Bish Bash

Over the years, you probably have heard me talk about The Sam Bish Foundation; a non-profit group organized by the parents who lost their son to bone cancer and is dedicated to helping families of children suffering from various forms pediatric cancer.  We have trooped numerous times when it comes to the Sam Bish Foundation: from our first visit with Sam in the hospital, the “Revenge of the Sith” movie night (where Sam was made an honorary member of The Rebel Legion -- complete with his own lightsaber), sending an “honor guard” to Sam’s funeral, even the Akron Aeros baseball game with customized jerseys dedicated to Sam’s memory. For the members of Great Lakes Base, Ohio Garrison and Rancor Clan, the Sam Bish Foundation has held a special place in our hearts – broken as they may be at times – where the Bish family is concerned.

This year’s “Bish Bash” fundraiser, which helps support all the outreach and support the foundation provides to families at local children’s hospitals, was held at Westerville Christian Church. 

When it comes to the Bish family and the Sam Bish Foundation, our guys tend to take things to a whole NEW level!  Leading up to the event, “Grumpy” -- and newly elected squad leader of GLB’s Clones of the Republic detachment -- both designed a Star Wars-themed “Pediatric Cancer Stinks” patch (the slogan of the Sam Bish Foundation), and he also personalized the chest plate of his armor with the Sam Bish Foundation in aurebesh; the alphabet of the Star Wars universe.  This isn’t the first time Grumpy has dedicated part of his clone armor to Sam’s memory, Sam’s initials can also be found on Grumpy’s pauldron (also in aurebesh).

Meanwhile, the rest of us were taking turns interacting with the kids; many of whom are cancer patients themselves. Thanks to the efforts of the heroic Courtney Hodges -- who may be suiting up for her first “mission” with Great Lakes Base in the near future -- we even recorded a message for kids who could not leave the hospital to attend the “Bish Bash”.  Outside, there were not one but THREE different food trucks selling their signature meals to help raise money.  As BrainKenobi and I waited in line, we joked that food trucks like these are what Luke Skywalker and his friends were in a hurry to get to Toshe Station for… “you can waste time with your friends when your chores are done.”

GLB "Mission Photos" -- Bish Bash 2013

Overall, this year’s “Bish Bash” was a huge success!  The Sam Bish Foundation as well as the Bish family hold a special place in our hearts, but more importantly they have managed to turn their own personal tragedy into a “rebellion” against pediatric cancer -- and Great Lakes Base will always have their back.

Admiral’s Report SDCC 2013: It's (NOT) a trap!

by: EyesOnly

photo courtesy: Superherohype

San Diego Comic Con, some would say the penultimate convention, others call it a quick cash grab from the local vendors.  Me, personally I call it a good time to see friends I don’t normally see.  If you haven’t attended San Diego Comic Con before, you should at least experience it once.  You might be surprised how much fun you might have or who you might meet.

This year, I worked for Gentle Giant Studios -- so I spent a good amount of time at the booth in costume.  Not quite a “booth babe” more of a “booth Fett” or “booth Ackbar” (in a manner of speaking) so my trip would probably be a bit different from most fans; but similar in many ways.

Here are some things you should expect when going to San Diego Comic Con:

Lines! Lines everywhere: Lines to hall H (which is where a lot of the premiers and special panels happen), lines for collectibles (best to plan out where you want to be when the exhibit hall opens), autograph lines, food lines, you get the idea!

Costumes, costumes, and costumes: You know that one rare cult film or TV show you watch?  Yep, somebody’s dressed up as those characters. Not to mention all of the other cool costumes you’ll see from various sci-fi, comic book and anime genre.

Swag: No, not the kind you have in everyday life… I’m talking about the freebies they give away. Remember when I mentioned lines earlier, yep.

Crowds: There are people EVERYWHERE! (get used to it)  If you play nice, they’ll play nice.

