Riverside Club: TrekFest is in jeopardy

TrekFest is in danger. The annual Star Trek-themed celebration in Riverside will not occur this year, unless the club that puts it on can raise $10,000 in a month. The Riverside Area Community Club (RACC) met Thursday night and decided the club does not have enough money to put on TrekFest as it has in the past. The event is held the last weekend in June, which is June 24-25 this year. It has had a Star Trek theme every year since 1985.

A group of about 25 people ? most of them RACC members ? met at the Riverside Community Building to discuss TrekFest and the other events RACC supports. RACC decided that it only has enough money to fulfill its promise of two $500 scholarships for Highland High School seniors. It does not have enough money to organize the Easter Egg Hunt on April 9, which normally costs about $250.

RACC Treasurer Becky LaRoche said that $10,000 would be the bare minimum necessary to put on TrekFest. The group decided it would need to raise the money by April 20 in order have enough time to plan all the events. Unless the group receives a large infusion of cash, there will be no rodeo or any other RACC-sponsored events this year.

The city has budgeted $5,000 for this year?s fireworks during TrekFest. The money comes from the hotel/motel tax fund. In an interview Friday, City Administrator Tina Thomas said the city prepares for TrekFest for two weeks. The city sets up the fencing, barricades, volleyball nets and performs additional mowing. She said city staff also spends time answering phone calls about when and where the various events are.

At its meeting, the RACC members said the Ball Association depends on its fundraiser during TrekFest. They said that if there were no TrekFest, the Ball Association would have a tough time raising enough money to support itself.

Former mayor Bill Poch spoke at the meeting. He said the economic impact of TrekFest is difficult to measure because it?s not confined to TrekFest weekend. He said Riverside?s notoriety as the ?future birthplace of Captain Kirk? is responsible for a great deal of tourism to the town.   

?Why do we have the future birthplace of Captain Kirk?? asked Poch, rhetorically. ?We?re not trekkies. It?s for the money. It?s to bring people to town.?

Poch said Riverside is known around the world for its connection to Star Trek.

?What other town has this distinction?? he asked. ?How many towns had their name mentioned in a movie (referring to Riverside?s mention in the 2009 movie ?Star Trek?)?

Ruth Phelps lives in the Amanas and drives an hour to attend RACC?s meetings. She has come to TrekFest for 20 years and is a self-described ?trekkie.? Phelps said Riverside would lose a fair share of its tourism if it dropped its association with Star Trek.

Riverside resident Terry Philips was one of RACC?s first members and he also spoke at the meeting. Philips said the club could still put on a parade with games for kids. He said the club needs to look at how it spends its money, and not focus on fighting the city council.

?When we started 27 years ago, and I don?t think we had $1,500,? said Philips. ?I believe in the community club and in Star Trek and everything that?s been talked about, but you have a choice: do you want to continue having TrekFest, or do you want to have a fight with city hall? I don?t think you can win the fight with city hall.?

RACC member Larry Schluttenhofer told Philips that the club is not at war with city hall. He said the club simply doesn?t have the money for TrekFest.

Philips then said, ?Like many of you here, I have put in a few years of doing this thing and I?d hate to see it end because the city council did something ? whether it be good, bad or indifferent. That doesn?t make any difference as far as what the community club can do. You can?t do what we did last year or 10 years ago, but you can still do something. If you don?t do anything, understand that it?s a choice you?re making. It?s not the only choice you have.?

Carol Riggan, the club?s vice president, said the club cannot afford even the bare necessities for TrekFest.

?The pet show, the face-painting and the clown all cost money,? said Riggan.

Arnie Smith of Washington threw out a number of ideas to help the club raise money and promote itself. He recommended that the club speak at civic organizations such as Rotary, Kiwanis and Lions Club. He said the group should offer a company the naming rights to TrekFest, similar to what is done with the college football bowl games. Smith said he was willing to sell this kind of sponsorships to businesses, provided a RACC member knowledgeable about Star Trek accompany him.  

For questions relating to RACC, dial the organization?s telephone number at 319-930-8735.

The association between Riverside and Star Trek began in 1985 when then city council member Steve Miller wrote to Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. Miller read in Roddenberry?s book ?The Making of Star Trek? that the main character of the original series ? Captain James Tiberius Kirk ?­ was born in Iowa. Miller asked permission from Roddenberry to name Riverside Kirk?s official birthplace, and Roddenberry acquiesced. The town boasts a monument indicating the date of Captain Kirk?s birth: March 22, 2228. The Riverside History Center contains Star Trek collectibles and even a homemade Star Trek ship called the USS Riverside, which resembles the USS Enterprise from the series.