Woburn Parade 2009

This event marks the beginning of my third active year with the 501st Legion. The Woburn Parade has quickly become one of the major events that I would be loath to miss, and for good reason: this is one of the larger events that we come out in great numbers, and churn out some of our best work for.

In years past, the New England Garrison has done a number of large props: a life-sized Jabba the Hutt and Dewback for the past two years, we shifted gears and went with something just as cool, but not quite as big: Battle Droids for the 501st, and an Ewok Village for Alderaan Base. Both builds came off wonderfully, with our two battle droids, Fred and Ginger Rogers looking fantastic. The Ewok Village likewise looked fantastic, with several of our garrison member’s children posing as Ewoks.

The highlight here, however, was the first Clones from the NEG’s massive build recently, which churned out 20 new clone kits. Most of those are still in the works, but there were six of our members who had finished them in time to get them put together, although one was still building his in the parking lot. I was the only AOTC clone there, movie-accurate, rather than Cartoon accurate, which was pretty amusing.

The parade itself was a painful experience. While I’ve marched in my Clone Armor before, I made some small changes and/or put it together wrong this time around, and as a result, I’ve been aching for the past couple of days while waiting for the bruises and cuts to heal. 2.2 miles is a long way to walk in armor, and I was happy that the parade was over, but I was equally happy that I’d done the parade.

Pictures can be seen here.

Mission Report: Lowell Spinners

It’s been a little while since I’ve trooped – real life has kept me away from the Legion, unfortunately, and most of my duties had been placed on the back burner. This past weekend, however, I was able to get out for my first troop in a long while, a baseball game at the A-Level team, the Lowell Spinners. They had put together a Star Wars Day, and the New England Garrison fielded around 25 people to the game in costume to pose for pictures and to sign autographs.

The event was a huge success. I ended up getting there a little late because of some family matters, and suited up upon arrival. This time around, I brought out my clone, which is in the middle of the submission process (about time!). This guy’s a little harder to put on, because of the way the parts are shaped, and I’m slowly learning which ways to put things on and together so that they stick. Once suited up, I went with a small group to the stadium’s entrance for about a half hour, before returning back to our changing area to assemble for the opening pitch. We lined up on the field in two rows, Vader threw out the pitch, along with Chewie, and from that point, we mingled with the crowds along the top of the stadium. There were many, many children in attendance, all of whom seemed to want our autograph – which is hard when you’re in armor. We posed for countless photographs, and walked around for a couple of hours. The crowd was remarkably well behaved, which was a very nice change from some of our other events.

All in all, a fantastic event! My pictures are here.

Trooping Weekend

This weekend was a busy one for 501st activities in Vermont. We were able to do two troops up here, one in Northfield, and the other in St. Albans – a Relay for Life and the Vermont Maple Festival, respectively.

The Relay for Life was a new experience for me. I’ve done a couple walks for Autism in armor, but not one of these, and it was an interesting experience, and far more somber than the Autism walks. One of my fellow VT guys, Mike, was in charge of this one, and with another trooper coming up from New Hampshire as a Jawa/Jedi, we composed a small team that made a number of laps around Norwich University’s Shapiro Field House. While there, we also participated in a couple wiffleball games (Ironically, Justin, our Jawa, was the best hitter out of the three of us). Justin also participated in a short dance competition, which made Mike and I wish that we’d brought along a video camera. The last part of the event (before we left, anyway) was a walk around the track in rememberance of everyone who had passed away due to Cancer, and for those who were suffering from it right now. I thought back to the recent news of an uncle on my Mother’s side of the family, who is currently suffering from lung cancer. It was a somber moment, and an emotional one for a number of people in the group. We walked in silence between us, our armor creaking with each step. We retreated to where we stored our gear, changed and left shortly thereafter, and headed to my apartment, where we got dinner and talked for a couple hours before turning in for the night.

