If you were at ShoreLeave this year or on social media shortly thereafter you were among the first to get the word on our newly announced guests, who have been invited to Farpoint 2019 in response to members’ requests for guests and content from the fantastic worlds of animation.

Legendary voice actors Maurice LaMarche and Rob Paulsen will be joining us at Farpoint 2019 this February! Maurice and Rob are known for their team up as “Pinky and The Brain” in the beloved series of the same name. Maurice is also known for his work as “Yosemite Sam” in the new LOONEY TUNES series, “Aiwei” in THE LEGEND OF KORRA, “Doctor Doom” in ULTIMATE SPIDER MAN and as “Calculon” and “Morbo” in FUTURAMA. He has provided multiple supporting voices for THE SIMPSONS, ADVENTURE TIME, RICK AND MORTY and many other classic animated series. Rob is known as “Yakko Warner” in the classic ANIMANIACS (coming in 2019 to Netflix!) and “Donatello” in TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES and has worked on series as diverse as SAMURAI JACK, THE POWERPUFF GIRLS, THE FAIRLY ODDPARENTS, MILES FROM TOMORROWLAND, and BEN 10 OMNIVERSE. Both Rob and Maurice have spent time as themselves in front of the camera, too. Rob is the creator and host of the popular TALKIN’ TOONS web series where he talks with the most popular actors working in the animation industry today and both he and Maurice were featured in the documentary film I KNOW THAT VOICE, which continued as a series early in 2018 on most streaming services.

Maurice and Rob will join the iconic actor Wallace Shawn (STAR TREK DEEP SPACE NINE, THE PRINCESS BRIDE, TOY STORY, YOUNG SHELDON) in our 2019 celebrity guest lineup. All 3 have been invited to attend our Friday Cocktail Party/Opening Ceremony and will be meeting and signing for attendees on Saturday and Sunday. Convention members receive 1 complimentary signature from the celebrity guest of their choice on both Saturday and Sunday (weekend convention members thus receive 2 signatures total) on either the convention program book or an item the member brings from their personal collection to be signed.

Follow the links on our website Guests page to learn more about each of our celebrity guests. The guest lists for each program track are listed on the track’s page under Programming. We’re looking forward to seeing everyone this February!

Our Silver Anniversary Was Solid Sterling!

Thank you to everyone who attending #FarpointCon2018.  We have received wonderful feedback from our attendees and guests with appreciation for the fun they had at our 25th anniversary convention and great ideas for the future.

We’re proud to share with you all that Matt Frewer, Nana Visitor, Nora McLelland and Timothy Zahn all had a fantastic time at Farpoint and would love to come back and join us again. The appreciation of our guests and their desire to return stems just as much from our work as organizers as it does from you, our attendees! Farpoint has a solid reputation in the convention community as a place where guests can meet and spend quality time with interested (and interesting) fans and where attendees can talk with our guests in a relaxed, unhurried atmosphere. Each of you helps make Farpoint the great weekend it is through your interest, generosity and participation and we couldn’t do it without you!

The Delta Hotel by Marriott was a wonderful home for us in 2018 and we will be returning there for our 26th Farpoint on February 8-10, 2019. Good news for us all – the 2018 room rate of $125.00 per night will stay in place for 2019! The room block will be available for reservations in the spring. Most of you are aware that the Delta Hotel by Marriott Hunt Valley went under auction this week. As far as we know it will continue to operate under the same branding with the same staff, although perhaps under different ownership. We will keep you informed as we learn anything new.

Please stay in touch with us here through our website (https://www.farpointcon.com/contact-us/), on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/FarpointCon/) and on Twitter (@FarpointCon). We are interested in your ideas for our programs and guests. Thank you again for a great #FarpointCon2018 – here’s to #FarpointCon2019.

