William Shatner still has it. At 94, the legendary actor behind Star Trek’s Captain James T. Kirk and Denny Crane is still traveling the country with a jovial pep in his step, meeting fans and telling stories with infectious energy and sharp wit.

That’s how he ended up at the Colorado Convention Center this weekend, where 110,000 attendees flooded FAN EXPO Denver — a massive celebration of pop culture, packed with celebrity panels, original art and fans from every corner of the fandom multiverse.

“I do these comic cons because I meet the fans,” Shatner told The Denver Gazette. “So many incredible things happen between the fans and myself.”

The experience, he added, brings constant “revelation.”

“I’ll stand in front of the audience and tell stories or take questions and provoke and invoke the audience’s response. I mean, we have a great time,” he said. “Then there’s all these other people — not me — but dressed in costumes, walking around. It’s just joyful times.”

For nine-and-a-half-year-old Elijah and his mom, Heather, FAN EXPO is a beloved family tradition — one Elijah eagerly saves up for all year.

“I’m loving it again. It makes me feel a part of other people,” said Elijah, decked in full Din Djarin armor from “Star Wars: The Mandalorian” and fresh from a Mario Kart tournament, where he was the only kid competing.

“They helped him, and they were working together instead of making it a super fierce competition,” Heather added, cosplaying as Star Wars’ Mara Jade.

“We do it to bond. It’s one of our big things. I was a single parent for most of his life, and so we just nerd up together,” Heather said. “I’m an introvert and awkward ‘in real life,’ and I actually get to be an extrovert and feel into this role. It helps me be a little bit more outgoing.”

Across the convention floor, fans lined up for photo ops with stars like John Cena, Mike Tyson, and John Rhys-Davies (“The Lord of the Rings”). In theaters and panel rooms, celebrities like Brendan Fraser (“The Mummy”), comedian Rob Schneider and the cast of the 1990s’ “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” films shared stories and answered audience questions.

“FAN EXPO Denver was an incredible success, and we are thrilled with how it went,” Andrew Moyes, vice president at FAN EXPO HQ, told The Denver Gazette. “From the impressive cosplay to the stellar line up of celebrities to our fantastic exhibitors and everything in between, our participants made FAN EXPO 2025 an epic experience.”

Costuming for fun — and for a cause

Like Elijah and Heather, a sea of FAN EXPO attendees sported everything from franchise t-shirts to hand-crafted costumes — as though characters from Marvel, Harry Potter, anime shows and Star Trek had beamed into the convention center.

Whether it was a Bob Ross Deadpool, a Mandalorian Iron Man or Dark Helmet with “Spaceballs the Cart,” fans took their personal creativity to heart.

“We walk down the street and imagine what others think,” Heather said. “But people roll down their windows and say how cool the costumes are. You just have to strut your weirdness.”

That spirit of joyful weirdness was in full force at USS Tiburon, part of the world’s largest Trek fan organization since the 1970s. Tiburon is one of several cosplay groups doubling as charitable organizations.

“We’re basically a social organization of Star Trek and sci-fi fans,” said club president and commanding officer Bran Stimpson. “(We) get together to do everything from community service to social activities like dinner, picnics, fishing… and crazy things like FAN EXPO Denver and 12 conventions a year.”

Denver’s Star Trek fan club sold out of 250 stuffed tribbles to raise more than $1,300 for Soul Dog Rescue.

Around the corner, three Star Wars nonprofit groups — the 501st Legion Mountain Garrison, Rebel Legion Mountain Base and Mandalorian Mercs Cerar Clan — raised funds for Make-A-Wish and Honor Flight, which flies veterans to war memorials in DC.

“We pride ourselves on screen-accurate costumes,” said Sally Smith, a northern captain for Rebel Legion and PR officer for the 501st Legion. “Then we get to show up to all kinds of great community events — Make-A-Wish, children’s hospital visits, anywhere they ask us to be.”

That kind of generational connection is meaningful to many creators — including prolific Star Wars author Timothy Zahn, who created the Mara Jade character cosplayed by Heather and Grand Admiral Thrawn, who made his live-action debut in “Star Wars: Ahsoka.”

“The really neat part is where I meet the parents, and they’re passing the books onto their kids. Or sometimes the kids start with the books and they got their parents hooked on them as well,” Zahn told The Denver Gazette. “So, the family dynamic — just the impact the books have had that I would never have guessed.”

Meaningful fan connections

For franchise heroes like Karan Ashley — the second Yellow Ranger from the Power Rangers TV show and original movie — FAN EXPO offers deeply personal moments.

