Last Events Report of the Year

This is the last events report of the year! Thanks to everyone who’s contributed. We’ll see you next year with a complete 2008 events list.

As always, all events are subject to change without notice. Contact the hosting garrison for details.

Mon Dec 15, 2008
Southern California Garrison – Toys 4 Tots TRU Morena Blvd. – 1240 W. Morena Blvd.
Florida Garrison – Otronicon Related/Brighthouse Network appearance

Tue Dec 16, 2008
Southern California Garrison – Toys 4 Tots TRU Morena Blvd. – 1240 W. Morena Blvd.

Wed Dec 17, 2008
Southern California Garrison – Toys 4 Tots TRU Morena Blvd. – 1240 W. Morena Blvd.
Pacific Outpost – Toys for Tots Collection Drive – Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii

Thu Dec 18, 2008
Southern California Garrison – Toys 4 Tots TRU Morena Blvd. – 1240 W. Morena Blvd.
German Garrison – Weihnachtsvorlesung der FH Zweibrücken – Zweibrücken, Amerikastraße 1
UK Garrison – Childrens Ward Visit~ Southampton – Southampton General Hospital, Southampton
UK Garrison – Childrens Ward xmas visit – Lister Hospital, Herts

Fri Dec 19, 2008
Southern California Garrison – Toys 4 Tots TRU Morena Blvd. – 1240 W. Morena Blvd.
New England Garrison – TC Restani Filming
Central Garrison – Salvation Army Bell Ringing – Southdale Mall – Edina, MN
UK Garrison – MAW Pantomime Cardiff – City Hall, Cardiff

Sat Dec 20, 2008
Southern California Garrison – Toys 4 Tots TRU Morena Blvd. – 1240 W. Morena Blvd.
Florida Garrison – Armor Party
German Garrison – The Clone Wars DVD Release – Hamburg Hamburg, Saturn in der Mönckebergstrasse
Dutch Outpost – Star Wars Expo – Space Expo Noordwijk
German Garrison – The Clone Wars DVD Release – Stuttgart Stuttgart, Saturn in der Königsstraße
German Garrison – The Clone Wars DVD Release – Heidelberg Heidelberg, Mediamarkt im Famila-Center
UK Garrison – Hasbro Promotion ~ John Lewis ~ Brent Cross ~ Lond
German Garrison – Imperiale Weihnacht – Osnabrück Osnabrück
Ohio Garrison – OSU Basketball/SW Night

Sun Dec 21, 2008
Southern California Garrison – Toys 4 Tots TRU Morena Blvd. – 1240 W. Morena Blvd.
Southern California Garrison – Armor Party
UK Garrison – Special Christmas Party – St Marys Hospital, Ports
Pacific Outpost – West Oahu Electric Light Parade – Kapolei, Oahu, Hawaii

Mon Dec 22, 2008
Southern California Garrison – Toys 4 Tots TRU Morena Blvd. – 1240 W. Morena Blvd.
Southern California Garrison – Toys 4 Tots TRU Morena Blvd
German Garrison – Braunschweiger Karnevalsumzug – Braunschweig

Wed Dec 24, 2008
Florida Garrison – 5th Annual Christmas Eve Hospital Present Fun – Ft Myers

Sun Dec 28, 2008
Southern California Garrison – Armor Party
Star Garrison Crimson Nova Squad – Party

Tue Dec 30, 2008
Florida Garrison – JUNIOR ORANGE BOWL PARADE

Clone Update

I have a bit of an update. I now have my BS bucket, a legion bucket that has been put together, to replace my Hasbro one. This bucket also based off of a Hasbro bucket, but it’s much more accurate than mine.  Thus far, I’ve cut out the visor and am working on sanding. I can’t find my key to my dremel, but once I find it, I’ll cut out the vent holds in the front. Once that is all done, I’ll buy some paint and get the details finished up, and it should be good to go. No pics yet, but I’ll get some at some point.

Once that’s done, and when I get some free time, I’ll work on making the limbs seamless and fix my belt, and I should be finished. Completely.

Holidays on Parade

Something from the Carolina Garrison in the news:

Holidays on Parade

By Brian Dukes
Staff writer
When: Saturday, 11 a.m.

