The build up to MarFest had been long and tiring. Going into the convention, the expectations I had were eclipsed by the success of the event. I experienced a euphoria of feelings and emotions. MarFest had been successful and the members of the SonchIy had bonded in a way that I hadn't expected nor even hoped for.
We were already talking about the next Marfest. In Halifax, and I think it is fair to say the Maritimes, MarFest had been the largest Con east of Toronto.
There were other Cons, Wolf Con in Wolfville NS and Nova Con in Halifax in November.
The number of Guest Stars, programming, community involvement and media attention far exceeded what was the norm for Eastern Canada.
As a member of the ConCom, I was taking my cues from the more 'seasoned' local Con attendees. There had been a few Toronto Trek veterans in attendance as well, and they were impressed with what we had accomplished. Toronto Trek being the standard we were trying to meet. We were not at par, however for our first time out we had been impressive.
The committee members were already talking about when we should hold our first meeting to plan for MarFest 2.
The one negative that the committee shared was Henry's micro managing of the various departments. I also believe Henry was very insecure about his position as Chair. Out of his earshot, we referred to MarFest as 'Hanky-Con'. On more than one occasion he asked us, as a group, to stop referring to it as 'Hanky-Con'.
From March to September 1996, the IKV SonchIy was involved in thirteen events. It was during this time that we aligned ourselves with the Children's Wish Foundation in Halifax and did our first event with them on the 20th of June.
On the 15th of August. Children's Wish Dance CFB Shearwater. We decided we would host our own event, with the proceeds going to the Children's Wish Foundation.
On September 07, Cole's Book Store in the Mic Mac Mall hosted their 30th Anniversary Star Trek event.
On September 29, The AIDS coalition 10 Kilometer March in Halifax.
On September 30, we participated in a National Blood Drive.
Each one of these events; the planning and preparation; the personalities; the event itself; and the follow up started to define the IKV SonchIy and set a direction that continues to this day.
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