We got up around 8:30 in the morning and got ready for the day. Our next troop of the weekend was the Vermont Maple Festival, up in St. Albans. This was a troop that I did last year, with a Vermont member, Jerry, and had a lot of fun while doing so, and I was excited to be trooping with a larger group, expecting a total of seven people (4 Stormtroopers, 2 wranglers and a Jawa), but unfortunately, one of our guys couldn’t make it. Nonwithstanding, we made quite the impression again this time around, posing for hundreds of pictures from the people attending, and made a lot of kids day. We ran across a couple of people who had seen us this year, and one kid was armed with a lightsaber. We only trooped for a couple of hours before returning to our cars for a final picture. It was fantastic to troop with Jerry again, and I think that before long, we’ll have a strong and active Vermont group.

Finally, we went to lunch, and from there, Mike, Stephen, Hayes and I went to a rented barn where we worked on a short viral film that we had been planning for a little while on our forums, entitled Target Practice. This was my first oppertunity to perform as a stormtrooper in front of a camera and green screen, and the end result should be funny. We’ve also shot a couple of short teasers, one each for me and Mike, which will hopefully be online soon.

Here’s pictures from the Relay for Life, Maplefest and the Video shoot.

Mission Report: Lazer Gate Charity Night

Last night, the 501st New England Garrison and Lazer Gate of Fall River, MA, held a large charity event in which patrons could battle Imperial Storm Troopers in Laser Tag. In all, we raised over $2000 in charity for the Jimmy Fund, and sold out the venue for almost the entire evening.

This was an event in which a lot of planning and preperation was put into. Many thanks to Adam, Eric and Dion for their hard work getting everything together. We have been planning this for a long time. Back in February, we filmed a teaser spot that aired on Youtube and at the venue, and there was a lot of interest going into it. I believe that we also had radio spots to boot.

There was even a bit of a storyline – players were trying to retrieve the plans for the Death Star, and ran into Imperial Stormtroopers. We were postitioned on the second floor of the playing area, and came in at certain times, etc.

I wasn’t intially going to go down for this, but once I saw just how much interest there was in the event, and what it was going to entail, Mike and I were both very interested, and drove down on Friday Afternoon. We ended up running a little late with a stop to remove all of my car’s tires to scrape out the mud that had accumulated, causing the car to really vibrate and rattle – there was no way we were going to endure that for four hours. Once down in Boston, we ran into traffic on I-93, and anded up in Fall River by 5:30.

There, we suited up and got ready for the games. Each trooper was outfitted with a vest, and we deployed to the top floor, and waited. Over the next four or so hours, we ran around the place, shooting and getting shot at by the players. As to be expected, it’s hard to see out of a Storm Trooper helmet to begin with, and with the place being incredibly dark, it was difficult to see anything. I was further hampered by my lack of glasses, so I ended up shooting at anything that moved, and soon got the hang of how to play the game.

It was an incredibly fun evening – I had to take a break for a game because I was overheating (running around builds up a sweat) but we were back into the game shortly thereafter, and we got a ton of excellent reviews from the players and staff of the place. Hopefully, we’ll be able to do it again in the future.

Mike and I left straight off, and ended up back in Vermont by 3:30 in the morning, exhausted. But, satisfied that we’d accomplished another fantastic troop, helping to fight cancer by shooting kids with lasers. Hm…

Just What Does Star Wars Have To Do With St. Patrick’s Day?

Yesterday was one of the New England Garrison’s biggest events of the year, the South Boston St. Patrick’s Day Parade, held on the Sunday before the holiday every year. It’s been an annual event every year for our group, and this year was probably one of the best ones that we’ve ever done – there was a lot of happy, but tired troopers at the end of the route, which was great.

This was my second year trooping this event. Prior years, I had been busy, and not as into the 501st as I am now. This time around was markedly different from years past – it was warm. 2008’s parade was around 30 or so degrees throughout, which wasn’t too bad while we were walking around, but when we had to stop and wait for things to start, it was frigid. This time around, temperatures were in the upper forties to low fifties, and sunny. It allowed for some fantastic pictures, and time spend waiting not huddled together for warmth.