Where: Downtown Fayetteville
Information: Call 309-1759, 483-4186 or 323-1040. Go to www.rotarychristmasparade.com.
On TV: The parade will be aired live on News 14 Carolina.
If you don’t attend the ninth Annual Rotary Christmas Parade downtown Saturday, Santa Claus may put you on the naughty list.
But Darth Vader, one of the parade’s Grand Marshals, might destroy your home world.
Members of a fan-based Star Wars costuming club, called the Carolina Garrison of The Fighting 501st Legion of Stormtroopers, will serve as Grand Marshals for this year’s parade. About 35 Star Wars characters will be represented at the parade, including Darth Vader, Princess Leia, Boba Fett, sand people, bounty hunters, Jawas, Jedi, Stormtroopers, Imperial officers and biker scouts.
The parade starts at 11 a.m. at the Cumberland County Courthouse on Person Street.
Matthew Smith, parade organizer and co-chairman, said the group will add a new element to the parade.
“It’s always our goal to have as Grand Marshals a character or person who sets a good role model for children and someone that parents wouldn’t mind their children emulating,” Smith said. “It’s awesome to have them.”
The parade, which will run about two hours, will be broadcast live on News 14 Carolina.
The parade will travel along Person Street toward the Market House, which it will circle before continuing down Hay Street. It ends at the railroad station.
More than 100 entries are participating in this year’s parade, the highest turnout since the Fayetteville Rotary clubs took over the parade in 2000. The city of Fayetteville was previously responsible for putting on a Christmas parade, but ceased doing so in 1998. There was no parade in 1999.
The parade will include high school marching bands, beauty queens, local organizations, Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts, motorcycle groups, Shrine units, radio stations, The Salvation Army and the Red Cross.
“We’re also going to have a driverless Model T Ford,” Smith said. “It’s a secret as to who, or what, is driving it.”
What isn’t a secret is that the parade is one of Smith’s proudest activities.
“I enjoy serving the community,” said Smith, who will turn 70 a few days after the parade. “I’m trying to slow down a little bit, but the parade lets me have too much fun.”
Having fun while serving his community is something Bill Lane can identify with also. Lane will be the man behind the Darth Vader mask. He is the regional representative for the Fighting 501st Legion and a soldier stationed at Fort Bragg.
He said he was excited and honored when Smith asked his group to be the parade’s Grand Marshals. Recently, the group had members in the Hope Mills and Raleigh Christmas parades.
“Matthew thought it’d be a good idea, and we loved it,” Lane said. “But we had to have at least 30 characters participate, which was a challenge at first.”
Lane said the 125 members of the organization are scattered throughout North and South Carolina, with less than a dozen in Fayetteville. On a much larger scale, there are more than 4,000 members spread across 40 countries worldwide.
But once Lane told the members that Imperial troops had a chance to lead the parade, the response was overwhelming.
“By the day of the parade, we’ll probably have about 40 people participating,” Lane said.
His group is featured at many events, Lane said, in an effort to raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
“We love Star Wars and costuming,” Lane said.
He said he has spent $3,000 putting together his Darth Vader outfit over the past few years.
“But when you have a chance to do something positive and make kids happy, that’s why we really do this.”
Darth Vader with a heart? How very “Return of the Jedi” of him.
Lane promised that parade-goers would be impressed with the show of Imperial might.
“We’ll have stormtroopers marching in formation, bounty hunters. It’s going to be a great display,” Lane said.
Staff writer Brian Dukes can be reached at dukesb@fayobserver.com or 323-4848, ext. 411.

Full Article: http://www.fayobserver.com/article?id=312762

Catching up on News

It’s a slow day today, so I’m working to catch up on some of the 501st stuff around the web. Here’s a couple of articles that came out over the past couple weeks:

Chewbacca: Welcome to Hoth, I mean West Michigan
UPDATED 12/8/08 WITH MORE PHOTOS
Chewbacca: Welcome to Hoth, I mean West Michigan

Yes, I’m a big Star Wars fan, but no I didn’t really say my headline “welcome to Hoth” … it just seems like it was fitting with our current sub-freezing temperatures and non-stop snow. But I did tell Peter Mayhew it was nice to meet him as I shook his hand.

The approximately 7′0″ British born actor best known for playing everyone’s favorite wookiee in 4 Star Wars movies visited Grand Rapids Saturday, and it couldn’t have been a better peak to my birthday weekend!!!

Seriously – this is the man who played Chewbacca – one of the most recognizable movie characters from the 1980s – and not only did I get to shake his giant hand and get an autograph – I also got to take a picture with him.

