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!