This year also marked the first year that the Canadian Garrison (at least the members from Montreal), came down to troop with us. I met up with them in Montpelier, and we drove down in a small 501st convoy to Boston. We spent part of the afternoon in Boston walking along the Freedom Trail to sightsee for a bit, which was fantastic, because I haven’t done that sort of thing in a long time.

Saturday night was the Garrison meetup at a Cambridge bar, where everyone socialized, got to talk, play pool and have fun. Things wrapped up around 1 am, where everyone went off to bed to prepare for the long walk. This is the part that I really like about our group – I count many of the New England Garrison as some of my closest friends, and given the distances, I don’t get to see many of them very often. I don’t get out as much as I’d like to, so this was one of the times when I’ve been able to really socialize.

Sunday was game day. I spent the night at a fellow garrison member’s apartment, and we were up pretty early, where we got our things together, picked up another couple members and arrived at our assembly point, where most of the garrison had already arrived. We had to get there early, to avoid the crowds and closed roads, and we waited around before suiting up and getting in formation around noon. There were pictures aplenty. I uploaded all of mine, taken before we all suited up, and you can see them here.

The parade was one of the best troops that I’ve done in a long time. It was long, four miles, and up and down hills, something I’m paying for today, but it was worth it. I used my Clone Trooper for the first time, and was up in front with several other clones and got to see the reactions of people as we appeared. This is one of the fun parts, to watch as people’s faces awake with recognition at who were were. There were a ton of kids who were extremely excited to see us, shake and slap our hands, and to take pictures with us, but also the older college students and adults in the crowd. They called out for Vader and ran out to take pictures of us – at times, a little annoying, because we had to keep a steady pace in the parade. I felt bad at having to motion that I had to keep moving – I’d love to take pictures with whomever wanted them. It’s quite something to bring a character to life for people.

After the parade was over, we rode back on buses, desuited and departed. Unlike last year, we didn’t all go out to dinner, although I was driving back up with the Canadians, and we stopped for dinner on the way up, before we departed our own ways along the route as we stopped for gas or breaks.

This is why I troop – it is events like this that make it worthwhile, to see the faces of the crowds upon us. That sort of excitement is addicting, and I’m more than happy to bring it to life for people.

NEG @ UMASS Lowell Hockey Game

My first troop of the year! After an abortive attempt at going to NYCC (the transmission blew in my car), this was the first time this year that I’ve donned the armor and gone out to troop. This time around was at Lowell, MA, where we trooped a year ago, and were such a hit that we were asked back.

I got down to Lowell around 5:30 or so to suit up, and most everyone was already there getting ready. There were several TKs, a TB, TC, RCs, Vader, Fett and a couple others, providing a good variety of imperials to mingle with the crowds for the hockey game. Once we suited up, we went up to the lobby, where we posed for pictures with the crowds arriving for the game. There were a lot of kids and adults who were absolutely thrilled to see it. We posed for a ton of pictures, all the normal things, before going to the second level to patrol and do more of the same. Adam Joyce, our Vader for the evening, was invited to drop the puck for the game, which he did to Imperial March.

At half time, we all went out onto the ice where we waved to the applause of the crowd, before retreating back to the changing area where we all desuited before departing. Overall, a very fun troop!

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

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

November Events Report

The following events have been reported between November 7-November 30th. Please remember that all events are subject to change without notice and to contact the hosting garrison prior to attending any event. Please let us know if there are any problems in this report.