Heat: Especially waiting in those long lines, stay hydrated. Also be sure to have some sort of backpack with water and snacks available. This is essential if you want to camp out overnight to get into Hall H to see that special Marvel or Star Wars panel you planned on seeing.  Blanket and pillow are also a good idea.  Once you get into hall H you can stay there as long as you like -- well, until security says it’s time to leave but you get the idea.

Hotels: Downtown hotels are always the most difficult to get; considering they always have a lottery system where you pick your hotels.  There are some that are a few miles away and they always have a trolley or some kind of system to get you back to your hotel.  Now if you want to see celebrities, most of them are staying at the hotels close to the convention center.  You might even run into one or two in your own hotel bar.  Now you might be asking yourself at this point, “Why would I want to go through all of this torture?”

Here’s the main reason for me above all the glitz and glam… friends!  You will meet so many cool people that you will instantly get along with, because of your shared background and likes that you might possibly make a new lifelong friend you never would have met otherwise.  Now add in the celebrities you bumped into during your visit -- some might even be in disguise right next to you in the exhibit hall -- and you may have talked to your favorite celebrity without even knowing it.  

Events: They have some great events even if you can’t get in the convention center.  The Gaslamp District has some great little places to eat and hang out that won’t break your wallet too.

Here are a few tips from everybody’s favorite Mon Calamari Admiral for a good convention experience:

Go with friends: That downtown hotel room that you managed to book?  It’s a lot better if you split it with 3-4 of your friends.

Don’t expect to do everything: You don’t go to Disney your very first time and expect to do everything do you? The same is true at Comic Con.

Don’t overpack: remember I mentioned swag?  You might want to bring some stuff home with you rather than ship it home (although that is an option too)

Have fun! San Diego Comic Con is definitely something to experience.  This year was perhaps my best San Diego trip so far.  I look forward to going back next year!  And remember… “It’s (not) a trap!”

OSWCC Summer Social

Two and a half (Rebels)

Oftentimes, you will hear representatives from costume groups like Rebel Legion, 501st and others talk publicly about the level of “professionalism” that goes into being part of these Star Wars costuming groups.  Most of this is true “from a certain point of view,” but what about those instances where our greatest strength is the ability to relate personally to the people (sometimes friends) who are inviting us to be part of their event?  Such was the case this past weekend, as The Ohio Star Wars Collector’s Club invited Great Lakes Base, Ohio Garrison, and (local newcomer) R2 Builders to make an appearance at their 2013 Summer Social in Cleveland, Ohio.

photo courtesy OSWCC

Celebrating their 15-year anniversary, The Ohio Star Wars Collector’s Club is one of the most prominent Star Wars collecting clubs in the country.  OSWCC has nearly 300 members - spread over three geographic regions (North, Central, South) - and while they hold regional meetings year-round, once a year they hold one giant summer cookout/swap meet for their members to socialize and share their love of Star Wars collecting.  In addition, OSWCC often has tables/booths next to ours at most of the Ohio comic book conventions -- OSWCC even travels as far as Florida, having a table on the convention floor of Celebration VI!  Many of us from the Star Wars costuming groups (myself included) were or are currently members of OSWCC -- so it’s safe to say both groups have a more personal relationship with each other.

This year, the OSWCC Summer Social was held in the NORTH Region, on the campus of Case Western Reserve University.  The OSWCC Summer Social is part-cookout, part-swap meet – as several members setup tables where you can buy all kinds of both vintage and modern era Star Wars toys and collectibles.  In addition, they hold a charity auction, with items donated by everyone from Dark Horse Comic, Hasbro, all the way up to Lucasfilm itself. As I’ve been saying from the start, these guys have some “street cred” within the Star Wars community.  This year’s auction proceeds went to the American Red Cross.

