Space, the final frontier, is the place where the Imaginaires Science Fiction and Fantasy Club of University Park took visitors last weekend to enjoy close encounters with extraterrestrial beings and sample delicacies found throughout the galaxy.
Their peaceful mission, the 7th Annual Galactic Feast at the University Park Library, was uninterrupted by Klingons or Romulans because of the brave Narrel (Darrell Johns of University Park), bartender and bouncer of the Temple of Kleftin, who kept a watchful eye while indulging in molecular Venusian blood worm stew (really a tuna noodle casserole) and the two-dimensional blue Orion eggs (actually blue Jell-O).
The food offered, both edible and barely edible, included a Klingon recipe for whole roasted tribble in black sauce (meatballs with olives in the center, in tomato sauce). “When I asked a Klingon for this recipe, he said over my dead body, so I had to kill him,” laughed Capt. Steve Bellinger of the USS Imaginaires, who works at the University Park Library.
Looking a bit like Uhura’s daughter from “Star Trek’s” Enterprise, 15-year-old Annika Bellinger, Steve’s daughter, was dressed in her Star Trek outfit as she showed her friend Matthew Williams of Richton Park the art of eating black slimy gagh (a noodle dish dyed black). “This is served live, and you must eat it right away,” she said.
Annika said some of her friends look at her like she’s weird when she tells them about the feast or the club. “I love it! I really enjoyed making molecular-shaped desserts and helping my dad make the roasted tribble,” Annika said.
Williams refused the gagh. However, he sampled the cellular peptic cake with green mint frosting.
“I was curious about the event and decided to see what Annika was talking about” he said. “This is fun and I’m having a great time!”
Enjoying the camaraderie of fellow space rangers, members of the Imaginaires Science Fiction and Fantasy Club take over the library monthly. “We begin at 1 p.m. on the second Saturday of each month, and we usually stay until we are asked to leave,” Bellinger chuckled.
After feasting on the galactic specialties, the crew settled back to enjoy a video voyage that included Star Trek parodies and an episode or two of the classic British science-fiction TV comedy “Red Dwarf.”
“Basically, this galactic feast is a celebration of existence and a video film festival,” Bellinger explained. “Membership is free and open to any and all beings in the galaxy who enjoy the real and imaginary.”