Friday    7-Nov
70th Explorers – Hollywood Theater Grand Opening – Springfield, MO
Garrison Tyranus – NekoCon 11 – Hampton
Southern California Garrison – Toys R Us / Babies R US – Porter Ranch

Saturday    8-Nov
Bast Alpha Garrison – America’s Walk for Diabetes
Bloodfin Garrison – Halmark Holiday Open House
Dune Sea Garrison – Tucson Comic Con – Tuscon AZ
Florida Garrison – Diabetes Walk – Jacksonville Zoo – Jacksonville FL
Florida Garrison – THE BATTLESHIP!!!! Rugby Tournament
Florida Garrison – Toys ‘R Us Toys for Tots – Bradenton
Florida Garrison – Toys ‘R Us Toys for Tots – Brandon
Florida Garrison – Toys ‘R Us Toys for Tots – Lakeland
Florida Garrison – Toys ‘R Us Toys for Tots – Palm Beach Gardens
Florida Garrison – Toys ‘R Us Toys for Tots – Pembroke Pines
Florida Garrison – Toys ‘R Us Toys for Tots – Port Richey
Florida Garrison – Toys ‘R Us Toys for Tots – Royal Palm Beach
Florida Garrison – Walk at the Zoo – Jacksonville, FL
Garrison Carida – Walk to Defeat ALS – Philadelphia, PA
Garrison Excelsior – Rochester Children’s Book Festival – Rochester, NY
Garrison Tyranus – NekoCon 11 – Hampton
German Garrison – Andere Welten Halloween Party – Hamburg
Midsouth Garrison – Chattanooga Toys For Tots Event – Chattanooga
Midsouth Garrison – Knoxville Toys for Tots
Southern California Garrison – Toys R Us / Babies R US – Porter Ranch
Terror Australis Garrison – Disability disco
UK Garrison – Entertainer White City – Entertainer Store, London
UK Garrison – Hasbro Promotion ~ Debenhams ~ Leeds – Debenhams Store, Leeds
UK Garrison – Hasbro Promotion ~Debenhams ~ Milton Keynes – Debenhams Store, Milton Keynes
UK Garrison – Legoland Star Wars Weekend – Legoland, Berkshire
UK Garrison – Woolworths Taunton – Woolworths Taunton, Somerset

Sunday    9-Nov
70th Explorers – Shoe’s That Fit – Murphysboro, IL
70th Explorers – ToyMan Toy Show – District 9 Machinist Hall, 12365 St. Charles Rock Road, Bridgeton, MO
Cosa Rica Outpost – Soccer League Match (Liga Deportiva Alajuelense vs. Universidad de Costa Rica) – Alajuela, Costa Rica
Florida Garrison – Tampa Comic & Toy Show
Garrison Carida – Special Olympics – Villanova, PA
Garrison Tyranus – NekoCon 11 – Hampton
German Garrison – Blutspendemarathon des Deutschen Roten Kreuzes in Bonn-Beuel Bonn – Bonn-Beuel Bonn
Northeast Remnant – Garrison Day
Southern California Garrison – Armor Party
Southern California Garrison – Clone Wars Intergalactic Mall Tour, La Brea Mall
Southern California Garrison – Toys R Us / Babies R US – Porter Ranch
UK Garrison – Woolworths Swindon – Woolworths Swindon, Wiltshire

Tuesday    11-Nov
Great Lakes Garrison – Comedy Roast of Darth Vader – Livonia, MI

Thursday    13-Nov
German Garrison – Star Wars Tage im Saturn Osnabrück Osnabrück – Osnabrück

Friday    14-Nov
Bloodfin Garrison – Midwest ComicCon
Empire City Garrison – The National – NYC
German Garrison – Star Wars Tage im Saturn Osnabrück – Osnabrück – Osnabrück
Ohio Garrison – Armor Party
Ohio Garrison – Glenmoor Country Club Star Wars Night
UK Garrison – Medicinema St Thomas – St Thomas’ Hospital, London