“I don’t feel like it was 30 years ago, but it obviously wasn’t yesterday. But it’s crazy. It’s insane,” said Ashley, who wasn’t a part of the program but had her own booth displaying nostalgic Power Rangers merch. “All of our fans grew up. They have kids.”

“We were fulfilling our dreams as actors, but we had no idea that Power Rangers was resonating so deeply with a whole generation of people. It’s just a beautiful thing to witness,” she added. “We’ve traveled the world meeting our fans, and it never gets old.”

Independent comic creators like Matt Yocum view conventions as a way to test ideas with a live audience.

“For me, as the writer, building comics, looking for artists, I get a chance to canvas this audience to see what’s working,” Yocum said. “How will I communicate? What are the types of characters I would use? The types of stories, the types of genres?”

Yocum’s new graphic novel, “Closet World,” was crowdfunded thanks to fan support. He co-hosts a podcast with comic artist Khoi Pham, “How to Comic.” A 30-year Air Force veteran, he’s both a graduate of and former professor at the Air Force Academy.

“It built a love for me, for this state, for this part of the country, for the people who live here,” Yocum said. “I really feel like I’m coming back home.”

Along the expansive Artist Alley sat David K. Wong — one of many independent studios selling artwork and other gift-worthy items. Wong has been doing conventions for 36 years and averages 45 shows a year.

Conventions like FAN EXPO offer the chance “to be creative and also survive as an artist,” Wong said. “That’s the big thing right there — to feed yourself, buy the stuff you like, travel, and still have money left over.”

Wong sells crossover artwork blending characters from different franchises. Pikachu meets Lilo and Stitch? Superheroes meet “How to Train Your Dragon?” It’s all about seeing people “light up, to see them happy with what you’re doing for them.”

“The job of an artist, of any artist, is to make it look pretty, to make it look good, and that the client is happy,” Wong said. “That is the best reward. To get paid on top of that is a cherry on top.”

Canadian YouTuber Star Wars Theory returned, this year with his fast-growing custom lightsaber brand, Theory Sabers — one of several saber companies on the convention floor. His booth drew a nonstop flow of fans eager to check out the sabers and meet the creator behind the largest Star Wars YouTube channel.

“I wake up every day with a spring in my step because I get to do what I love,” Theory told The Denver Gazette. “I get to talk to people that are like-minded with you and so many of the thousands that we meet, and to share their story and hear their story and talk to them and hug them and shake their hands. To me, it’s everything.”

That fan enthusiasm is driving Theory Sabers beyond U.S. and Canadian borders.

“It’s amazing to see fans all over the country — and now we’re actually speaking with some officials to go to Japan,” Theory revealed — breaking news for even his own team standing nearby.

These personal moments between creators and fans reflect what draws people to conventions.

Fandoms are about community and escape

At FAN EXPO Denver, fandoms weren’t just on display — they were seen as a lifeline, offering a sense of belonging and a place to take a breath.

“Books like my Star Wars books, other fiction books, provide that momentary, temporary escape,” said Zahn. “Some people immerse themselves in a football or baseball game. Fandom — you see costumes, you see people (with) hats shaped like cheese on their heads. No different, no stranger, no crazier. It’s all part of the same. We’re adults, and we still know how to have fun.”

This sense of play — of stepping outside the grind and reliving your childhood, even for a weekend — echoed across the convention floor.

“We get a lot of people who come up to look at the display, to see different props from the shows, and they’ll say: “I used to watch it with my dad…” Stimpson said. “(They’ll often) reminisce about good memories with whoever got them into Star Trek.”

Even for creators with millions of followers, personal connection is everything.

“It speaks volumes when you actually meet all of these people who are really passionate about fandom in the comic book shops or online,” Star Wars Theory enthused. “You’ll see that they’re actually really amazingly passionate, kind, loving and understanding people that just want to have some fun in this world that we’re living in today — and a little bit of escape.”

For Yellow Ranger Karan Ashley, that connection captures what fan conventions are all about.

“It’s chic to be geek,” she said. “You can be whoever you are, and people will embrace it. They will cheer you on.”

In a place where weird is wonderful and childhood dreams still wear uniforms, Ashley summed it up as only a Ranger could: “It’s morphin’ time!”

Jimmy Sengenberger is a weekly columnist for The Denver Gazette, host of the “Blues Business” podcast, and leader of the Jimmy Junior Blues Band, where he plays harmonica under the moniker Jimmy Junior.