First Contact Day Date in the current year: April 5, 2024

Star Trek is an American sci-fi media franchise, which began with the eponymous television series created by Gene Roddenberry, which aired on NBC from 1966 to 1969. Although the original series was canceled after three seasons due to low Nielsen ratings, it went on to achieve cult classic status and eventually spawned an extensive media franchise.

As of 2023, the Star Trek franchise included twelve television series (including three animated series), thirteen feature films, hundreds of tie-in novels, short stores and comics, numerous games in many formats (board games, card games, role-playing games, video games, etc.), and various merchandise.

The term “first contact” typically refers to the initial encounter between two cultures or civilizations. In the context of the Star Trek franchise, it is the first meeting of humanity with the Vulcans, an extraterrestrial species from the planet Vulcan, which paved the way to the founding of the United Federation of Planets and Starfleet.

The story of the first contact is told in the 1996 film Star Trek: First Contact. In 2063, engineer Zefram Cochraine constructed a warp drive that made faster-than-light travel possible. He made the first test flight on April 5, 2063 and attracted the attention of a Vulcan survey ship. The Vulcans concluded that humanity had advanced enough to learn about the existence of other sentient species and initiated contact.

But why April 5? The date of the first contact was chosen by screenwriter Ronald D. Moore, who worked on the screenplay of Star Trek: First Contact alongside Brennon Braga, because he wanted to commemorate his eldest son’s birthday. Thanks to Moore, Trekkies all over the world have been observing First Contact Day on April 5 for over two decades.

To celebrate First Contact Day, Paramount, the current owners of the franchise, host various celebratory activities, including themed panels with the cast and creatives from various Star Trek shows and films, episode marathons, exclusive news, social media campaigns, and more. In addition, numerous of fan events are held around the world.

You can observe the holiday by participating in one of these events, throwing a Star Trek watch party for your friends (don’t forget to watch Star Trek: First Contact), introducing someone to Star Trek, sharing your experiences with Star Trek on social media with the hashtag #FirstContactDay, practicing your Vulcan salute, cosplaying your favorite Star Trek character, buying Star Trek merchandise, creating and posting fan art or fan fiction – in other words, celebrating Star Trek and everything it represents for you in any way you can!

As we’ve mentioned, First Contact Day isn’t the only holiday celebrated by Trekkies around the globe. There’s also Star Trek Day, observed annually on September 8 to commemorate the airing of “The Man Trap”, the first regular episode of Star Trek: The Original Series, on this day in 1965. It is regarded as the official birthday of Star Trek.