Ohio Garrison, R2-Builders and Great Lakes Base at
OSWCC Summer Social 2013

After taking some time to get reacquainted with some old friends, grab a bite to eat and do some Star Wars toy shopping of my own, it was time for us to suit up and represent Rebel Legion and 501 st.  One of the nice things about trooping at an OSWCC event is that it gave Troy a chance to throw on his Stormtrooper costume.  Troy is one of our original 501 st members here in the NE region of Ohio, but we haven’t seen much of him recently… so this was a welcomed homecoming of sorts.  That gave us a fairly even turnout: two Rebels and two Imperials -- then the real “star” of the day showed up.  ScottyK has been working on building his own radio controlled R2-D2 with the help of R2-Builders.  The OSWCC event was the maiden voyage for Scotty’s R2 unit, and that little droid even had us veteran Great Lakes Base and Ohio Garrison guys standing around in awe, wanting to get our picture taken with R2… like we were kids once again.

While professionalism is a good quality to have as a member of Great Lakes Base/Rebel Legion, it’s nice to go back a troop a few more “personal” type of events.  Trooping at the OSWCC Summer Social remind me that at the end of the day, we’re just Star Wars fans who get to dress up like life-sized “action figures” in our spare time.

It NEVER rains on Kamm’s Corner

There are three things that symbolize Independence Day for most Americans: cookouts, fireworks and parades. While many Great Lakes Base members attended cookouts with our families, and most people wouldn’t trust a bunch of Star Wars fans with fireworks, then one thing we can do to celebrate our country’s birthday by marching in local parades! And one of the most iconic parades in Cleveland, Ohio is the Kamm’s Corner July 4th Parade – hosted by the West Park Kiwanis Club.

Kamm's Corner July 4th Parade

Having grown up in West Park, I know this parade all too well; my old Cub Scout Pack (#293) used to march in this parade every year.  Years later, we had marched in this parade once with several of the early costumers from Jedi Knights of Cleveland.  Yet for some reason, we just stopped organizing parade events locally? 

Kamm’s Corner just also happens to be the home of our friends at Carol and John’s Comic Shop.  John was kind enough to open the store for Great Lakes Base, Ohio Garrison and Rancor Clan to use as a staging area for the parade.  And let me tell you there’s nothing better then a two mile parade route that starts and ends right at the front door of your local comic book store.

The only “grey cloud” hanging over us were (in fact) the clouds.  The forecast kept predicting “80% chance of rain/showers” -- which could kill an event for most Star Wars costumers, remember people put a lot of time/love/money into building these costumes (many with electrical wiring inside).  I kept trying to reassure doubt on the forums, and even when I spoke with the guy from West Park Kiwanis about the possibility of a rainout, my trust was renewed when told me that in all his years it “NEVER rains on Kamm’s Corner for the parade!”  It may rain the night before, maybe a few drops fall before the start, it may downpour immediately afterwards -- but there always seems to be this two hour window of clear skies for the parade; a fact he credits to intervention by a local church pastor.

March of the Mandos, Rebels and Troopers

As I’d mentioned, the Kamm’s Corner parade is the biggest July 4th parade in Cleveland.  Most of the local politicians, judges and other elected officials make an appearance, as well as police, firefighters (yes, they bring the trucks) and other civil service organizations.  While we waited for our section of the parade to kickoff, people from other groups would come over to us for pictures -- most notably Ronald McDonald!  Finally, when it was time for us to make our way down Lorain Rd. -- THOUSANDS of people were lined up along the street; some even camped out on rooftops of buildings.  Later, the parade turned down one residential side street -- where entire families were camped out on their front lawn with tents, lawn chairs and having cookouts.  We marched on what turned out to be a rather humid morning until we got back to Rocky River Drive and finally back to Kamm’s and the comic store.

GLB "Mission Report" -- Kamm's Corner July 4th Parade

Happy Independence Day Rebels!

