About Us

Our Mission

The Final Frontier is dedicated to providing a place a place in Erie Pennsylvania for Star Trek fans of all species to gather together, have fun and make friends.

Our Event

More than 40 years ago Gene Roddenberry launched a new TV series called Star Trek. In the 40+ years his ideas have given birth to 5 series, 10 movies (soon to be 11) and one of the most loyal fan bases ever for a TV show. Only one movie has a fan base that is anywhere near the loyalty of Star Trek and that is “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”. The shows and/or movies are still shown somewhere in the world 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It is in the spirit of what Gene Roddenberry created that the Great Lakes Film Association and the IKV Ice Dragon have developed The Final Frontier, a place for Klingons, Romulans, Ferrengis, Xindi, Goa’uld and even Terrans to come, mingle and have a lot of fun. The Final Frontier will be held in Erie, Pennsylvania on November 7th & 8th 2008. The location of the convention will be posted as soon as details are finalized.

This is the first of its kind for a convention. It will feature multiple discussion panels, guests of honor, a masquerade ball, a banquet, room parties and the first ever Independent Star Trek Film Festival. Because of the uniqueness of this event we have affectionately called it The Final Frontier Confest. Money earned from the banquet will be donated to the Second Harvest Food Bank. More info on each event will be posted at a later date.

This film festival has been designed to showcase the talents of filmmakers who produce feature-length, short film and their own episodes. Awards and prizes will be given to winners in each category. Please use the links on this page to get more information about the convention and the film festival and how to enter your production.

All will be welcome at the Final Frontier and attendees will follow Gene Roddenberry’s philosophy of IDIC. All differences, whether in species or organization, will be accepted and, although we know that some good-natured battles may occur, we are there to only have fun and we will always leave as friends.

This Confest will be a place for the most loyal fans to produce their own versions of the Star Trek Universe through the Terran technology of motion pictures. For a very long time creative people have developed alternate Star Trek characters, stories and films to be shown on the internet or in basement “theaters”. The Confest will give them a chance to be shown, judged and honored by an audience of their peers for their work.

These governing leaders have decreed four main rules:

1) Have fun.

2) No live steel.

3) Do nothing to embarrass yourself or the group you are with. One other rule…unwritten but it is still a rule.

4) If you do embarrass yourself or the group you are with ---- make sure you have fun doing it.We look forward to seeing every one there to share in the birth of a new tradition --- a Star Trek film festival made by Star Trek fans for Star Trek fans.

Our City

One of the unique things about The Final Frontier Confest is its home, Erie, Pennsylvania. Our forty-mile slice of Lake Erie waterfront bears no resemblance to the major urban centers of Pittsburgh or Philadelphia, being entirely low-rise and extremely leafy; indeed you hardly realize you are downtown until you find yourself in the shady park-like town square, on 6th Street between the main thoroughfares of Peach and State streets. There are several places of cultural interest in the city, all within walking distance of our festival, several museums devoted to history, art and science; among these, the Erie Maritime Museum has a fascinating display on the geological and ecological development of the Great Lakes and also focuses on warships of different periods; the elegant US Brig Niagara is usually moored outside and is part of the museum.

Undoubtedly, Erie's main attraction is the elongated comma-shaped peninsula of Presque Isle State Park, which bends east from its narrow neck three miles west of downtown until it almost touches the city's northernmost tip. The park is maintained as a nature preserve and has wide sandy beaches good for swimming, backed by thick woods offering a series of trails.

Erie is perfect with all of it’s historic and picturesque locations, it is also ideal for filming, able to give the real look of any location around the world at a much lower budget cost for the struggling filmmaker.

IKV Ice Dragon

A group of Klingon warriors, and one civilian, serving the Empire in orbit above the small town of Erie, Pennsylvania. Their fleet, Klingon Armada International, has ships in more than 20 countries.

The IKV Ice Dragon is a member of the Klingon Armada International fleet. They have been serving the empire since 2000. They were comissioned at the Camp Dover Peace Conference that year.

They are a Negh'var-Class Attack Cruiser that has several Fleet And Imperial Commendations and Awards.

They do charity work for various organizations like, Second Harvest Food Bank, American Cancer Society, Earth Force and many others. They also have social activities at places like Jr's Last Laugh.

Great Lakes Film Association

The Great Lakes Film Association celebrates the arts and the art of film as it makes a dynamic transition from celluloid to binary code.

Founded by Steven M. Opsanic, the Great Lakes Film Association strives to accomplish their mission by showcasing new independent films, recognizing outstanding filmmakers, artists, and musicians; conducting scriptwriting competitions, and hosting public workshops and events.

The Great Lakes Film Association is a 501c(3) non-profit organization that relies on contributions, sponsors, and the hard work of its volunteers.

Founding many film oriented projects and events including the Great Lakes Independent Film Festival and the Eerie Horror Film Festival, the Great Lakes Film Association is Northwest Pennsylvania’s only association for independent film and is the first to organize an independent film festival. Our main focus is on improving and enhancing the arts and the independent film industry and tourism climate in Northwest Pennsylvania. This is not something that we feel we should do, but something that we know in our hearts and in our minds that is our responsibility to do as a film association.