Saturday    15-Nov
Bloodfin Garrison – Armor Party
Bloodfin Garrison – Midwest ComicCon
Carolina Garrison – Toys’R'Us / Toys For Tots – Columbia SC
Central Garrison – Wal-Mart Star Wars Event – Wal-Mart – LeMars, IA
Costa Rica Outpost – Pre-Teleton at Mall Paseo las Flores – Heredia, Costa Rica
Empire City Garrison – The National – NYC
Florida Garrison – Toys-4-Tots toy drive – Tallahassee, FL
German Garrison – Star Wars Tage im Saturn Osnabrück – Osnabrück – Osnabrück
Great Lakes Garrison – Michigan K-Wings – Kalamazoo, MI
New England Garrison – Clone Wars DVD Release – Concord NH
Northeast Remnant – Heroes for Heroes Appearence – Glassboro, NJ
Star Garrison Crimson Nova Squad – Make A Wish Fundraiser
Terror Australis Garrison – Salisbury xmas pageant
UK Garrison – Gamestation a Wii Force Unleashed event – Gamestation, Kent
UK Garrison – Hasbro Promotion ~ Debenhams ~ Essex – Debenhams Lakeside, Essex
UK Garrison – Leeds Comic Convention – Saviles Hall, West Yorkshire
UK Garrison – National Space Centre ‘Movie Mania’ Weekend – National Space Centre, Leicester

Sunday    16-Nov
Bloodfin Garrison – Midwest ComicCon
Costa Rica Outpost – Kawaii, Samuel Saenz High School – Heredia, Costa Rica
Empire City Garrison – The National – NYC
Florida Garrison – Party – TENTATIVE
Philippine Outpost – Party
Southern California Garrison – Armor Party
Southern California Garrison – Party
Southern California Garrison – Walk now for Autism, Anaheim Angels Stadium
UK Garrison – National Space Centre ‘Movie Mania’ Weekend – National Space Centre, Leicester

Friday    21-Nov
Florida Garrison – family fall festival ft myers
Garrison Carida – Video Game Expo – Philadelphia, PA
Nordic Garrison – Gjøvik convention – Gjøvik, Norway
Southern California Garrison – Toys R Us / Babies R US – Culver City
UK Garrison – ChildLine: Lost In Space Ball – InterContenental Hotel, London

Saturday    22-Nov
Carolina Garrison – Raleigh Chrismas Parade
Costa Rica Outpost – Pre-Teleton at Mall Multicentro – Desamparados, Costa Rica
Dutch Garrison – Collector’s Fair – Jaarbeurs Utrecht, Netherlands
Florida Garrison – Adventure Landing JAX Birthday Party
Florida Garrison – Party
Florida Garrison – Toys for Tots event – Valdosta, GA
Florida Garrison – Umatilla COC “Cracker Christmas Parade & Festival”
Garrison Carida – AI Dupont Childrens Hospital visit – Wilmington, DE
Garrison Carida – Fundraiser – Williamstown, PA
Garrison Carida – Kettle Days – Martinsburg, WV
Garrison Carida – Video Game Expo
Great Lakes Garrison – XCape Con – Flint, MI
Japanese Garrison – “Kashiwa Matsuri”, Autumn Festival of Kawasaki deaf school – Kawasaki Rou Gakkou
Malaysia-Brunei Outpost – MyBloggerCon 2008 Award Night – Petaling Jaya, Malaysia
New England Garrison – Supermega Fest
Nordic Garrison – Gjøvik convention – Gjøvik, Norway
Southern California Garrison – Toys R Us / Babies R US – Culver City
Terror Australis Garrison – Marion Gametraders troop
UK Garrison – Hasbro Promotion ~ John Lewis ~ Kent – John Lewis Bluewater, Kent
UK Garrison – John Lewis ~ Glasgow
UK Garrison – Memorabilia – Memorabilia, Birmingham

