Reflections from Trek Fest 2026
Fans are passionate. No matter the particular fandom, a fan wants nothing more than to dive deeper and share their history, thoughts, and passion for the AMAZING THING THEY LOVE.
Gatherings like conventions and festivals get so close to what a fan needs – immersion, game playing, access to creators, and a broad sense of community. But these gatherings are also missing something.
While inspiring and fun, they often lack something we all crave–structured opportunities for connection. The specific, electric kind that happens between fans when they are invited and have a space to share their memories, hot takes, fan theories, and passions.
We at Blanket Fort Gatherings wondered if there was a way to use some deep skills in facilitation and group-building to create stronger connections between fans. Turns out, the answer is yes. Here’s what we did.
THE STAGE
Trekfest 41, Riverside, Iowa – June 2026. We partnered with the amazing local bookshop Gnoll’s Loot Table to offer a ticketed experience for folks attending the festival.
THE PILOT
We designed a Fan Adventure called The Romulan Gambit that offered a genuinely new way of gathering: a 75-minute, gamemaster-led team experience designed to build connections and community for fans.
Our teams embarked on a lighthearted mission, choosing their favorite Star Trek crew and working through creative challenges together.
The game rounds were designed to build thoughtful conversation, create laughter, and stoke creativity. There were accents, uproarious bouts of laughter, and deep-cut references that delighted all of us.
Round two took us deeper with thoughtful prompts for crews and also a facilitated conversation that invited people to reflect on the franchise itself:
- What are your early memories of falling in love with Star Trek?
- What story or character would you love to see more of?
- What archetypes of fandom do you resonate with?
- What lessons has Star Trek taught you over the years?
In many ways, this was the heart of the experience and proof-of-concept: our participants leaned in and had a great time sharing with each other.
THE OUTCOME
Our participants (ages 8 – 82) sat down a little unsure of what this would be. But from our opening question — “Which Trek character would you want to visit for a week?” — folks were thrilled to share and excited to hear each other’s answers. Very soon, inside jokes and famous quotes were being shouted across the room.
Every one of the six sessions formed a kind of mini-community with shared insights and hilarious creations.
People discovered new insights, shared meaning, and connected in a rare and specific way. The energy was high and often raucous, and people were buzzing with enthusiasm by the end.
THE FEEDBACK
Delightful and powerful:
After the Adventure ended, people said:
- “I’ve never experienced a gathering like this before!”
- “I was expecting a Role Playing Game but this was so much more fun!”
- “We might come back and do it again – just to meet more fans!”
The best feedback, perhaps, was watching former strangers exchange contact info with their new fan friends. We heard tables making plans to meet up later. People asked us when we’d be doing this again.
People left beaming, full of love for their THING and energized by these new connections.
WHAT’S NEXT?
This way of gathering isn’t limited to Star Trek. It translates to book festivals, gaming conventions, film events — any gathering where passionate people show up together. It works for graduation parties, team builders, and birthday parties too — check out the Archives page to see past examples.
This model can also be expanded and deepened: multiple sessions running across a convention weekend, small crews finding and re-finding each other, mini-communities forming and growing. A full track built entirely around facilitated fan connection.
Even as they offer gaming opportunities, craft rooms, and scavenger hunts — all really fun activities that I love — conventions don’t offer many opportunities for fans to actually talk and share insights. This is a programming gap, and it’s an also incredible opportunity to design creative new ways of gathering.
People are hungry to connect, and we want to keep building.
If you run a gathering — a con, a festival, a bookshop event — and you’re curious what this could look like for your people, let’s talk!