Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, Canada and in
Richmond Hill, Ontario
Richmond Hill (Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population: 202,022) is a city in south-central Regional Municipality of York, York Region, Ontario, Canada. Part of the Greater Toronto Area, it is the York Region's third most populous municipality and th ...
, Canada.
It began in 1986 as a
relaxacon
A relaxacon (sometimes relaxicon) is a science fiction convention which has little programming, and is unlikely to have a dealer's room, as the point of a relaxacon is the organizers can ''relax'' during the convention. It usually does not have a ...
as Toronto Trek Celebration. Two years later, in 1988, Toronto Trek Celebration 2 took place. In 1989 it dropped the word "Celebration" and became simply "Toronto Trek". For its twenty-first convention in 2007, the name was changed to "Polaris". At Polaris 26, held July 5–7, 2012, it was announced Polaris had come to an end and that a new convention would replace Polaris in 2013. The convention went from +5,000 weekend memberships (at one event --it never had that amount ever before or again) and mostly hovered between 1200 to 1700 members. The board felt extreme pressure due to rapid expansion of for profit events, and looked at various options, including running a Doctor Who event for the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who, called Reversed Polarity. Increased hotel space costs and actor guests wanting larger audiences to make more money from autographs led the Board to realize the convention model as it stood was no longer viable. The not-for profit corporation still exists and could run events at any time. However, COVID-19 has also made the board reconsider running events.
The convention had a focus on media guests from
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
,
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
movies and television series and novel authors such as
Star Trek
''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...
,
Babylon 5
''Babylon 5'' is an American space opera television series created by writer and producer J. Michael Straczynski, under the Babylonian Productions label, in association with Straczynski's Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Warner Bros. Domestic Tel ...
,
Stargate
''Stargate'' (often stylized in all caps) is a military science fiction media franchise based on the Stargate (film), film directed by Roland Emmerich, which he co-wrote with producer Dean Devlin. The franchise is based on the idea of an alien E ...
,
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
,
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. It is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film of the same name, also written by W ...
,
Jericho
Jericho ( ; ar, أريØا ; he, יְרִיחוֹ ) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank. It is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It is the administrative seat of the Jericho Gove ...
,
Lost
Lost may refer to getting lost, or to:
Geography
*Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland
* Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US
History
*Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...
and
Battlestar Galactica
''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The franchise began with the Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series), original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel se ...
. Photo opportunities, autographs and Question & Answer sessions feature the media guest, who sometimes come to other programming and after hours events.
Polaris was one of several activities run by the TCON Promotional Society by means of a convention committee of more than 100 people grouped into 38 individual teams, each taking care of a different part of the convention. The TCON Promotional Society has coordinated other events, such as the Canadian Conrunners Conference in 2004, Their other current project is the Constellation Awards, a fan-nominated, fan-voted set of Science Fiction Awards with focus on film and television science fiction. TCON hosted events are proposed to the TCON Board of Directors and voted upon by said Board. The TCON Promotional Society is a not-for-profit corporation based out of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
History
2010s
Polaris 26
July 6–8, 2012 · Sheraton Parkway Toronto North
*
Wil Wheaton
Richard William Wheaton III (born July 29, 1972) is an American actor. He portrayed Wesley Crusher on the television series ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'', Gordie Lachance in the film ''Stand by Me (film), Stand by Me'', Joey Trotta in '' ...
- Actor: Star Trek The Next Generation; Big Bang Theory
*
Miracle Laurie
Miracle Laurie (born August 1, 1981) is an American actress, best known for portraying Mellie on the Joss Whedon drama ''Dollhouse''.
Career
Laurie started towards a professional acting career at Orange Coast College, where she was part of the ...
- Actor: Dollhouse (replacing
Dichen Lachman
Dichen Lachman (; born 22 February 1982) is an Australian actress. She earned recognition starring as Katya Kinski in the soap opera '' Neighbours'' (2005–2007) and as Sierra in Joss Whedon's science fiction drama series ''Dollhouse'' (2009†...
due to illness)
*
Tony Amendola
Tony Amendola (born August 24, 1951) is an American actor. He played the Jaffa master Bra'tac in ''Stargate SG-1'' and Pinocchio's creator/father, Geppetto on ABC's ''Once Upon a Time''. He also had a recurring role as revolutionary leader Edou ...
- Actor: Stargate SG1, Once Upon A Time
* Neil Grayston - Actor: Eureka, Wonderfalls, Warehouse 13
*
Robert O'Reilly
Robert O'Reilly (born March 25, 1950) is an American film, stage, and television actor who has appeared in a variety of roles. He appeared in the ''Star Trek'' franchise for over ten years, primarily in his recurring role on '' Star Trek: The Nex ...
- Actor: Star Trek: TNG & DS9
*
J. G. Hertzler
John Garman Hertzler Jr. (born March 18, 1950) is an American actor, author, screenwriter, and activist best known for his role on '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' as the Klingon General (later Chancellor) Martok, whom he portrayed from 1995 unt ...
