An Intergalactic Adventure from the It Came From Texas Film Festival
Saturday, September 12, 2026
Sixty years ago, a five-year mission launched television audiences into the final frontier, and the voyage has never truly ended. This September, that mission charts a course for Garland, Texas.
Garland Cultural Arts and the It Came From Texas Film Festival invite fans to set coordinates for Downtown Garland on Saturday, September 12, as Boldly Going to Garland: Celebrating 60 Years of Star Trek transforms both the historic Plaza Theatre (521 W State Street) and the Garland Central Library (625 Austin Street) into a Federation outpost for an all-day celebration of one of popular culture’s most beloved franchises.
Day Passes: $55
Direct link for tickets.
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WHAT TO EXPECT
Unlike a traditional fan convention, Boldly Going to Garland is built around the films and television episodes themselves. Audiences will gather inside the Plaza Theatre to experience Star Trek on the big screen, where classic adventures become shared experiences. Throughout the day, screenings are paired with conversations providing context, costume contests, and interactive programming, making the event equal parts film festival, celebration, and Starfleet reunion.
Just a short walk away, the Garland Central Library (open free to the public from 10 am-6 pm) expands the adventure with collectibles displays, vendors, music, fan films, blooper reels, workshops and hands-on activities. Guests can make their own Captain’s Log, paint Combadges, create their own Tribble to take home, browse collectibles, join a Sci-Fi writing session, and discover hidden corners of Star Trek fandom between screenings.
Whether attendees are lifelong Trekkies (or Trekkers), casual fans, or introducing a new generation to the Federation, Boldly Going to Garland offers an experience unlike anything else this side of the Neutral Zone.
Day passes are on sale now for $55, but quantities are limited. Once they’re gone, they’re gone. No replicator backups.
Fans are encouraged to beam over to GarlandArts.com or head directly here before all available seats reach warp speed and are out of here.
HOW THIS CAME TO BE
“When we were tossing around ideas for this year’s It Came From Texas Film Festival, we landed on a celebration of sixty years of exploring strange new worlds. The campy and quirky arts scene of Garland comes full circle for one unforgettable day of big-screen screenings, prestigious guests, exhibits, workshops, costume contests, and more,” said Festival Director Kelly Kitchens.
“Did you know that Star Trek has it own Lone Star connection from the very beginning? Gene Roddenberry, Star Trek creator, was born in El Paso. Not only that, but did you know that Garland even has its own Star Trek Lane? You can’t get more campy and quirky than that! I love that the final frontier and the Lone Star State have always shared the same flight plan—and giving the It Came From Texas Film Festival every reason to make this galactic celebration its own in Garland,” Kitchens concluded.
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CAPTAIN’S LOG: FESTIVAL GUESTS
Rather than traditional question-and-answer sessions, Boldly Going to Garland will present Captain’s Conversations moderated by Nancy Churnin, former theater critic turned author and Star Trek lover hosting live discussions chronicled as entries in the day’s own Captain’s Log.
Dr. Christopher González, whose scholarship explores Latinx performers in science fiction, will provide new perspectives on representation throughout the Star Trek universe. His work offers the perfect bridge into the festival’s presentation of Star Trek: The Original Series episode “Space Seed,“ followed immediately by its legendary cinematic sequel, STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN.
Academy Award-winning makeup artist Barney Burman will take audiences behind the scenes and into his creations of the characters’ looks of J.J. Abrams’ 2009 reboot, STAR TREK, sharing stories from the production that earned the franchise its first—and still only—Academy Award.
Captain’s Log: Diversity in the Federation — with Dr. Christopher González
González discusses Star Trek’s groundbreaking commitment to diversity beginning with the original 1966 series, while examining how representation has continued to evolve across the franchise. His discussion provides context for the screening of “Space Seed” and its continuation in STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN.
Captain’s Log: Creating New Worlds — with Barney BurmanBurman explores designing the unforgettable aliens and characters of 2009’s STAR TREK, the film that earned the franchise’s only Oscar.Both Captain’s Conversations will be moderated by Nancy Churnin, former Dallas Morning News critic, acclaimed children’s author, and lifelong Star Trek fan.
WHAT
A one-day Star Trek celebration unlike a traditional fan convention.
The Plaza Theatre features classic television and film screenings, celebrity Captain’s Conversations, trivia, costume contests, and more.
The Garland Central Library features exhibits, art and collectibles, vendors, music, fan films, blooper reels, workshops including Klingon 101 and Make Your Own Tribble, and interactive activities throughout the day.
While the events at the Library are free, a day pass grants admission to the Plaza Theatre.
ADMISSION
Day Pass for the Plaza events and screenings: $55
Availability is limited.
No exceptions.
No replicator backups.
