With all the attention paid to this year’s Star Wars Celebration, it’s easy to forget that there’s another “Star” in the science fiction firmament, the granddaddy of all screen franchise fandom. But those who’ve long thrilled to the adventures of the U.S.S. Enterprise (and her sister ships and space stations) should plot a course for Sin City this weekend, where Creation Entertainment will hold its 14th Annual Las Vegas Star Trek Convention.

What makes this Star Trek con so special? Well, for starters, with fifteen thousand attendees at the city’s Rio Suites Hotel over its four days, this is the biggest Trek convention in the world, and it’s also the last time it will be held before next year’s 50th Anniversary Convention. So if you don’t want to be accused of jumping on the bandwagon in 2016, then this is when you prove you’re bonafide. Plus, it’s just about the only place where you can meet Starfleet’s two greatest captains: Kirk (William Shatner) and Picard (Sir Patrick Stewart).

Highlights of this year’s event include a salute to the 20th Anniversary of Star Trek: Voyager on Saturday with the show’s cast; a celebration of Lenard Nimoy (by son, Adam Nimoy), as well as a tribute to the late Grace Lee Whitney (Yeoman Janice Rand), and stage appearances by Shatner, Stewart, and Kate Mulgrew (Voyager’s Captain Janeway, who now rocks Orange is the New Black as Red). Other stars on hand include Joan Collins (the love of Kirk’s life, from the original Trek‘s “City on the Edge of Forever”), Karl Urban (of J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek and the upcoming Star Trek Beyond), social media superstar George Takei, Voyager‘s Jeri Ryan, and Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Brent Spiner, Marina Sirtis, Michael Dorn, Jonathan Frakes, and LeVar Burton.

There will also be nighttime Star Trek themed parties, the popular Star Trek: Live in Concert event on Saturday night with the Nevada Pops Orchestra (which requires a separate forty-dollar ticket), and over two thousand Star Trek cosplayers participating in Saturday’s costume parade. I’ll be there on Saturday, so expect my coverage of the event next week.

General admission tickets can be purchased at the door, and starting at 30 dollars for a single day and 149 dollars for weekend-long tickets. The show runs Thursday from 10:30 AM – 7 PM, Friday from 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM, Saturday from 8:30 AM – 7:00 PM and Sunday from 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM.

For more info, visit www.creationent.com. Live long and prosper!

And for more Trek craziness be sure to check out William Shatner’s new documentary on Star Trek: The Next Generation.