Mayhew may have been big and imposing on screen in the Chewbacca suit, but in real life Mayhew is quiet and reserved, and at the age of 64, his tall lanky build has him using a cane these days.

And yes, there was charge for an autograph – but that’s okay when you realize most stars on the convention circuit charge for autographs anyway – and this was without the cost of admission to a convention, Mayhew made a stop at Celebration! Cinema North… but bottomline: can you really put a price on a special link to a favorite childhood memory? It was totally worth it.

Special thanks to the 501st Legion, Great Lakes Garrison (a fan based costuming group that works mostly for charities) for bringing Mayhew here from his home in Texas.

And thanks again Peter Mayhew – it was nice to meet you after all these years!

Full article

Chewbacca in Grand Rapids Saturday
Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) makes a visit to Grand Rapids Saturday

The 6 foot 9 inch tall actor who portrayed the classic character in 4 Star Wars movies: Star Wars IV: A New Hope (1977), Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Star Wars VI: Return Of The Jedi (1983) and Star Wars III: Revenge Of The Sith (2005) will be in Grand Rapids tomorrow.

Mayhew will be appearing in person at Celebration Cinema! North Saturday, December 6, 2008. He will be available for autographs and photos from 7:30 pm until 8:30 pm in the lobby of Celebration Cinema! North, located at 2121 Celebration Drive NE at the corner of Knapp and East Beltline.

Mayhew will also be in attendance with Star Wars characters from the 501st Legion, Great Lakes Garrison, a fan based costuming group.

Article

Darth Vader stops by Crossgates Mall
Updated: 12/06/2008 09:55 PM
By: Web Staff

Article

Star Wars Enthusiasts to Help Raise Money for Make-A-Wish Foundation
December 4, 2008

From NewsChannel 19:

Are you a Star Wars fan? Here’s your chance to get a really cool keepsake and help a great cause at the same time.

Head to Parkway Place this Saturday, December 6 between 9:00am and 3:00pm. You can meet members of the 501st Legion, which is a group of Star Wars costume enthusiasts who volunteer their time to the community. They’ll be downstairs at the mall near the Customer Service desk.

For $5, you can get your picture with members of the Legion. That money will go to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Last year, Legion members raised $2,200 in six hours for Make-A-Wish, and they hope to top that this year!

The Legion has members all across the world who dress up as Darth Vader, Stormtroopers, Bounty Hunters, Sith Lords, Chewbacca and other characters from the Star Wars films.

Source

Local video game store to host charity event
Contributed by: Drew Paterson on 12/2/2008

GameXplosion, an Aurora located video game store is hosting its annual fund raising drive for Children’s Hospital on Dec. 6th, 2008 from noon to 4:00 PM.

At this time of year, particularly for children, and in these difficult economic times, the need is greater than ever.

GameExplosion, as a member of the Aurora area business community, is hosting its 2nd Annual Children’s Hospital fund raiser. Come on in and meet members of the 501st Mountain Garrison, a Colorado contingent of Star Wars characters. See Storm Troopers, Darth Nihilus, and Stealth Troopers.

Get 20% off all Used Games. Enter to win a FREE XBOX 360. And, while supplies last, every minimum purchase of $25 gets a FREE black GameXplosion T-shirt.

A portion of all sales for the day will be donated to Children’s Hospital. Let’s help Children’s help children!

Source

Star Wars stormtroopers to invade city for charity
A member of the Australian chapter of the 501st legion, a Star Wars group which takes part in charity events, he and his fellow stormtroopers will be volunteering at the Powerhouse Musem’s Star Wars: where science meets imagination exhibition.

This is the first time the exhibition has been to Australia, and it will include props, models, and costumes from all six films, and modern-day innovations that could one day make them a reality.

While Mr Feeney, who lives at Kirrawee, has seen all six Star Wars films, he is partial to the original trilogy.

“We see ourselves as purists,” he said.

“We’re fans of the ones released before the prequels. There’s a lot of stuff that we don’t like, especially some of the characters in the new movies like Jar Jar Binks he’s very annoying.”

Even with the introduction of annoying characters, Mr Feeney’s interest in the films shows no signs of waning.

An avid collector of Star Wars memorabilia, he has amassed more than 300 pieces. His rarest find was a prototype helmet that was never used in a film, and the priciest is his Storm Trooper suit which cost $2000.

