Riverside Riverside was a town in Iowa , on Earth . It was the hometown of , his mother , and his stepfather . Riverside was the location of the Riverside Shipyard , where the was constructed . The area in and around Riverside was characterized by open wheat fields and sporadic industrial and residential construction . A large quarry was also located in Riverside . In 2255 a contingent of Starfleet cadets - under the command of Captain were present in Riverside , visiting a local bar before shuttling to Starfleet Academy in San Francisco , California . ( ) Appendices . Background information . Long before established that Kirk was " from " Iowa , Stephen E . Whitfield and Gene Roddenberry had stated in their book " The Making of Star Trek " that Kirk had been " " born in a small town in the State of Iowa " . " However , they had not been more specific . Note that while " The Making of Star Trek " gave no specific year for Kirk ' s birth , since the time frame of the original series had not been locked down when the book was written , it did state that Kirk was thirty - four years old , matching the age given in . Given the assumption of the that " The Deadly Years " occurred in 2267 , that would mean Kirk ' s birth year was 2233 . The " Chronology " also assigned Kirk a birthdate of March 22 , which is the birthdate of William Shatner . 2233 is confirmed in , since the timeline does not change until the " Narada " appears , and his mother , Winona Kirk , was pregnant with him at that time . In March of 1985 , Riverside was looking for a theme for its annual festival . Steve Miller , who was a member of the Riverside City Council , had read " The Making of Star Trek " and suggested that Riverside proclaim itself the future birthplace of Kirk . This motion passed unanimously . The council contacted Roddenberry for permission to be designated as the official birthplace of Kirk . Roddenberry agreed , and designated Riverside as Kirk ' s birthplace . Since 1985 , the town has held an annual " Trek Fest " in June , a themed " Star Trek " festival based on an original series episode . The festival features a costume contest and a parade with " Star Trek " themed floats , including the classic bridge , and a float based on that year ' s theme . The city also showcases a " U . S . S . " Riverside " " statue ( which doubles as a parade float ) , a " birthstone " marking the future birthplace of James T . Kirk , and a memorabilia museum , named " The Voyage Home " , which houses props from the TV series and the " Invasion Iowa " reality show . In 2006 , William Shatner , the iconic actor who portrayed Kirk , starred in a reality mini - series entitled " Invasion Iowa " which took place in Riverside , Iowa , since it had been declared as the future birthplace of Kirk . The series had Shatner recruiting Riverside residents as actors for a film he was directing ; however , it was all an elaborate joke on the people of Riverside . In 2008 , Walter Koenig was the Grand Marshal for the parade , judge for the costume contest , and held a Q / A and autograph session with the attending patrons . In 2009 , Nichelle Nichols and George Takei joined Koenig , participating in the same roles as he had done in 2008 . At the local Riverside Casino and Hotel , the trio held a mini convention answering questions , signing autographs , and holding photo - ops . In 2010 , Barbara Luna was welcomed to the small town , along with Koenig , and even stayed at the hotel , dining with fans . James Cawley was scheduled to appear , but a representative from his production company addressed fans stating his minor injuries in a car accident preventing him from attending but looked forward to it . " Star Trek " 2009 . In early - , sequences depicting Riverside were shot by the second unit of J . J . Abrams ' in Bakersfield , California . The car chase involving young James Kirk in his uncle ' s Corvette was filmed here . A deleted scene depicting the Kirk Family ' s Riverside home was also filmed in Bakersfield . Following the completion of the film , the people of Riverside made world headlines in 2009 when the town was given a preview of " Star Trek " . This film marked the first official canon reference to Riverside . While " Star Trek " established that the alternate reality version of Kirk lived in Riverside , there is still no official link to the prime version of Kirk .