and have no one to share the experience with; or just too dang busy with life to have had the time. We know you were showing it during the con but the show times were not very well thought out. 8pm on Friday night was good for the children, but not for adults. We found ourselves torn between finding friends we haven't seen since last years con for meet and greet and catch up on gossip, or spending that time in the theater away from everyone. Then the next time you showed it on Saturday was at the butt crack of dawn when everyone is sleeping it off. You'd have had a packed theater if you showed it Sunday afternoon, or Saturday night between when classes/courses/panels ended and before parties started. To date I still haven't seen it because I planned to see it the first time at the con with friends instead of alone, and couldn't because it conflicted with other events, and I'm not the only one. The group of 70+ folks that wanted to see it together, and most of us for the first time, didn't because of the inconvenient times it was scheduled. 7) Batlith competitions MUST have a bigger room, not just for the combatants but for everyone that wanted to watch and couldn't because you couldn't get into the room. Every square inch of that room barely accommodated the required tourney space needed, and there was perhaps a foot of extra space beyond that. With all the chairs piled up in that narrow space around the tourney arena there was no where to stand or sit to watch our friends duke it out, or more importantly-to cheer them on. 8) Perhaps those chairs that were unwanted in the Batlith room could have been brought to the panel rooms. There weren't enough seats for everyone to sit at Starfleet Academy, Jedi Academy, or Hogwarts. We searched for extra chairs for these events, and by the time the hotel staff could bring them up, the event was over and the chairs no longer needed. Ready access to extra chairs and their storage would be really helpful for getting more when needed, or stowing away when not needed. Lots of other suggestions, comments, observations were compiled by me but they fall into the individual-by-individual basis and don't reflect the opinions of commonality, so I feel don't warrant mentioning here. We hope you find these informative and helpful. Please understand that even with these faux pas', a great time was had by all, and will live in our memories (and photo albums,) for a long time to come. Sincerely Yours, Rev. Maelyn Monahan aka: Captain Scarlett, Mara Jade, Admiral O'Reilly, Red Sonja, Lin May

I think most of the issues you raised have been mentioned by others here. The whole issue of room rates isn't going to change. We've negotiated the best rates possible at the hotel for the show ($76/night for Starfest 2004). The hotel chains sell excess rooms to the internet sites - there aren't any excess rooms at the Marriott during the convention - we fill the place. We knew going into the show that there would be a few events that would need to be moved for the next show. It sounds like the Batlith and Starfleet events are two of them. I too was impressed with the Hogwarts guy. He really knows his stuff!

Just wanted to drop a line and say thanx for the great time this year. The new hotel is much nicer than the Holiday Inn, if for nothing else than being able to walk though a nice atrium rather than a barren hallway. I'm sure that the hotel will become a better fit once Starfest has settled in. One idea that I'd like to share is the problem with signs to events. Would it be possible to take advantage of the lamp posts in the atrium and create "street signs" that can be clamped on during convention time? It would probably look nicer than the cardboard signs used this year. Anyway, looking forward to next year, R.M.

I think that was the most mentioned problem at the show - not enough signage. We'll attack that problem much better at the next show. I really like the "street sign" idea you came up with... we'll have to run that one past KathE.

Just wanted to email saying I had a real blast at the last convention. ( this one was my 16th i believe) I was wondering if you knew of a show that was done in 1983 called Robin of Sherwood? I loved that show and would love to see a guest from that come to Denver. I know that might be hard since most of the cast lives in the UK but I just thought it was worth a shot suggesting it. I am looking forward to the next con and also now that I think about it I remember seeing something on the starland site about something possibly happening during the summer? Is that still a possibility? Hope to hear from you soon. D.F.

I never really watched Robin of Sherwood, perhaps some of our readers have. We probably are not going to produce a show this summer. We are just too busy with our other activities.

(1) The new location is great! (2) The segregating of Star Trek actors on one day (Sunday) worked well for me. (3) Past couple of years you had actors from soon-to-released summer scifi movies. None this year. I hope you find some next year.

We hinted before Starfest, that most of the movie studios were really worried about terrorism and SARS prior to our show. In fact, most of them had enacted specific directives that actors not go to events during that time. We certainly hope (as do the studios) that those concerns will be lessened before SF04 - and that we'll have our usual complement of studio guests at the next show.

I suggested to KathE while I was there that including a "comments" form in the packet handed out at registration might give you more feedback on guests, logistics and general suggestions to be dropped in a comments box before many people head for home. Also I wonder if you heard the many, many comments on how small the dealer's room was. I was not happy with that part at all. I was wondering if the mezzanine might not be a better place for it. The hotel should be able to block off the stairwell and bypass the elevator during closed hours. There was just not enough room. But then I'm a Star Trek junkie so more is always better for me =) I do love the new hotel and the staff was extremely courteous and extended every hospitality to us while we were there. I do however agree with others that there needs to be a better way to feed folks. The food was wonderful, service slow and prices ok but I really believe the hotel would benefit tremendously if they put a salad bar or buffet of sorts in the atrium area. Good job and congrats to all of you. I am involved in a yearly conference myself so fully understand and appreciate all the hard work you do - you are ALL wonderful.Janet Kroeckel

A comments box might be OK, but I think we'd rather have you come to registration and give us more complete details so we can get a better picture of your impressions of the show. The Dealer's room contained most of the professional dealers still in business. The past 5 years have been hard on the Star Trek market with many of the vendors moving on to other vocations. Part of the problem might be related to so many actors now selling their autographs... it leaves less money for people to spend on collectibles. The Mezzanine wouldn't be as big a space as we are currently using for the Dealer's Room now. The Hotel is planning on more food and drink for SF04.

Steve just wanted to let you know it was a Great con. I had a great time. Just wish it were longer... chuckles.
I didn't get to see all I wanted... Guest were great though. Loved Chase. John Miller

As a bit of a post script, Chase had a good time too! She spent so much time thanking everyone that she missed her Sunday flight and had to leave on Monday.

I had a convention goer request a couple of pictures from my power point slides. The e-mail address I was given is incorrect. Could you refer her to me or get her correct e-mail address? Thanks. Barry

OK, if you want copies of the Starfest slides used in Main Events, drop me an email (swalker@starland.com). I'll forward your request to Barry.

I'm glad you had so much fun - that's why we put on the convention. This was the first time I've had to put together the schedule without Dennis' help and I made a couple of mistakes. I think we'll be expanding the program book next year and moving a lot of stuff off the schedule sheet. I was not happy with the printing on the program book this time, but that's my own fault. I'll be getting more help from Susan next time and we'll send the program book to the printer earlier. Susan can work on your latex request - I know we've had those kinds of panels in the past send her email at .

I would like to thank you for all the tremendous effort and work your staff puts into Starfest. I have been attending for about 11 years now, and am forever impressed. Please thank your people for being so friendly and helpful. Mercedes

You just did.

Hi, I attended the fest and loved it! I have one question I hope you can help me with. I really wanted one of those Luthorcorp work shirts at the fest but couldn't find the person selling them, could you please let me know who I can get in contact with to get one?
Thanks so much and thanks again for a great Con! N.R.

I didn't see Luthorcorp shirts at the show. Maybe someone reading this will have your answer.

Steve and KathE, and all the volunteer staff and security staff, We had a great time and are really looking forward to next year. As with any new place, there are always bound to be a few kinks along the way like putting the two most popular autograph lines out in the hallway under the scorching sauna, but hey, live and learn. You guys did a great job and deserve a pat on the back for your efforts, not to mention a long vacation. The guests couldn't have been nicer. We were most impressed with how friendly they all were. How often do celebrities come into the bar area and hang out with the fans. Marina Sirtis certainly would never consider it. All the guests were fabulous and the Q&A from all of them was entertaining and rewarding. Anyone who missed this con missed a great show. Granted maybe last year was better, but you did a good job given what you had. I hope to see some of these same guests again in the future. A BIG THANKS goes out to them. WALTER KOENIG, JOHN BILLINGSLEY, MICHAEL ROSENBAUM, RICHARD HERD, RICHARD BIGGS, MANU INTIRAYMI, JUDSON SCOTT, PATRICK KILPATRICK, STEPHANIE ROMANOV, and of course, CHRISTIE GOLDEN, LARRY NEMECK, DAYTON WARD, KEVIN DILMORE, DAVE McDONNELL, and JEFF WALKER, Thank you for coming to Denver and bringing a great weekend of great memories to all your fans. Come back and see us soon!!!!! Hey put more goodies in the goodie bag and on the freebie table next year. C.G.

Jeff thanks you, but he didn't make it to the show this time. His plans had to change at the last minute, but we're going to make him bring Steven Spielberg and George Lucas to the next show to make up for it.

Hey, First of all, this was my first starland convention & I had a blast. LOVE Richard Biggs and Michael Rosenbaum. I laughed SO hard! I did have one suggestion. The fan clubs, perhaps move some of them out to the Mezzanine area as well...sort of an over flow area...and of course TURN UP THE AIR in there. :) otherwise it was great! I had so much fun! Thanks! M.D.

It was a bit toasty on the Mezzanine on Friday. I think the rooms were OK once the air started working though. We'll be talking to the hotel about that issue and see what we can do. I don't really understand what you mean about moving the fan clubs, wouldn't they be better off in the air conditioned room than out in the hot hallway?

Thank you.

Once we die-hards become more accustomed to the new facility...  it may(?) become 'easier'  ...BUT !!! While the map you had made available on your website and with the schedule WAS helpful, I believe we also need to add more signage, and more visible signage...  directional signage at the beginnings of the various hallways, room, etc.  Again, while the schedule told what was happening in the various rooms, I don't recall any information at the doorways to the various rooms.  Most people like to just look about and see....  'oh, here it is!...  this is what is happening in here now!".  We are lazy (hee!) and don't want to work that hard for what we are there to only enjoy and have fun with. One example might be...   there were a couple of easels about indicating that the Federation Ball was to be held from 9:00 - midnight, but no indication of what room it was in, nor where that un-indicated room was located.

Good ideas!

Another excellent StarFest and a good hotel and charity play.  My only suggestion is allocation of bigger rooms for the video rooms if possible; at times they filled up too quick.

First off, it's Starfest not StarFest... everyone keeps doing that, but I'm going to pull a Don Quixote on that one. We will be moving some of the rooms around for next year based on the attendance levels. You didn't mention it, but the Art Show will definitely have to get more room. We are also looking into relocating the Model Show and Autographing Tables. Everything is under debate, we (like you) want the best room utilization possible.

We didn't get a chance to talk much during the weekend, but I wanted to thank you again for inviting us to the con this year.  This was my first trip to Denver, and I have to say you and your crew know how to put on a heck of a show.  Kevin and I had a great time, our panels seemed pretty successful (I was pleasantly surprised by the number of people in attendance, frankly), and folks had a lot of nice things to say all weekend. Perhaps we can cross paths again one of these days.  Thanks again, and take care!
Dayton  http://www.daytonward.com

We'll meet again soon for sure. Thanks for coming. I caught you in the "Beat the Starfest Geek" contest. You were really funny!

First and foremost I want to thank you for a wonderful time on Saturday. I enjoyed myself immensely. I noticed that you sell videos of the events, but it didn't list the Q&A's. Will the Q&A's of Michael Rosenbaum and/or Stephanie Romanov be available? I know quite a few people who would be interested in a tape of Mr. Rosenbaum's Q&A. he was absolutely hysterical. Thank you again, E.R.

