Star Trek fanatics flock to Spock Days

It doesn’t take a sci-fi expert to see Spock Days has landed in Vulcan.

The town of 1,800 people was actually named after the Roman God of fire, but has since revamped its image to embrace the Star Trek home world it shares a name with.

Celebrating its 21st anniversary, Spock Days continues to put Vulcan on the map, attracting fans from neighbouring planets, others from moons away.

“Vulcan, Canada is a profound experience,” said Robert Picard, former Star Trek actor. “We have been very warmly welcomed.”

Self-proclaimed Trekkies say they’ll always find a way to come celebrate Spock Days, but this year’s event did have an extra special attraction. The first Star Trek museum in Canada was scheduled to open its doors Saturday, which was cancelled at the last minute.

Trekcetera is Michael Mangold’s shining star. Inside, the museum hosts a collection of Star Trek memorabilia so unique, it would make even Spock himself drool

Because Star Trek is a product of CBS, items displayed in the museum must reflect its original concept. Mangold says he is not only a die hard fan, but a perfectionist as well and won’t open until it’s right.

“It’s crushing,” said Mangold. “You know, we brought in the actors and the actors are here today. So to have them here, to have them walk through when it’s all finished would have been the most incredible feeling for me.”

While fans are willing to wait, that doesn’t mean they don’t share in the let down. Many expressed disappointment, but planned to make the best of the weekend regardless.

Mangold says Trekcetera will be open in time for Vulcan’s centennial event, giving him a few more weeks to beam up the finishing touches.