Anniversary Open House

The Exciting Moments of Peace between the Rebels and Empire

by: Tiernan

photo courtesy Kcjohnson

As Rebels of the Great Lakes Base, we find ourselves working with the 501st Great Lakes Garrison more often than not.  Occasionally, you will find an event, which is either a Garrison ONLY or Base ONLY invitation; but usually bad guys and good guys are both sought out to attend the troop in hopes of raising money for different charity organizations.  The Anniversary Open House/Ribbon Cutting at Tasco Family Chiropractic was just such an event.  Celebrating the opening of his new office, Dr. Tasco hosted an open house and fundraiser for Love Has No Color -- an organization aimed to help Native American children struggling with poverty, drug addiction and suicide.

The day's mission was to take pictures with the guest at the open house and try to attract a few people over to the Chiropractic office from The Rochester Farmers Market.  Once suited and changed, Base and Garrison members made way to the reception area where visitors and staff alike were already lined up to have their photos taken.  After the first few minutes into the troop already taking pictures, we were asked to make an appearance at the market, in hopes that those shopping and running booths would seek to have their pictures taken at the office and donate to Love Has No Color.  While a few came over after their visit to the market, other guest were there supporting Dr. Tasco's open house.

One round at the Farmer's Market and already more people were arriving to celebrate the opening of the new chiropractic office.  Having seen that there were Star Wars characters, people got excited wanting to talk to us and have their pictures taken.  As we all know, adults really love Star Wars and love to see us dressed up and in costume -- often times making comments such as, "you look like you just stepped out of the movies!"

It's not every day that we are able to keep the attention of children for four straight hours and their excitement never dwindling.  With younglings, it's often expected of them to grab at armor, hit sometimes or even try to take off a trooper's helmet along with a few other problems that might arise.  With all their energy and excitement, running around, these younglings never got out of hand with the agreement of myself and the other three costumers, they were even lot of fun to interacted with, spending at least 3 of the 4 hours there talking and entertaining them between photos.  When time to go, everyone there gave their thanks and appreciation to us with hopes of coming back the next year.  But it was the young children who tried getting us to stay and were sad by our departure.

From taking photographs, a raffle and hot dog sales, Tasco Family Chiropractic raised $180 dollars that will go to Fort Peck Reservation, located in Montana, to help the youth there reconnect with the elders of their tribe and tribal traditions and culture as well as turning them away from drugs and alcohol. 

A New (Wellspring of) Hope

photo courtesy Lisa Lang White

As some of you may have noticed, it’s been a few weeks since I have “suit up” for an event since Motor City Comic Con.  Not that this year’s convention was any more stressful then in past years, just that sometimes you need to just “power down” and take some time to relax and recharge the batteries, as it were.  In my case, my sister and I went down to Walt Disney World for the finale of Star Wars Weekends – I even got picked as the “Rebel Spy” during our last run on Star Tours; a point of pride for us Rebels.  So when mauiview -- who also just got back from Disney -- came to the Great Lakes Base with an event request from a group called Wellspring Community Church of God, inviting us to be part of their annual summer block party… felt like a good way to get back to work.

It was a beautiful summer morning at Oak Knoll Park!  Perfect weather for Wellspring Community Church of God to welcome people from the neighborhood to come together and enjoy some food, fun and games -- but also help provide donated food and clothing to those who may need it.  I used to work with faith-based groups like this all the time, during my tour as an Americorps service volunteer, and what these people manage to do (for others) is truly inspiring.  According to the Wellspring’s pastor, the event drew 250-300 people -- which is a very high turnout for a group like this.

For our part in all this, the mission was simple: just be there and have fun!  At first some of the kids didn’t know who or what we were, other kids recognized us (or maybe our LEGO counterparts, to be exact) right away, then some of them got brave enough to come up to the life-sized action figures and have their parents ask if we’d be willing to take pictures with their kids…

“That’s why I’m here!” (Obi-Wan)

One of my favorite moments of the day came when this one particularly shy kid’s mom asked mauiview for a side-profile picture on her camera.  A little while later, they returned and the kid was wearing one of visor caps from over in the crafts area -- with the image of mauiview’s “Captain Keeli” drawn on the visor, by one of the face-painters.  It looked really good!