Sunday    23-Nov
Cloud City Garrison – Barnes and Noble Event – Eugene OR
Garrison Carida – Video Game Expo
Japanese Garrison – “Kashiwa Matsuri”, Autumn Festival of Kawasaki deaf school – Kawasaki Rou Gakkou
New England Garrison – Supermega Fest
Nordic Garrison – Gjøvik convention – Gjøvik, Norway
Northeast Remnant – Unif. Firefighters Ass. Holiday Party / TRU – NYC
Southern California Garrison – 62nd Annual Mother Goose Parade – El Cajon
Southern California Garrison – Armor Party
Southern California Garrison – Toys R Us / Babies R US – Culver City
UK Garrison – Memorabilia – Memorabilia, Birmingham
UK Garrison – Rays of Sunshine – The Roundhouse, London

Monday    24-Nov
Florida Garrison – Student presentation at USF – Tampa, FL

Wednesday    26-Nov
UK Garrison – District Centre Christmas lights switch on – Cosham, Portsmouth

Thursday    27-Nov
UK Garrison – District Centre Christmas lights switch on – Cosham, Portsmouth

Friday    28-Nov
70th Explorers – Salvation Army Bell Rining
Arkansas Crimson Nova Squad – Blue Meanies Concert Appearence
Bloodfin Garrison – AP Collectibles “Imperial Black Friday Sale”
Czech Outpost – Koprcon 2008 – Kopřivnice
Florida Garrison – Ecko Unlimited Black Friday – Jacksonville, FL
Florida Garrison – Party
Golden Gate Garrison – Niles Festival of Lights Parade – Fremont, CA
Ohio Garrison – 2008 Dayton Childrens Parade

Saturday    29-Nov
70th Explorers – Salvation Army Bell Rining
Carolina Garrison – Fayetteville FireAntz Hockey Game
Carolina Garrison – Richard’s Comics Toys 4 Tots – Greenville SC
Czech Outpost – Koprcon 2008 – Kopřivnice
Japanese Garrison – “Games Tokyo 2008″, one of the famous motorcycle event – Odaiba Tokyo.
Midsouth Garrison – NHL Predators vs Wild Sci Fi Game – Sommet Center, Nashville TN
New England Garrison – Holiday Parade – Brockton, MA
Swiss Garrison – 10th Anniversary Party of the Swiss Garrison, – Basel
Terror Australis Garrison – Norwood xmas pageant
UK Garrison – Hasbro Promotion ~ Debenhams ~ Sheffield Meadowhal – Sheffield Meadowhall, Sheffield
UK Garrison – Markeaton Primary School – Markeaton Primary School, Derby
UK Garrison – Woolworths Fareham – Woolworths Fareham, Hampshire

Sunday    30-Nov
70th Explorers – Salvation Army Bell Rining
Czech Outpost – Koprcon 2008 – Kopřivnice
New England Garrison – Book Release, Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Leominster, MA
Southern California Garrison – Armor Party
Swiss Garrison – 10th Anniversary Party of the Swiss Garrison, – Basel
UK Garrison – Heroes & Legends III ~ Swansea – Dolphin Hotel, Swansea

Mission Report: Church Street Halloween Parade & Festival

This was a quick event that Mike and I participated in on Saturday, the 25th. Church Street is one of the more popular locations in Burlington, and attracted a lot of people to this event. We arrived at the street and changed at Quarterstaff Games with a wrangler, Stuart, who was armed with my camera and made sure that we were safe and not falling apart.
From the moment that we stepped out the door, we were a hit and posed for hundreds of pictures.
One of the big events in the day was the ‘parade’ that we were asked to be part of. Unfortunately, it was fairly disorganized, and essentially a mass of people in costume marching up the street. Mike and I were seperated from each other and Stuart at several points throughout the march up the street. Once we reached the top of the street, we stood around and posed for pictures, gave high fives and things like that, before working out way down and desuiting. We were in armor for about two hours total, and had no major problems during the event.
While it was nice to have an additional event up here, hopefully we’ll have more of a role or organization in the future.