WHEN
Saturday, September 12, 2026
The Plaza Theatre open from 10 am-10 pm
The Garland Central Library open from 10 am-6 pm
WHERE
Plaza Theatre
521 W. State Street
Garland, Texas
Garland Central Library
625 Austin Street
Garland, Texas
SCREENINGS
Full schedule still warping into place. More details will be beaming down soon.
STAR TREK: THE ORIGINAL SERIES
“Space Seed” (1967)
The episode that introduced Khan Noonien Singh, presented with special context from Dr. Christopher González before audiences continue the story on the big screen.
STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN (1982)
The beloved feature film follows after “Space Seed,” allowing audiences to experience one of Star Trek’s greatest stories as one continuous adventure.
STAR TREK (2009)
J.J. Abrams’ acclaimed reboot featuring the Academy Award-winning makeup work of festival guest Barney Burman.
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CONNECT
#ItCameFromTXFF
Garland Cultural Arts
A third-generation make-up artist, Barney’s started his career working in his father’s make-up fx lab on STAR TREK III: THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK. He even had a small role in the film – as a bar alien – although the scene was cut down in the film’s final edit.Barney continued working for his father on productions such as STAR KID, POWDER, CARRIE 2 and The X-Files. He’s also worked alongside some of the industry’s most prominent make-up artists on films like GALAXY QUEST, HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN, PLANET OF THE APES, AUSTIN POWERS IN GOLDMEMBER, BIG FISH, THE RING, DAWN OF THE DEAD, and so much more.After opening his own make-up fx studio, Barney created make-ups for MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE III, TENACIOUS D IN THE PICK OF DESTINY, TEEN WOLF, and GRIMM to name a few. He created the make-up for Tom Cruise in TROPIC THUNDER and in 2010, coming full circle, Barney was honored with an Academy Award for his work in JJ Abrams’s reboot, STAR TREK – to date, the only Oscar received by the franchise.
About Christopher González
Christopher González is Professor and Chair of English at Southern Methodist University, where he holds the Jacob and Frances Sanger Mossiker Endowed Chair and serves as President of MELUS (the Society for the Study of the Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States). His scholarship on speculative cinema includes “Galactic Herencia: Latinos in the STAR WARS Universe” (University of Arizona Press, Jan 2027) and the book-in-progress “Speculative Permissibilities: Latinidad and the Fantastic in U.S. Cinema,” which engages with the STAR TREK franchise. He approaches STAR TREK as an occasion to think about how speculative storytelling stages mixed heritage, borderland identity, linguistic belonging, and the promise of infinite diversity in infinite combinations—questions the franchise has carried across six decades of imagined futures, from Spock to Chakotay and beyond.
One of the things that Nancy Churnin has loved most about her life as a theater critic and award-winning children’s book author is that it allows her to explore strange new worlds and seek out new life and new civilizations — at least in her imagination. Nancy is the author of more than two dozen books for kids, a member of the Texas Commission on the Arts Texas Touring Roster, and a lifelong Star Trek fan on a mission for her books to bring understanding, knowledge, and peace in the galaxy. Learn more about her books at nancychurnin.com
⏳ Daylong passes for the Plaza Theatre are $55 plus fees; entrance to events at the Library are always free and open to the public
🎟️ GarlandArts.com
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About the author
Kelly Kitchens
Kelly J Kitchens (Wickersham), film publicist
As an editor and feature writer, Kelly J. Kitchens found herself engrossed in North Texas’ arts, entertainment, leisure/hospitality and fund-raising events scene in the early and mid-'90s where she was a feature writer, critic and editor for a weekly arts and entertainment magazine in Dallas called The Met. Her love of film, music, art, theater and worthy causes drove her to then pursue the publicity side of the media business in 1995. Kelly has been honored by being named a “master publicist” in the Fort Worth Business Press and an “ace media maven” in The Dallas Morning News.
For more than 25 years, Kelly has had her hand in much of the Dallas film world. For instance, she publicized Angelika Film Centers openings in Dallas and Plano and the revitalization of Houston’s Angelika. She is the director of press and publicity for several area film festivals and independent films playing at other film festivals. And in 2022, she plans to return to be the publicist for Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas in DFW.
During the pandemic, Kelly wasn’t sure where her career would take her. Fortunately, she was able to help save Thin Line Film Festival, Dallas VideoFest's DocuFest and AltFiction Fest, Pegasus Film Festival, among other film festivals as they turned to go virtual instead of canceling.
As the world emerges from the pandemic, Kelly is working on publicity for Pegasus Media Project, Who Needs Sleep Telethon, as well as several films making their ways into the festival circuit and an Amazon series nominated for a Daytime Emmy, #WASHED.
One of Kelly’s specialties is her Media Roundtables. RTs are modified press conferences that turn into conversations and virtual film schools with filmmakers, festival directors and anyone else she happens to be working with at the time. Get a feel for these media roundtables at this YouTube playlist: https://tinyurl.com/KJKPRMediaRoundtables