Wellspring Community Church of God’s motto is: "Come thirsty, leave fulfilled" and while their summer block party may have been smaller then the typical types of events we volunteer our time with... they also happen to be exactly the type of “break” we need to recharge our batteries for the volunteerism and service aspects of what groups like The Rebel Legion are all about.

Columbus Clippers

by: Cordaroyfog

Over Memorial Day Weekend, Great Lakes Base, Ohio Garrison, and Rancor Clan spent a night at Huntington Ballpark. The Columbus Clippers hosted their second annual "Star Wars Night" -- which drew a season high 11,448 in attendance, for a fun-filled night with jedi, sith, and fireworks!  Making up for last year when Darth Vader intervened, the jedi threw out the first pitch; which got to home plate, on only one bounce.

photo courtesy: Zac Taylor

Throughout the game various jedi, sith, bounty hunters, and more took hundreds of photos with fans, many dressed up themselves as classic characters.  In between the innings, we all participated in many different activities on the field:  a couple of jedi tossed out swag from atop the dugouts, some helped judge the fan costume contest, and others supervised the legendary hotdog race.

The game went into extra innings but everyone stayed for the big fireworks finale.  Although the Clippers ended up losing 2-1 in ten innings, when the lights were shut the real party started.  Throughout the game, the Clippers had sold thousands of toy lightsabers to fans.  Later, as Huntington Park fell into darkness, the lightsabers were ignited in a scene straight out of the Geonosian arena from “Episode II: Attack of the Clones.”

After some friendly -- yet spirited -- lightsaber dueling in the dark, the fireworks died away and the evening came to a close.  The Clippers were gracious hosts, who provided food and water and excellent scheduling and support.  There have already been preliminary talks to expand the event next year, and more then a few fans inquired if we would be back, and when.

Indianapolis 500

by: Lumpy

Memorial Day Weekend, members of the Great Lakes Base joined fellow Rebel Legion and 501st members from around the country to participate in both the opening weekend of the "Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination" exhibit at the Indiana State Museum, but also represent the museum in the Indianapolis 500 Parade.

Representing Great Lakes Base included: marcus (Tarfful), Kristilla (Rebel Pilot) and myself (Chewbacca).  Before the museum opened to the public, we got the chance to look around the exhibit hall and checkout the exhibits and displays.  Later, we got suited up for the special midnight exhibit opening -- including a visit to the Millennium Falcon Experience

Once the exhibit hall was closed for the night, we got to stay at the museum to get a bit of sleep -- before getting ready for the parade, bright and early in the morning.  While I don't believe the bus company had Wookiees in mind when they designed the busses.  That was more than made up for when Marcus and I got to ride in style for the parade!!!!  After what can only be described as a "brisk pace" for the parade, we made our way back to the museum for a group photo and some more trooping.

One of the most fun parts for me was going down for a visit during the high school band party.  The museum invited all the bands from the parade to come out and tour the exhibit, so Chewie got a chance to mingle (and maybe have a dance or 2) with the kids.

To top off my stay, the museum folks were nice enough to let me go through the Millennium Falcon Experience and the museum exhibit one more time to allow Chewbacca some extra time in his favorite transport.  Definitely a memorable experience that ranks very high on my list of great events!!!!!

Motor City Comic Con

Motor City Comic Con has become the single largest event of the year on the Great Lakes Base calendar; and there is a reason why.

How my day started should have been a clue this year’s Motor City Comic Con was going to be an adventure -- oversleeping my alarm, and setting a new speed record for shower/dressed and out the door for the “hyperspace jump” along the Ohio Turnpike up to Michigan.  After a smooth ride all the way up to Novi (just outside Detroit) the next big surprise was the line of people already waiting to get inside; a line that wrapped all the way around the convention center! 