“It’s a big part of my life, and no, I don’t think I’ll ever give it up,” he said.

The exhibition is on at the Powerhouse Museum, Harris Street, Ultimo from December 4 to April 26.

Full article & Video

Truce between warring enemies at Chapman Heights Elementary
By BILL BROWN
Staff Reporter

Enemies from a galaxy far, far away traveled to Chapman Heights Elementary School this past week and called a truce for the sake of the students. Biker Scouts and Storm Troupers came to do battle in the Chapman Heights area and to face the Rebel Legionnaires. However, two men from the school stepped up and held an event that compelled the warring parties to call a truce.

Erik Sahakian and Nathan Garza were not about to let the Star Wars battle turn their “book faire” at CHES into disorder and disarray.

The two men had organized the book faire with the help of parents, school staff and the Principal Andy Anderson. It seemed to be the thought that a war at the school site might make Anderson unhappy that helped bring about the truce.

Actually, the characters from the star wars trilogy were asked to come to the book faire. A group called the “501st Pathfinders” travel to charity events, school happenings and local community gatherings. They bring the Star Wars Trilogy to life in an enjoyable experience for all to see. Each realistic costume is worn by men and women who give of their time to make public events more interesting and unique.

For more information about this unique group or to request their participation at an event, contact them at: 501st.com or bikerscout.net.

Full Article

Flickr Pictures

I haven’t done this in a while:

La fuerza del imperio

Gentle Giant Leia with Stormtroopers

Spanish Garrison TKs

Singapore Birthday Party

Singapore Salvation Army

Oakland Holiday Parade

Evento Star Wars en Cinema Paradiso

Dune Sea Comics

Nordic TK

Spanish Garrison TK + TB

The Force Unleashed, Rivergate

Chile Troopers

Malaysia-Brunei Outpost

SciFi Night

501st on Video

More delays, but here’s a couple of videos from the past couple weeks featuring the 501st:

Darth Vader and the 501st at SAC Museum

Stormtroopers dancing at SAC Museum

Star Garrison of the 501st 2008 Neiman Marcus Children’s Parade

WHNT Channel 19 News Story, Make-A-Wish & 501st Legion Alabama Garrison event, 12-6-08

501st

501st Mexican Garrison. Teleton 2008 en Guadalajara Jal.

Novus Ordo / 501st SSS Clone Wars Premiere TVS

Imperial March – 501st at NebrasKon

Mission Report: Toys for Tots, Williston VT

This weekend, we had one of our best events thus far in the state – promoting Toys for Tots in Williston Vermont with the Marines and Toys R Us. I was very happy that we were able to get some form of turnout for this, because it was somewhat last minute. Despite that, we were able to get four troopers together to help promote the event.

Two of our troopers (Sean and Vivianne) came up from MA, as one was supposed to be in the state to pick up something in the first place, and they were able to carpool. They arrived in Montpelier around 12 or so in the afternoon, and I led them up with Mike. We arrived in Williston around 12:30, then checked in with the marine and the store contact. They led us to the back where we suited up and came out to the front, where we stood around the table. There, we encouraged people to donate to the charity, and over the course of the day, the store’s staff had to empty out the three big boxes five times, which was apparently above normal for them.

While we were first there, Mike and I grabbed a couple of signs and went out by the road. There was a lot of honking at us as cars drove by, and I think that we turned a couple people to the store. While we were out there, the manager of a local restaurant came out and talked with me for a little while. He was apparently interested in armor, and invited us in for food later on.

The reactions of the crowd was fantastic. Often, we would see a little kid ahead of his parents, come through the door and stop dead at the sight of us. We posed for many pictures, and encouraged a number of donations, either in the form of toys or money. We stayed for four or so hours, and took a short break by going out to the restaurant across the street to meet the manager, who was thrilled to see us. We posed for a bunch of pictures there as well, and later returned for dinner.

Overall, a very good troop!

Pictures

501stCast: Episode 29: November 27, 2008: All in a Day’s Work for the 501st Legion

November 27th, 2008 — Full-Length Podcast

While Dean moves into his new home, Nicky tries to fill his podcast hosting chair and bring you mission reports from literally all corners of the globe.