Autographs and Photos – A Frequently Asked Question
Fans discovering Farpoint Convention for the first time often ask about our way of providing autographs and photos with celebrity guests, because many of them discover us through our appearances at local comic cons where autographs and photos are handled differently.
Our convention attendees do not need additional tickets for autographs/photos at Farpoint. Our roots are in the original Star Trek fandom and we honor these roots by staying “old school” with fans’ interactions with our guests. All of our celebrity guests are available at their signing stations throughout Saturday and Sunday at the convention for you to meet and get autographs and photos. Each attendee receives one signature Saturday and one Sunday from the celebrity of their choice on an item from their personal collection or the program book at no additional charge. Our guests will, of course, have additional items available for sale at their station. You can choose the time when you want to stop by to meet Sam around your enjoyment of the 200+ hours of panel discussions, activities and games we plan throughout the weekend.
We do not offer professional photo opportunities. As a small convention of between 800 and 1000 attendees we do not offer professional photographers the volume of “throughput” they desire at a convention. Our guests will normally take photos with the fan’s camera at their table. It is up to the guest whether they will charge a fee for the at the table photo. Most guests will charge $0 to $20 at the most.
We provide our guests with escorts and assistants as needed throughout the weekend from our team to assist them and our attendees. This level of trust from our guests is a reflection on both our wonderful community of friendly fans and our 24 years of experience running Farpoint Convention. We are very proud of Farpoint Convention’s reputation as a place where fans and guests can interact in a relaxed, safe and fun atmosphere.
One of the other advantages of being a smaller convention is that our celebrity guests are able and willing to do additional activities with us. For example, both Sam Witwer and Enver Gjokai will be attending our Opening Ceremonies on Friday night (unless there are travel issues). They may also be participating in our traditional radio play performance by Prometheus Radio Theatre, which will be a one-time opportunity for you to see them in action live. Sam and Enver are planning to judge our Masquerade competition on Saturday evening. It is also not surprising for attendees to run into our guests at the bar or karaoke party during the weekend. All of our guests tend to mix and mingle with us throughout the weekend, allowing everyone to visit and chat at their leisure.
Additional autograph opportunities are available with our author and scientist guests. If you like to get all your books signed and pick up copies of your favorite author’s new book at one time, make plans to attend our Book Fair on Friday evening after the Opening Ceremonies. Our author and scientist guests are available at other times throughout the weekend for meeting fans and signing your copies of their books or your program book. They will sign your personal copy at no charge and are always glad to share information on their latest projects.
Convention attendees can purchase tickets now at https://www.farpointcon.com/register/ and book their hotel room at https://www.farpointcon.com/hotel-information/.

We are looking forward to seeing everyone this February!

Farpoint Convention is proud to announce our teaming with the Museum of Science Fiction in Washington DC as a participant in the inaugural Escape Velocity, scheduled for July 1-3, 2016 at the Gaylord Resort and Conference Center, National Harbor in Maryland.

Escape Velocity is a micro world’s fair to promote science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM) education within the context of science fiction using the fun of comic cons and fascination of science and engineering festivals. It’s mission is to re-invigorate the interest of our young people in STEAM by producing and presenting the most compelling, exciting, educational, and entertaining science festival in the United States using science fiction as the primary engine.

Farpoint will be participating in programming at Escape Velocity and has been invited to exhibit in the vendor’s hall for the weekend. As a special bonus to Farpoint 2016 attendees, a special “Farpoint at Escape Velocity” level has been set up as a Escape Velocity Kickstarter reward at the $60 level. For donating at this level, you will receive 1 standard 3 day ticket to Escape Velocity, a commemorative pin, a special edition MoSF/Star Trek 50th tee and an Escape Velocity Launch Crew wristband that gets you early access to some areas of the event, first option to purchase VIP add-ons, a 10% discount on Escape Velocity merchandise and other perks. AND the wristband privileges are good for future years too!

The Escape Velocity Kickstarter can be found here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1372925676/escape-velocity

Scroll down the rewards list until you see “Farpoint at Escape Velocity” at the $60 level.

We hope we’ll see you there!

The founding of Farpoint Convention 23 years ago can be traced directly to the original Star Trek conventions in New York in the 1970s. Members of our committee were taken to those conventions as children and wanted to bring the fun and fellowship they found at the New York conventions home to our area. Star Trek conventions started as a place for fans to gather and share their love for Star Trek and science fiction. These conventions kept Star Trek alive and were a special and safe place for fans to gather as a community in the years before “geek culture” became accepted as it has in recent years. Encouraging and promoting the community of fandom is Farpoint’s purpose.

2016 is the 50th anniversary of Star Trek, the show that started everything for us. We are celebrating this golden anniversary with activities throughout the weekend. Star Trek legend David Gerrold will be talking to fans throughout the weekend with Q&A sessions, signings, and panels. We will celebrate the art of the Fanzine on Saturday evening at 11:00 in our ballroom with readings from classic Star Trek zines by the original authors! Zines have a special place in Star Trek’s legacy, as they were the sole source of new Star Trek stories in the long time between the end of the original series and Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Our program book cover is a special Star Trek 50th triptych in collaboration with our sister conventions Balticon and ShoreLeave. We will also be hosting a Starfleet meeting on Saturday at 9 am and Star Trek themed panels throughout the weekend. It’s time to wear your Trek uniform proudly, and no red shirts will be harmed during the weekend’s “Away Mission”.

