STARFLEET ACADEMY EXPERIENCE

Show’s stars at exhibit opening

A nasty winter storm certainly didn’t dampen the attendance —nor enthusiasm — as hundreds of guests attended the opening night gala of Telus Spark’s Star Trek: The Starfleet Academy Experience.

Highlights of the SRO gala were numerous, but for many of the guests, top of the list was the opportunity to meet and have a photo taken with Star Trek stars Jonathan Frakes (Commander William Riker), LeVar Burton (Lt. Commander Geordie La Forge) and Garrett Wang (Ensign Harry Kim). Other highlights of the gala included: a Klingon language station; props and costumes from every chapter of the Star Trek universe; a transporter display; phaser challenge; medical quiz; and even bar stations serving Romulan ale. And if you think you are a Trekkie fan, compare yourself to German collector Martin Netter who owns more than 150,000 pieces of Star Trek memorabilia and has been dubbed Mr. Star Trek by Paramount Germany. Many of Netter’s one of a kind pieces are on loan for the must-see exhibition.

Joining Netter and the Star Trek actors at the SRO gala were: Telus Spark president and CEO Jennifer Martin; board chair Brent Allison and his wife Laura Allison; philanthropist Jane Savage; board member Theresa Redburn; board member Martin Kratz and his wife Christina Kratz; board member Alex Bolton; artists Micaela Blondin and Teigan Blondin; board member Sheila Leggett and her husband Sid Leggett with their daughter Laura Dowsett and her husband, Husky’s Adrian Dowsett; past board chair Brent Poohkay with Tammy Lowther; Simon Tusek and his wife Crystal Tusek; Calgary Chamber of Commerce past president Murray Mikulak and his sons Sean Mikulak and Kevin Mikulak; CBC Radio host Russell Bowers; Preventous’ Nalini and Rohan Bissoondath; Ashley Shaw; IKV Swifthawk’s Cindy Burkholder and Jaymz Smith; Noel and Kathleen Schroeder; Telus Spark’s Glenn Sherwin with his wife Alberta Children’s Hospital’s Tiffany Sherwin and their daughters Kelsey Sherwin and Christie Sherwin; and Telus partnership manager Shadi Sakr and his wife, Huffington Post writer Amber Rehman.

Star Trek: The Starfleet Academy Experience runs through June 4. Visit sparkscience.ca for more information.

PHOTOS, BILL BROOKS Joining Jennifer Martin, president and CEO of TELUS Spark at the opening of Star Trek: The Starfleet Academy Experience are, from left, LeVar Burton (Lt. Commander Geordie La Forge), Garrett Wang (Ensign Harry Kim) and Jonathan Frakes ( Commander William Riker).

The Feb 3 gala opening of Star Trek: The Starfleet Academy Experience was an SRO success with guests lining up for hours to be the first in attendance. Pictured, from left, are Sid Leggett and his wife, TELUS Spark board member Sheila Leggett with their daughter, U of C’s Laura Dowsett and her husband, Husky geologist Adrian Dowsett.

Trekkies were in nirvana on Feb. 3 as the gala opening of Star Trek: The Starfleet Academy Experience at TELUS Spark took the city by storm. Pictured are Klingons Cindy Burkholder and Jaymz Smith. The dynamic duo are members of IKV Swifthawk — a sci-fi/Star Trek fan club with a special twist. They volunteer for community events.

It was a family affair for the Sherwins at TELUS Spark’s Star Trek: The Starfleet Academy Experience. From left are Alberta Children’s Hospital’s Tiffany Sherwin, U of C’s Kelsey Sherwin, TELUS Spark’s Glenn Sherwin and South Health Campus’ Christie Sherwin.

Joining TELUS Spark board chairman Brent Allison are Alison Pidskalny, left, and Brent’s wife, Fairview School’s Laura Allison. The must-see exhibit runs through June 4.

And you think you are a Star Trek fan? Nothing compared to Martin Netter who has the largest collection of Star Trek memorabilia on earth — more than 150,000 pieces at last count. Netter was front and centre at the Feb 3 gala opening of TELUS Spark’s Star Trek: The Starfleet Academy Experience. The exhibition runs through June 4.