We don't sell tapes of the guests. We'd have to get permission from them first and pay all sorts of people money to do that (agents, managers, unions). It just isn't going to happen. The live events will have to remain live... however, there is a chance that excerpts might appear on this website in the near future, but that's about as close as we can get.

We miss not having two conventions through the year....   once is just NOT enough!!!!  Any chance of going back to twice a year??? Please, please, pretty please????  I'll buy you a pony!!!

One is a lot of work - two is torture, but KathE is talking about planning something we might be able to do in the Summer. Stay tuned for details.

Thank you for the new and improved venue!!  It was so much more pleasant than the old location in so many ways...  and, as we are all aware, there is no need to elaborate any further on that subject!

I spent only Saturday (although a large portion of that day) at the event.  As always, I so enjoyed the time!  I love the trailers presented by Mr. McDonnell.  All the guests are such fun!  Michael Rosenbaum is just a sweetie!!  ...and seems like just a 'regular guy'.  I personally feel that is one of the best compliments that can be given to a 'star'.  Everyone was great...   as always! 
My sons and I have attended your presentations many times over all the years it has been offered, and we do wish to thank you for making it available in the Denver area for so long!!!

Thank you.

Realizing that this is the first Con at the new location...   I wish to offer some comments for future consideration. Relax...  it's okay...   I'm not going to bitch, whine, and moan like some folks have done in past years!   ... I don't do business that way!  I wish for my comments to be constructive.

My friends and I left the main events room after Michael's time on stage, and hoped to have dinner at the restaurant, only to find it closed for the evening. Then we went on to the bar area, hoping for at least munchies...  but the wait staff seemed 'sparse' to say the least; and didn't seem to offer much assistance with acquiring a menu or menu items. With that, we walked outside the hotel and spotted a Garcia's just up the street within walking distance, and enjoyed a tasty dinner. As we walked into Garcia's, we noticed several convention attendees leaving the restaurant, more inside, and others coming in as we were leaving following our dinner.  With this in mind, it seems many were having the same 'where can we have dinner??!' situation as we were having.

No matter what the Marriott's 'rules or schedules' might normally be... it would only seem logical, not to mention monetarily logical... to have their restaurant available for a dinner crowd, when indeed such a large crowd in essentially 'held captive' at the hotel.. many for the entire weekend!?  Room service is not an option...  like WHO wants room service anyway!...  and maybe one does not have a room there. We need to let the hotel know (duh!) that they have hundreds of hungry people wanting to BUY dinner.  If one is already staying at the hotel, all amenities should be available throughout the day and evening...   one should not have to wander about the neighborhood looking for somewhere to have dinner....  or lunch or breakfast for that matter. Since the hotel is quite aware that ALL of these guests will indeed be at their facility... for 3 days!!.... the restaurant needs to be available ALL throughout the day and evening.  I'm fairly certain they could pull in more staff for those three days to accommodate the needs of all the paying guests that are guaranteed to be at the Marriott.  We reeeeeelly need to fix that before next year's event.  I don't want to pack a PBJ...

We'll be talking to the hotel about the food situation. Like you stated, it is in their best interest to improve the situation. I know they were pleasantly surprised with the number of people eating in the hotel and the staff I talked to at the show were saying they were really looking forward to next year.

I missed an event at Starfest this weekend and was wondering if there was anyway I could get information from you.  The event I missed was the video by Patrick Kilpatrick regarding Flim Investment.  Is there anyway I could attain this video or could you point me in any direction for more information on Film Investments? T.G.

That presentation was in the Video Room, but was not a video. I can give you his email address and that for Doug Conway (another film producer). I'm sure both would be happy to talk to you.   I would suggest caution with any investment - there are countless ways to lose money in the movie business and very few that make money. Just make sure you know exactly what you are getting for giving it anyone.   Patrick Kilpatrick (patrickkil@aol.com) Doug Conway doug4321@aol.com