The feature highlights the growing success of Long Island’s premier Star Trek convention, founded by librarian Stefanie Gangone, and the community that has formed around it.
SciFiSland.com was honored to be included in a recent Newsday feature previewing this year’s Trek Long Island convention, with founder Lon Cohen sharing how a lifelong love of Star Trek began with childhood viewings of the original series alongside his mother.
Click to read the full story on Newsday.
The article, published June 9 by Newsday reporter David Criblez, explores the return of Trek Long Island to the Hyatt Regency Long Island in Hauppauge from June 12-14 and the enduring appeal of Gene Roddenberry’s optimistic vision of the future.
For Cohen, that optimism remains one of the franchise’s defining qualities.
“It was a good experience to get into this world, which was so much different than anything on TV at the time,” Cohen told Newsday. “I love the concept of exploring and discovering new things. The search for knowledge and understanding in the universe is what I took away from it.”
A Convention Built by Fans
The story also shines a spotlight on Trek Long Island founder Stefanie Gangone, a North Babylon resident and school librarian who launched the convention and has helped transform it into one of the country’s leading fan-run Star Trek events.
Beyond celebrity guests and cosplay, Trek Long Island has become known for supporting children’s literacy initiatives and fostering an inclusive environment where fans of every generation can connect through a shared love of science fiction.
Gangone told Newsday that the convention’s appeal comes from the welcoming atmosphere created by the Star Trek community.
Familiar Faces From Long Island Media
Among the photos accompanying the article was longtime Long Island journalist Chrissy Sampson-Nower, pictured in an impressive Osyraa costume from Star Trek: Discovery. (Newsday misspelled her last name in the article.)
Sampson-Nower and Cohen first crossed paths during their Patch days, when she served as editor of Three Village Patch and Cohen led Port Jefferson Patch.
Today, Sampson-Nower serves as Director of Community Engagement at LTV Studios and recently earned a Press Club of Long Island Award for her video reporting on East End News.
Boldly Going Into Another Year
As Star Trek approaches its 60th anniversary, Trek Long Island continues to demonstrate that the franchise’s core themes of exploration, curiosity, diversity, and hope remain as relevant as ever.
For Long Island fans, that celebration returns to Hauppauge this weekend.
