Birmingham Planning Fantasy Science Fiction Convention Called OmegaCon

The event will be March 14-16 at the Sheraton Birmingham, 2101 Richard Arrington Jr. Blvd. It will include appearances by actors, writers, scientists, fan clubs and live bands.

"There's a huge science fiction and fantasy following in Birmingham and Alabama," Knopf said. "We have a very large technology community here. Look at NASA and look at UAB."

OmegaCon will include appearances by some well-known actors:

George Takei, who portrayed Mr. Sulu in the original "Star Trek" series and movies and who recently portrayed Kaito Nakamura on NBC's "Heroes" series.

Richard Hatch, who portrayed Capt. Apollo on the original "Battlestar Galactica" series and Tom Zarek on the current reimagined version.

Ray Park, who portrayed Darth Maul in "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace" and Toad in "X-Men."

Kevin Sorbo, who played Capt. Dylan Hunt in "Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda," and Hercules in "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys."