With Star Trek a premier selling point for the Paramount+ streaming service, the franchise has made brilliant use of Trek-specific days to promote upcoming shows. The initial teaser for the new season of Picard dropped on April 4 – which fans know better as First Contact Day – and now more material is promised for June 16, otherwise known as Jean-Luc Picard Day.

The date stems from Star Trek: The Next Generation, Season 7, Episode 12, “The Pegasus.” It refers to an annual event onboard the Enterprise-D, where the ship’s children pay homage to the captain with paints and clay sculptures. The date was chosen by the Stardate Patrick Stewart mentions in the opening narrative – 47457.1. The exact placement of the date is the subject of mild controversy, owing to vagaries in the use of Stardates, but according Memory Alpha, June 16 has been the accepted date among fans since 2007.

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Season 7 of The Next Generation was dominated by personal, character-centric stories, leaving the larger political arcs to Deep Space Nine, which was running concurrently. Captain Picard Day was typical content for the season. It displayed a small piece of daily life onboard the Enterprise-D -- something unique to it, but instantly relatable to viewers. It was also a reminder that the Enterprise held all of the elements of a floating community, including families and schools. That was a part of Gene Roddenberry’s vision for The Next Generation, and Picard Day made a clever way to demonstrate it.

It also provided an opportunity to display Picard’s human side. He’s not comfortable with the notion at all, and fusses quietly about it as he goes over the children’s drawings and sculptures. Riker teases him before resuming his duties, and he’s even forced to explain it to an Admiral contacting him about a mission. It ties into the character’s previous discomfort around children, as well as quietly embarrassing him; a side that viewers had rarely seen.

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Modern Trek shows have picked up on it as well. Picard, Season 1, Episode 1, “Remembrance” left an Easter egg to it: the banner the children made, which Picard still keeps in the Starfleet Museum Quantum Archives. Picard, it seems, was touched by the event even if he distained it outwardly. Star Trek: Lower Decks also referenced it in Season 1, Episode 5, “Cupid’s Errant Arrow,” where Boimler uses it to poke fun at Q’s fixation on Picard.

It also gives Star Trek fans another day on the calendar to have a little fun. Fans have used the day to post art, video clips and other homages -- usually Picard-centric as the theme dictates. Virgin 1, the British TV station, also used Picard Day to promote itself when it first launched. The channel acquired the rights to air all of the Star Trek shows in the UK, and began airing The Next Generation in May 2008. They celebrated Picard Day in June 2010 with a marathon of episodes centered around the character.

Paramount+ isn’t shy about taking advantage of the opportunity either, choosing Picard Day to release the new teaser for Picard Season 2. The timing on the calendar couldn’t be better for promotional purposes – two months after First Contact Day and paced just right for any releases later in the year. That, combined with fans' continued enthusiasm for the date and its purpose, likely ensures that Picard Day remains a part of the Star Trek calendar for some time to come.

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