One of the reasons for the huge crowds (event my MCCC standards) was some of the names of the guests: including Stan Lee, founder of MARVEL Comics.  The line for Stan Lee took up it’s own section of the MCCC floor.  One of the things, which have made Motor City Comic Con the biggest and the best comic convention, is their lineup of media guests. This year’s Motor City Comic Con autograph row featured an astounding 59 media guest!

Another thing that makes Motor City Comic Con a fan favorite is their ability to bring guests with a Star Wars connection; and as such we always try to make those guest feel particularly welcomed.  This year featured Stacy Haiduk (voice actor from Star Wars: The Old Republic game) and Joe Viskocil (production team on "Star Wars" and "Empire Strike Back").  Lumpy went ahead and organized to have both made official Rebel Legion “Friends of the Rebellion” -- and we sent a welcoming committee of members over to each of their tables to make the presentation; complete with their own GLB t-shirts and award plaque.

Then there are the non-Star Wars guests that we just couldn’t ignore a photo op with.  As some of you may know: both Sam Witwer and Sam Huntington from “Being Human” were inducted as Honorary Members of the Rebel Legion, by Great Lakes Base members at DragonCon; back in 2011.  What you may NOT know is that both guys had fun teasing their co-star Meaghan Rath about the fact that she wasn’t eligible for a Honorary Memberhip or “Friend of the Rebellion” -- because she’s never worked on anything Star Wars related.  So when it was announced that Meaghan was coming to Motor City, as both Witwer and Huntington had done before her -- we decided to (unofficially) adopt her as an “honorary jedi ghost” and presented her with her own GLB t-shirt and one of our exclusive GLB Challenge Coins! (my last one, in fact).  Something she can take back to the set and show off to her co-stars… who’s laughing now boys? ;)

In addition to being the busiest day of the convention weekend, day two of MCCC was also designated “Shadow Squadron Saturday” – marking the first time we had nearly the entire squadron assembled at one place for an event.  Having marched together in the Star Wars character parade through the convention floor, the Shadows went on a recon photo-op over by “the Admiral” -- as in Edward James Olmos (Admiral Adama) and his son Bodi Olmos (“Hotdog”) from "Battlestar Galactica."  The Admiral was kind enough to give our squadron an inspection and joined us for some photos.

May the Force be with you... SO SAY WE ALL!

 All this excitement made for a very busy time over at the Star Wars section; where Great Lakes Base, Great Lakes Garrison, R2-Builders and Mando Mercs all had information tables, displays and costumed members available for photos; and OMG did we take a lot of photos!  At times, it was all we could do just to huddle together in small groups to give people a chance to get a picture taken… before they’d shuffle over to the next line waiting for the next photo-op with Star Wars characters.  This was FoogyOne’s first-ever Motor City Comic Con -- and really first comic convention as a costumer -- and my padawan got a “baptism by fire” in the world of comic book conventions.

There is so much more I could tell you, and all this is just from Saturday at Motor City Comic Con.  Hopefully, this give you a better idea why MCCC has become the signature convention of the year for Great Lakes Base -- and why I am already looking forward to Motor City Comic Con 2014.

Packrat Comics

by: Cordaroyfog

"You want to rent a movie?"

May the 4th at Packrat Comics in Hilliard, Ohio was a fantastic success!  We were told by management that their FREE COMIC BOOK DAY events has grown every year and continues to be the premier comic emporium in Columbus.  This was a great joint event between Great Lakes Base, Ohio Garrison and Rancor Clan.  For the majority of the day we had a few Jedi, Boba Fett and Stormtrooper.  In addition to us, there were countless comic characters in attendance, including some we have encountered at other events.  There was a well known Joker -- who won the costume contest, along with a 60's Batman to do battle with him, a hilariously in character (yet family friendly) Deadpool, Wonder Woman, Link, a few Doctor Who, and a “duct tape” Iron Man -- just to name a few.

