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.

More Video from St. Pat’s

I’m in there quite a bit, which is funny. Good little clip from the parade!

Become a Fan of the NEG!

I’ve been put in charge of the Social Networking activities of the New England Garrison, and one of the major initiatives that we’ve started is a big push into facebook, starting with a fan page of the garrison. We’ll be linking public events through this page, and updating people on what the garrison is up to, with new events and activities.

Become a fan here!

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

Famous Faces in Framingham

Supermegafest was a big event for the 501st NEG. I wasn’t able to go this year. Next year, hopefully, and an article popped up:

Famous Faces in Framingham
By Kathy Uek/Daily News staff
The MetroWest Daily News
Posted Nov 23, 2008 @ 10:58 PM
FRAMINGHAM —

Science fiction, horror and fantasy fans flocked to the Boston Super Megafest at the Sheraton Framingham yesterday to chat with celebrities, get autographs and buy memorabilia.
Bill Worden of Dedham collected autographs from former longtime World Wide Wrestling Federation champion Bruno Sammartino; actor Richard Kiel, who played Jaws in the James Bond films “The Spy Who Loved Me” and “Moonraker;” and comedian and actor Leslie Nielsen, of “Police Squad” and “Naked Gun” fame.
Luke and Logan Laczynski, and their mother, Vicky, of Deerfield, enjoyed talking to the actors, as well as professional wrestler Hulk Hogan’s former manager, Jimmy Hart, who shared bits of their personal lives.
“It’s a yearly trek and a lot of fun,” said Vicky Laczynski.
Other Megafest guests included Jonathan Frakes, who played Cmdr. William Riker on “Star Trek: The Next Generation;” Pete Best, the original Beatles drummer replaced by Ringo Starr; and Frank Avruch, who appeared on television as Bozo the Clown from the late 1950s to the 1970s.
“Every weekday, we had 125 kids in the audience, and sometimes kids had to wait a year to get on the show,” said Avruch, dressed in casual slacks, a sport shirt and sweater. “Bozo was a happy clown. I traveled as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations (UNICEF).”
Nielsen said “Airplane” and “The Naked Gun” were two of his favorite movies.
Vendors lined the rooms selling bits of the past and present.
Patrick Jammal’s inventory of comic books included 1940s Batman and Superman issues; “Amazing Spider Man” from the ’60s; and “X-Men” from the ’70s. Jammal showcased some of his inventory from his store, Comically Speaking in Reading.
Hot sellers of the day included “Star Wars” action figures of Count Dooku and General Grievous.
Christina Lambroukos and Nick Demakis purchased a “Creature from the Black Lagoon” poster to add to their bathroom collection in Lynn.
Attendees included those with a light passing fancy to hard core fanatics.
“I always loved this convention,” said Ashton Synn of Braintree, a member of the Fighting 501st Legion of Stormtroopers, a club of “Star Wars” costume enthusiasts. “I saw a lot of friends. There’s a wide variety of guests and celebrities.”
Synn attended the event with Sheena Williams, dressed as a Kryptonian from “Super Man: The Animated Series.”
“I enjoyed it because it was all encompassing for all kinds of fandom,” she said. “It’s a lot of fun.”
Kayla Osterhout, 10, purchased wrestling cards and movie posters of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and “Rent.”
“It was fun. But after a while, my feet hurt.”

Article

New England Garrison Mention on TOS

Brian Harnois was interviewed on the official Star Wars site, where this passage comes up:

Where did your nickname Darth Wheezy come from?

I got the nickname Wheezy from working on the show Ghost Hunters. But I am very much into the dark side on the Star Wars universe, and what better name to go by than Darth? I have been using that name on all the things I do now in the Star Wars realm. I am also a member of the New England Garrison and an honorary member of a few more garrisons around the country. I originally joined up way back in 2001 when I had a fully-detailed suit of Boba Fett armor. I don’t have that armor (unfortunately) anymore, but this is where the funny story comes into play. I was at DragonCon some years ago, and ran into a bunch of the 501st Legion. They said that they had a running bet that the Brian Harnois that is on the NEG roster was the same Brian Harnois that is on the show Ghost Hunters. Well, as you know, they won the bet, and I have become very good friends with a lot of the members of the 501st and have been to a few conventions and charity events with them. I hope someday soon to be able to get a Darth Vader suit or stormtrooper armor so I can get back to doing things with them as a member of the 501st and not just Ghost Hunters.

Read the full interview here: http://www.starwars.com/fans/rocks/news20081029.html

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.

Woburn Videos

Videos from the parade are now up:
Unveiling

Unveiling #2

Dewback takes off

Glitch & Julia face off.

I’m sure there will be more to come, stay tuned.