Our 2016 Science track features talks on an array of topics. Con-goers can attend talks covering the latest news from Mars exploration, Solar Studies, Math and Forensics, and Robotics. We are especially excited to include talks focusing on Star Trek’s 50th anniversary: “Astronomical Images in Star Trek”, “Trek Tech”, and “The Real Worlds of Star Trek”.

We will be celebrating the 5th anniversary of “Browncoats: Redemption”, the first film from our guests at Big Damn Films. Join us as we show the film again and talk with the producers about their groundbreaking work, which has raised thousands of dollars for charity in showings around the country since its initial release.

Activities in our Children & Youth track are marked with a special symbol on the schedule. These events are open to all ages but are geared in content toward our younger members. Events in this track include our Friday pajama party, Saturday’s Magic Workshop, “Fandango” Puppet Workshop and Monster Tea Party, and Sunday’s “Kitchen Science Workshop”. There are games and activities in our Hal’s Place Gaming Oasis for children and teens. The Atrium workshops on Saturday and Sunday are open to children, teens and adults: Muggle Dueling League, Maryland Kunst des Fechens European-style sword fighting demonstration, and a Self-Defense workshop

Farpoint is proud to host meetings for our local Starfleet and Royal Manticorian Navy chapters. These meetings are open to current and potential members, and both groups will have tables in our atrium where you can learn more about each group and talk to current members.

We play hard, learn hard and PARTY hard at Farpoint! Our Friday evening cocktail party is in the Greenspring ballroom at 7:00 pm and leads into our Opening Ceremony at 8:00 pm. The cocktail party is open to all and features a cash bar for drinks and a hot food bar for which a wristband must be purchased at our registration table. You don’t have to purchase any food or drink to attend the cocktail party, where you can mix and mingle with fans and many of our convention guests in a casual atmosphere. The Friday party continues with Vic’s Place Karaoke featuring The Pack Ratz in our Atrium. Saturday’s party starts in the Atrium after the Masquerade when Ten-Forward opens its doors for music and dancing until the wee hours.
Our Masquerade director and team have once again put together a wonderful track for costumers to learn new techniques and improve their competitive presentations. Topics include “Workmanship Nuts and Bolts”, “Masquerade Presentation Clinic” and “Steampunk Costume Help”. Our annual Masquerade competition will take place on Saturday evening at 8:00 pm in the Greenspring Ballroom. You can register to compete at the Masquerade table in the Atrium on Saturday from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Masquerade staff will be at the table to answer questions and help you fill out your show entry form.

For a complete schedule, please click here. ** Please note: This schedule is subject to change, so pick up the final schedule at the convention!

Convention pre-registration closes TOMORROW. Prices will be higher at the door. Register online at (LINK) to get the lowest prices which are listed below.

• Weekend pre-registration (includes one Sean Maher signature SAT & SUN): $80
• Child 6-12 pre-registration (includes one Sean Maher signature SAT & SUN): $25
• Children 5 and under: Free with paying adult
• Friday pre-registration: $15
• Saturday pre-registration (includes one Sean Maher signature SAT): $55
• Saturday after 7 pm pre-registration: $15
• Sunday pre-registration (includes one Sean Maher signature SUN): $40
• Cocktail Party Food Bar Ticket pre-registration: $25

Our 2016 at the door prices are listed below. Both pre-registered and at the door members may purchase Cocktail Party Food Bar tickets at the door

• Weekend (includes one Sean Maher signature SAT & SUN): $85
• Child 6-12 (includes one Sean Maher signature SAT & SUN): $25

Children 5 and under: Free with paying adult

• Friday:  $20
• Saturday (includes one Sean Maher signature SAT):  $60
• Saturday after 7 pm:  $20
• Sunday (includes one Sean Maher signature SUN):  $45
• Cocktail Party Food Bar Ticket: $25

Talking books and buying books are two favorite things to do at a convention for many people. Farpoint Convention makes this easier for you to do by setting aside a special place for authors and book lovers to gather, our FARPBooks Lounge, which will be located in the Dulaney Valley 1 room. You will find Novel Places, our bookseller, in this room along with display tables for many of our author guests including David Gerrold, Crazy 8 Press and Firebringer Press. The autograph tables for author signings and readings will be in the FARPBooks Lounge – see your convention schedule for individual author signings and readings.