APRIL 5, 2021 - If you’re looking for a special way to celebrate First Contact Day, StarTrek.com and Paramount+ have what you’re looking for - and it won’t cost you a penny. Last week, a post to StarTrek.com detailed the schedule for a very special First Contact Day celebration. The totally free event, taking place TODAY (and possibly right now) includes a marathon of Star Trek episodes and a series of live panels covering the breadth of the Star Trek Universe.

For U.S.-based fans, the festivities begin today at 9am PT with part one of a marathon of Star Trek episodes, featuring a “first contact” episode from each of the 10 series, across the 55-year history of the franchise. At noon PT, the marathon will break for a series of Star Trek Global Panels. The panels will be available to fans everywhere, and will be hosted by Star Trek: The Next Generation actor Wil Wheaton and Mica Burton, daughter of Wheaton’s TNG co-star LeVar Burton.

Sir Patrick Stewart will open the panels with a “Special Presentation”, followed up by a conversation with Stewart, Jonathan Frakes and Alice Krige as they discuss filming Star Trek: First Contact, and the importance of the film 25 years later. The next panel, “Creating First Contacts”, will feature Star Trek: Discovery costume designer Gersha Phillips and Star Trek: Picard Senior Concept Designer Neville Page, VFX Supervisor Jason Zimmerman and Make-up & Prosthetics Department Head James Mackinnon as they dive deep into the worldbuilding that goes into Discovery and Picard.

Star Trek actors Isa Briones, Michelle Hurd, Dawnn Lewis and Sonequa Martin-Green join forces in the next panel “Women in Motion”. The four Trek veterans will look back at the impact that TOS actor Nichelle Nichols made on science, culture, and the future of women and people of color on television.

Next on the schedule is the “Second Contact Panel”. In this panel, Star Trek: Lower Decks creator Mike McMahan, Star Trek: The Pod Directive cohost Paul F. Tompkins, and Star Trek: The Next Generation stars Jonathan Frakes and Brent Spiner will discuss how some of Star Trek’s “B-plots” have helped shape what Star Trek would become, including the addition of Lower Decks, the franchise’s first animated comedy.

The final panel will feature Star Trek: Prodigy executive producers Kevin and Dan Hageman, along with Kate Mulgrew as the trio discuss the new CG animated Nickelodeon series, which is currently in production.

The marathon of “first contact” episodes picks back up at 2:45pm PT and will continue until 6pm PT, at which time the panels will be re-broadcast.

Fans are encouraged to participate in the Star Trek United Gives Campaign on First Contact Day. For every person who tweets using the hashtag #StarTrekUnitedGives on today, April 5, Paramount+ will donate $1 “to organizations who do the real-world work of championing equality, social justice and the pursuit of scientific advancements.”

All episodes and panels are free to watch at startrek.com/firstcontact.