Show Notes: Episode XXIX (November 27th, 2008)

Hosts: Nicky Blum (DZ-8397), Lor (TK-7883) and Joe (TK-6064)

Post-Production: Lor (TK-7883) and Nicky Blum (DZ-8397)

Content Development: Nicky Blum (DZ-8397)

Contributors: Burr Martin (TD-9993), Andrew Liptak (TK-3220) and Mike Anton (TK-2084)

Recent News (00:03:00)

• Legion members loses house in California fires
• 501st Legion featured on Japanese TV program
• Richard LeParmentier recovery wishes

The Adventures of TD-9993 (00:05:18)
Episode III

Mission Reports (00:10:40)

• Midwest Garrison at the Chicago International Toy & Game Fair
• 501st Asian units team up for Operation Typhoon (photos)
• German Garrison bleeds in Bonn
• Garrison Tyranus & Carolina Garrison assist the Marines & Toys for Tots
• Great Lakes Garrison Roasts Darth Vader (photos, video warning: mature language)
• Great Lakes Garrison and the Kalamazoo K-Wings Star Wars Night (photos, video & photos)
• Great Lakes Garrison visits Beaumont Hospital
• Mountain Garrison’s Dewback Ridge Squad visits University of New Mexico’s Pediatric wing
• Italica Garrison rocks Romics (photos)
• Japanese Garrison troops the Make-A-Wish Charity Ride (photos)
• Mountain Garrison’s Dewback Ridge Squad meets Jackie Chan at the Food Drive (news video)
• Spanish Garrison celebrates the 25th anniversary of Return of the Jedi in Barcelona (news video)
• Canadian Garrison’s Capital City Squad Help Santa in the Toy Parade (photos)
• Mexican Garrison’s Mayan Squad collect for the 2008 Teleton
• Terror Australis Garrison troop a Gametraders’ 1st Anniversary
• Terror Australis Garrison do the MS MoonWalk (photos, video)

Why I Love Being a Stormtrooper (00:40:03)
by Noel, TK-8541

Upcoming Events

• The Swiss Garrison will be throwing a huge party to celebrate its 10th Anniversary.
• MidSouth Garrison will be trooping the Sci-Fi night at the Predators vs Wild hockey game.
• New England Garrison will help promote a Star Wars The Clone Wars book release.
• Carolina Garrison will be collecting for Toys For Tots in Greenville, South Carolina.
• The Czech Outpost will be trooping at Koprcon 2008.

Other (00:46:01)

• Trooper Websites: Blasty & Lavagrrrl’s site – www.blastylava.com
• Contest/Giveaway – Win an exclusive Droid Hunt badge from Chicago Toy & Game Fair
• Honorary Member Birthdays
  • Ken Colley (Admiral Piett) – December 7th
  • Orli Shoshan (Shaak Ti) – December 7th
  • Aaron Allston (SW Author) December 8th
  • Katie Cook (SW Artist) December 9th
• We’re now on Facebook – search for 501stCast under groups

Standard Podcast: Download

Mission Report: Star Wars @ B&N, Leominster MA

Over the weekend, I finally got out to trooping for the first time in a while. I’ve neglected this blog a bit because of coursework and work, and after a well-deserved break in November after this fall, it was nice to get back into the saddle and troop again.

This was a fairly low key troop for us – 10 or so people with a good mix of characters, and a ton of excited kids. I left my place around 10, and took a good ride through Bellows Falls and Keene, NH to get to Leominster. The drive took me a little longer than I hoped, and I got to the store right as we started. I suited up quickly  and got ready for the next couple hours.
Apparently this was a much-hyped event at the store. There was quite a bit of press for the event in the days leading up to it, and people around the store had been talking about it. As a result, there was a good group of kids waiting for us as we entered the store in costume. People were thrilled to see Vader, and we had a number of children in clone and vader costumes, wielding lightsabers and smiles. We posed for a number of pictures, then settled into a routine of wandering the store. Much hilarity reigned as we posed for pictures, asked customers if they needed assistance. I had one little old lady try to wrestle my gun from me.
We took three longer breaks throughout the day in the back room. The staff at the store was absolutely thrilled to see us – the manager took dozens of poleroids, and his grandson (?) was so full of energy we’re sure that he’s still asleep.
This was a fun, low key troop. It did illustrate that I need to really re-work my armor, reglue som things and get it back into shape. I also need to swab out my helmet.

The ride back was the low point of the day, however. Rain + Snow + Ice doesn’t really mix too well. I’m glad that I had snow tires.

Pictures