GLB with Brian O'Halloran

The line was out the door and around the corner all day as Brian O'Halloran, who played Dante in the Kevin Smith classic “Clerks”, was on hand for photos and autographs.  He was the nicest guy ever and took free photos with the Star Wars characters.  I overhead that he had been there all night, the previous night for a meet and greet and they just hung out all night talking.  You really couldn't imagine a nicer guy!

GLB "Mission Report" photos -- Packrat Comics

Later, we got some extra support from members who had been over at Laughing Orge Comics and it really ended a beautiful day.  I forgot to wear sunscreen and didn't anticipate being outside in the parking lot all day -- so I paid for that later, but it was worth it. The 4th was with us indeed.

Holy Toledo Mud Hens!

photo courtesy
Toledo Mud Hens

The Toledo Mud Hens decided to celebrate “May the 4th be with you” (also known as Star Wars Day) and it’s sequel “Revenge of the 5th” by hosting a pair of Star Wars themed baseball games; including the team wearing special “Chewbacca” style baseball jerseys both days.  When news of the Mud Hens’ Star Wars baseball jerseys hit the web, opinions among baseball fans ranged from “awesome” to “wtf?” -- and you thought Star Wars costumers were picky?  The “Chewbacca” jerseys were drawing national attention to this past weekend’s home series at Fifth Third Field, where the Great Lakes Base and Ohio Garrison would be right in the middle of it!

After trooping at various Free Comic Book Day events in the morning, groups from both Rebel Legion and 501st converged on downtown Toledo by mid-afternoon.  Several of us had trooped at a much smaller event with the Mud Hens last year, so we already had a good idea of how the ballpark was setup.  Once we got geared up, we got divided into teams to cover various areas and levels of Fifth Third Field.  As a Jedi, I got assigned to “Team Chewie” -- which let me tell ya, we tease Lumpy about being a “rock star” when he’s wearing his Chewbacca costume.  However, I will be the first to admit that when you’re standing next to a 7ft tall icon of the Star Wars universe, sometimes ya just have to let Mick be Mick -- as Lumpy had a line of fans running all the way down the 3rd Base side of the ballpark. Later, our resident Wookiee took to the field to deliver the game ball to the Mud Hen’s starting pitcher.

Once the game got underway, Teams “Vader” “Chewie” and “Leia” spread out around the ballpark.  There was a photo booth setup behind home plate, but “I don’t think the Empire had wookiees in mind when they designed them, Chewie” -- so we just stepped over to the side and people were coming up for pictures all night.  As the lone Jedi that evening, I spent most of the evening dueling with kids that had lightsabers.  We were not the only ones in Star Wars costumes; many kids came to the game dressed as their favorite characters – including some homemade costumes that even impressed us!  

Unfortunately, “the Force” was not with the Mud Hens... as they lost (in 13 innings) by a score of 2-1.

For the second game in Mud Hens’ “Star Wars” home stand, we may have decided to go a bit off-script and do the things we know work at sporting events that we troop.  “Revenge of the Fifth” also happens to be Cinco de Mayo, so when Darth Vader decided he was going to wear a sombrero… how (exactly) do you tell a Sith Lord he can’t do that?  We spent more time on the concourse with fans, we posed for more pictures then even the night before and watched Leia and Chewie on the "KISS-CAM."  Later between innings, the Mud Hens’ staffers got this idea for us to go onto the field during “Harlem Shake” ... not my idea of a good time, but we survived.

The Mud Hens took a beating from the Knights by a score of 4-1.  Afterwards, we gathered the Great Lakes Base and Ohio Garrison at home plate for a group picture -- which (for the record) is the footage that aired on CNN, ESPN and NBC News’ coverage of the Mud Hens weekend!

Mud Hens marked the completion of a rare accomplishment for any Rebel Legion or 501st member, the “FOUR-PEAT” -- trooping 4 events in less then 36 hours! Three of us managed to pull off a FOUR-PEAT this past weekend, which help make “May the 4 th be with you” weekend something to remember for a long time.