The stars of the 23rd century will join their predecessors from the 22nd century this weekend at Creation Entertainment's Official "Grand Slam on Tour" Star Trek Convention in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Sharing the bill with William Shatner (James Kirk) and Leonard Nimoy (Spock) will be Enterprise stars Connor Trinneer (Trip Tucker) and Linda Park (Hoshi Sato). Also headlining the convention are Walter Koenig (Chekov), George Takei (Sulu) and Nichelle Nichols (Lt. Uhura).

The event will take place July 12-14, from noon to 6:00 p.m. daily, at the Minneapolis Convention Center, 1301 Second Ave South. Minneapolis is the second stop for "Star Trek: Grand Slam on Tour" outside its home base of Pasadena, California (after Seattle).

Koenig, Takei and Nichols are scheduled to appear on Friday; Trineer and Park on Saturday; and Shatner and Nimoy will take the stage together on Sunday.

Special evening events include a tribute to Star Trek's creator Gene Roddenberry Friday at 8:30 p.m. Family and friends will be on hand to reminisce, including Gene's son Eugene "Rod" Roddenberry and assistant Richard Arnold, who will host. The evening will include a "performance cabaret" with Nichols, Koenig and Takei entertaining the audience with various performance pieces.

Saturday night at 8:30 p.m., Nimoy will give a special presentation called "Pictures, Poetry and Prose." He will show the history of his photography work and introduce a book of his images entitled "Shekhina," to be published in September. He will also do a reading from his new poetry book, "A Lifetime of Love," and will discuss the changes that have taken place in his life in the past 35 years. This event will have separate admission from the convention itself (more info below).

The weekend will also feature a trivia contest, a rare merchandise auction, a costume contest, previews of the upcoming movie "Star Trek: Nemesis," and an exhibit hall filled with vendors selling collectibles from across the galaxy. Rod Roddenberry will bring blooper reels from Star Trek: The Next Generation and other video footage of interest to science fiction fans.

The slate of celebrities speaking and signing autographs will include several frequent Star Trek guest stars, such as Lawrence Monoson (who most recently appeared in Enterprise on "Fortunate Son"), Patrick Kilpatrick, Marjorie Monaghan, Julia Nickson, Scott MacDonald, Barbara Luna, and others.

General admission tickets are available in advance through Ticketmaster for $20 for Friday and Saturday, and $30 for Sunday. At the door, general admission tickets are $25 per day, $15 for children 6-12. Children 5 and under are admitted free when accompanied by a parent or guardian. The Saturday evening general admission tickets are available for $20 in advance or at the door.

For more information, call Creation Entertainment at (818) 409-0960 or visit their Web site links below.

If you go, tell us about it at the Events message board!