- Actor: Star Trek: DS9
This was the last Polaris held.
Polaris 25
July 15–17, 2011 · Sheraton Parkway Toronto North
*
Ben Browder
Robert Benedict Browder (born December 11, 1962) is an American actor, writer and film director, known for his roles as List of Farscape characters#John Crichton, John Crichton in ''Farscape'' and Cameron Mitchell (Stargate), Cameron Mitchell i ...
- Actor: Farscape; Stargate SG-1
*
Armin Shimerman
Armin Shimerman (born November 5, 1949) is an American actor and author.
Early life
Shimerman was born into a Jewish family in Lakewood Township, New Jersey, Lakewood, New Jersey, on November 5, 1949, the son of accountant Susan and house painte ...
- Actor: Star Trek Deep Space Nine; Buffy the Vampire Slayer
*
Adam Baldwin
Adam Baldwin (born February 27, 1962) is an American actor. He starred in '' Full Metal Jacket'' (1987) as Animal Mother, as well as in the television series ''Firefly
The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 ...
- Actor: Full Metal Jacket; Firefly and Serenity; Chuck
*
Meaghan Rath
Meaghan Rath (born June 18, 1986) is a Canadian film and television actress. She is known for her television roles on '' Being Human'', '' 15/Love'', ''The Assistants'', and ''Hawaii Five-0''.
Personal life
Rath was born in Montreal, Quebec, C ...
- Actor: Being Human
*
Melinda Clarke
Melinda Patrice "Mindy" Clarke (born April 24, 1969) is an American actress. Clarke is known for portraying Faith Taylor on the soap opera ''Days of Our Lives'' (1989–1990), Julie Cooper on Fox's teen drama series ''The O.C.'' (2003–2007), ...
- Actor: Nikita, C.S.I., Vampire Diaries, Firefly, Return of the Living Dead III, Reaper, Xena
*
Charlaine Harris
Charlaine Harris Schulz (born November 25, 1951) is an American author who specializes in Mystery fiction, mysteries. She is best known for her book series ''The Southern Vampire Mysteries'', which was adapted as the TV series ''True Blood''. The ...
- Author Guest of Honour: Sookie Stackhouse Novels that the HBO True Blood series is based on.
*
Brandon Sanderson
Brandon Winn Sanderson (born December 19, 1975) is an American author of high fantasy and science fiction. He is best known for the Cosmere fictional universe, in which most of his fantasy novels, most notably the ''Mistborn'' series and ''The ...
- Author Guest of Honour: The Way of the Kings and was also chosen by Robert Jordan's widow to complete The Wheel of Time Series.
(more to come)
Polaris 24
July 16–18, 2010 · Sheraton Parkway Toronto North
*
Robin Dunne
Robin Dunne (born November 19, 1976) is a Canadian actor who has had numerous leading roles in sequels throughout his career, but is perhaps best known for his role as Doctor Will Zimmerman in the science fiction television series ''Sanctuary''. ...
- Actor: Sanctuary
*
Alaina Huffman
Alaina Kalanj (also known as Alaina Huffman) (born April 17, 1980), is a Canadian film and television actress, best known for the television series ''Painkiller Jane (TV series), Painkiller Jane'', where she played the character Maureen Bowers. ...
- Actor: Stargate Universe
*
Kai Owen
Kai Owen (born 4 September 1975) is a Welsh actor of stage and screen, known to Welsh audiences for his numerous roles on Welsh language television and to worldwide audiences for his portrayal of Rhys Williams in ''Torchwood'' and Pete Bucha ...
- Actor: Torchwood
*
Ethan Phillips
Ethan Phillips (born John Ethan Phillips February 8, 1955) is an American actor and playwright. He is best known for his television roles as Neelix on '' Star Trek: Voyager'' and PR man Pete Downey on ''Benson''.
Personal life
Phillips was raised ...
- Actor: Star Trek - Voyager
*
Mark Sheppard
Mark Andreas Sheppard (born 30 May 1964) is an English actor and musician. He is often credited as Mark A. Sheppard. Sheppard is known for playing the demon/King of Hell Crowley on ''Supernatural'' and for his recurring roles as lawyer Romo L ...
- Actor: Battlestar Galactica
*
Lindsay Wagner
Lindsay Jean Wagner (born June 22, 1949) is an American film and television actress, model, author, singer, and acting coach. Wagner is best known for her leading role in the American science-fiction television series ''The Bionic Woman'' (1976 ...
- Actor: Bionic Woman
*
Robert J. Sawyer
Robert James Sawyer (born April 29, 1960) is a Canadian science fiction writer. He has had 24 novels published and his short fiction has appeared in ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'', ''Amazing Stories'', '' On Spec'', ''Nature'', and numerou ...