Last September’s Star Trek Day was a rousing afternoon of convention panels and online activity, sorely needed in a year when everyone was stuck at home and missing that Comic Con and STLV experiences… and next week, we’re getting a springtime sequel!

April 5, 2063 was the day Vulcans first made contact with humanity in Bozeman, Montana — depicted, of course, in 1996’s Star Trek: First Contact feature film — and next Monday, the Star Trek franchise is celebrating that historic day with their own First Contact Day event.

Virtual First Contact Day Celebration Will Commemorate Pivotal Moment of Exploration and Acceptance in “Star Trek” History, first depicted in “Star Trek: First Contact”

Programming Includes Themed Panels with Cast and Creatives from “Star Trek” Series, Cast from “Star Trek: First Contact,” Exclusive News from the Star Trek Universe on Paramount+, The Return of #StarTrekUnitedGives and More

March 30, 2021 – Paramount+ invites fans from around the world to a virtual celebration of First Contact Day on Monday, April 5. As depicted in the film “Star Trek: First Contact,” April 5, 2063 is the day that humans first make contact with Vulcans, marking a pivotal moment of exploration and acceptance in “Star Trek” history.

The virtual event will honor and commemorate this future date by providing “Star Trek” fans exclusive programming, including themed panels with the cast and creatives from classic and current “Star Trek” television series and cast from “Star Trek: First Contact,” exclusive news from the Star Trek Universe on Paramount+, curated episode marathons, the return of the #StarTrekUnitedGives initiative and more.

Additional information on free First Contact Day programming and initiatives can be accessed at StarTrek.com/FirstContact.

A follow up to Star Trek Day, First Contact Day is also a continued celebration of “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry and the world he created and first introduced to audiences almost 55 years ago, championing diversity, inclusion, acceptance and hope.

The main event starts at 3PM ET (12PM PT) on Monday, April 5, where returning Star Trek Day hosts Wil Wheaton and Mica Burton will emcee three hours of panels and presentations, in the middle of a twelve-hour Star Trek episode marathon themed around the day’s celebration.

• Special Presentation (3PM ET / 12PM PT): The event begins with a “special announcement and presentation by Patrick Stewart,” with details yet to be revealed. Our speculation is that it may be an official “We’re in production!” update for Star Trek: Picard Season 2, but who knows!
   

• Star Trek: First Contact 25th Anniversary Panel (3:20PM ET / 12:20PM PT): Cast members Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner and Alice Krige discuss behind-the-scenes memories and the film’s importance 25 years after its premiere.

• “Creating First Contacts” Panel (4PM ET / 1PM PT): Costume Designer Gersha Phillips (Star Trek: Discovery), Senior Concept Designer Neville Page, VFX Supervisor Jason Zimmerman and Make-up & Prosthetics Department Head James Mackinnon (Star Trek: Picard) come together in conversation about creating the incredible worlds of Star Trek, as seen in Discovery and Picard.

• “Women In Motion” Panel (4:30PM ET / 1:30PM PT): Star Trek: Discovery’s Sonequa Martin-Green, Star Trek: Picard’s Michelle Hurd and Isa Briones, and Star Trek: Lower Decks’ Dawnn Lewislook back at how Star Trek: The Original Series actress Nichelle Nichols helped pave the way for women of color on television and overall, her lasting impact on not only Star Trek, but science and culture.

• “Second Contact” Panel (5PM ET / 2PM PT): Mike McMahan, the creator of Star Trek: Lower Decks, Paul F. Tompkins, the co-host of official Star Trek podcast The Pod Directive, and Brent Spiner and Jonathan Frakes of Star Trek: The Next Generation discuss how some of the hilarious B-stories from past series like The Next Generation paved the way for new iterations of Star Trek, including Lower Decks.

• “Star Trek: Prodigy” Panel (5:30PM ET / 2:30PM ET): Kevin and Dan Hageman are joined by Star Trek: Voyager’s Captain Kathryn Janeway herself, Kate Mulgrew, who is reprising her role in animated form in Prodigy, as they talk about the highly anticipated upcoming CG-animated kids series.

Like the September Star Trek Day event, these panels will be available to fans worldwide through the official franchise website — at StarTrek.com/FirstContact — and will also stream for free in the U.S. on PlutoTV and Paramount+’s Twitch page.

(If you can’t watch them live, don’t worry; they’ll also be available afterwards on the Paramount+ YouTube channel, and available to streaming subscribers on Paramount+ as well.)

For fans in the United States, there will also be a marathon of Star Trek episodes from all of the television shows, each featuring an “iconic first contact.”

• • TOS: “Arena”
  • LOWER DECKS: “Second Contact”
  • DS9: “Little Green Men”
  • SHORT TREKS: “Children of Mars”
  • VOY: “Scorpion, Part II”
  • DSC: “New Eden”
  • TAS: “The Infinite Vulcan”
  • ENT: “The Andorian Incident”
  • TNG: “First Contact” (Season 4 episode)
  • PIC: “Broken Pieces”

This “Best of First Contacts” marathon begins at 12PM ET (9AM PT) and will pause during the three-hour First Contact Day panel session. The marathon of episodes will be available to stream for free at StarTrek.com/FirstContact for viewers based in the U.S. only (due to international licensing rights).

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The franchise is also reviving the Star Trek United Gives charity campaign they launched in September.

On April 5, for every person that tweets the hashtag StarTrekUnitedGives (#StarTrekUnitedGives), Paramount+ will donate $1 to organizations who do the real-world work of championing equality, social justice and the pursuit of scientific advancements. 

While that’s all the official news about the First Contact Day plans, we’re hoping that there may be some surprises planned for the events — and with Lower Decks and Prodigy panels as part of the celebration, perhaps we’ll even find out when those two shows may let fans make “first contact” with their upcoming new seasons.

If that’s not enough to make you want to pay attention on Monday, you also may want to keep your eyes open for some new Star Trek product announcements that might be beaming down on April 5 — keep your sensors locked on TrekCore for all the news that breaks that day!