FanExpo Canada

It has been a few years since I journeyed to Toronto for FanExpo Canada, this year was extra special as it marked the 20 th anniversary for Canada’s largest comic book convention.  Because our Base is so close to the Canadian border at various locations, several members from Great Lakes Base made the trip up for FanExpo.  Lumpy and Mickay crossed on the Michigan side, whereas Snips and I made the Kessel Run (via Buffalo, NY) in less then 12 parsecs -- which after trying to convert miles to kilometers for 5-6 hours doesn’t seem like much.

One of the first things you see you enter the show floor was the massive booth display by Canadian Base, 501st Canadian Garrison and R2-Builders.  On one side, you have a full sized Death Star hallway -- complete with display Imperial props and costumes.  In the middle, you can lookup information on all three groups on working computers in a mockup of the Death Star hanger control room.  Next to that was the “Shoot-A-Trooper” Tantive IV doorway.  On the opposite side of the door was the Tantive IV hallway, where Garrick Hagon (“Biggs Darklighter” from Star Wars: A New Hope) was appearing and signing autographs, as special guest of all the groups.  Plus, full-sized photo booth -- all raising money for Make-A-Wish Canada.

For me, FanExpo was a chance to reunite with my old friend Jedi XXL from Hawkbat Squadron.  Gil and I go way back, and it’s always a good time when Shadow Squadorn and Hawkbat Squadron get together.  As I said earlier, Garrack Hagon was setup over on the Tantive IV side of the booth -- signing autographs and taking picture with fans over in the Tantive IV.  A few Stormtroopers had also taken up position there for pictures with fans; that is until more of us Rebel Pilots started showing up.  It was kinda funny to watch them slowly retreat to a different area as more and more people wanted pictures with the Rebel Legion!

REBEL PILOTS TOOK BACK THE TANTIVE VI from the Empire!!!

Another highlight of the weekend was the official FanExpo group photo.  The first thing is trying to march a small army of troopers and rebels from the booth (located in the north building) up and down several escalators, across a bridge, and past couple thousand people.  The local guys did an amazing job coordinating with con security to clear us a path through the convention center.  Then, it’s a lot of stand around and wait… and wait, as they line us up and clear the floor as people are trying to exit the con.  Later Garrack Hagon as well as Albin Johnson (founder of 501st) joined us for the group photo.

On Sunday, I had the chance to meet Steve Blum, the voice of “Zeb” in the upcoming Star Wars Rebels.  We talked about the new show and he’s looking forward to meeting more Rebel Legion members at future conventions. Great guy!!!

Thanks to our hosts from Canadian Base and Canadian Garrison, along with R2-Builders for a great weekend of trooping!

Steel City Con Smuggler’s Run

by: dgcook

I first visited the Steel City Con in Monroeville PA in the spring, as both Han Solo and TK-6290 -- and had a wonderful time.  I knew I would go back to the next one as soon as the first day drew to a close.  The convention is currently held 3 times a year.  It has the wonderful feeling of a good size convention that doesn’t feel too big.  And judging from the number of people having fun I think many others were drawn back too.  I recognized many people from the spring visit. 

The convention floor was full each day with enthusiastic people, many in costume and all in a good spirit.  A smile greeted you no matter where you turned.  Everyone seemed to be having fun and enjoying the convention.  The “Blast-A-Trooper” setup was very popular and many a trooper was covered in Nerf darts.  

There are two separate areas in a large convention hall: one mostly filled with vendors and the other with artists; and a great representation of both.  There are lots of great things to look at and too many things I want to take home.  The Ghost Base was stationed in the larger front hall and Garrison Carida with its “Blast-A-Trooper” station was located just as you entered the back section.  While trooping through the isles, I have made some wonderful new friends that I cannot wait to see again.  Both members of Ghost Base and Garrison Carida could not be more welcoming and fun to troop with.

The celebrity autograph section is also located in the back hall.  This year Billy Dee Williams and LeVar Burton (from Star Trek: The Next Generation/Reading Rainbow) were signing and at the December show Peter Mayhew and Michael Dorn will be there.  There were plenty of people to keep Billy Dee and LeVar busy, but not to the point where people had to worry about getting time with them.  I hope to be there again for the next show too and look forward to seeing everyone again.

Bish Bash

It has been almost four years since a boy named Sam Bish passed away from his battle with cancer.  I had only met him once briefly, during a private movie night screening of “Revenge of the Sith” – where Sam was joined by a small army from Great Lakes Base, Ohio Garrison and Rancor Clan.  I remember attending Sam’s funeral, along with an honor guard of Star Wars characters.  In the years that followed, Michael and Cindy formed The Sam Bish Foundation in honor of their son’s memory and either hosted or organized events to help raise awareness for pediatric cancer, many times with the Star Wars groups along with them. So when it came time to rally in Columbus for the second annual “Bish Bash” the choice was simple…

“I have a promise to keep, to an old friend.”

“Bish Bash” is a carnival-style fundraiser event that supports The Sam Bish Foundation work raising awareness of pediatric cancer.   The family-friendly event is held at Westerville Christian Church and features everything from games and bounce houses, food trucks and other vendors, a presentation by the Columbus Zoo and local Fire Departments, along with not just Star Wars characters… but a collection of princesses, super-heroes from Heroes Alliance and even the TARDIS and Doctor Who Columbus.

The Bish family has a place in the hearts of many within Great Lakes Base, but probably none more so then “Grumpy” and his family of Kashyyk clonetroopers.  Last year, Grumpy decorated the chest plate of his Commander Bly armor with The Sam Bish Foundation… this year, the entire “squad” had each personalized their chest plates, and Grumpy even custom painted a clonetrooper helmet in Sam Bish colors – as a gift for Michael and Cindy.

For this year’s Bish Bash, we also wanted to do something extra special for the silent auction.  Several of us pooled resources to have a custom lightsaber built by Simpi Sabers.  This lightsaber was silver and blue, with a yellow blade – the colors of The Sam Bish Foundation.  And while lightsabers have always been known as an “elegant weapon”… the Bish saber is particularly beautiful when you understand its symbolism.  When it was all over, it was Sam’s grandfather who placed the winning bid on the lightsaber – crafted in memory of his grandson – and I kind of like the fact that this blade will stay in the family.

Once again, the Bish Bash was a huge success – with plenty of smiling children and good memories!  For more information on The Sam Bish Foundation, visit http://www.sambishfoundation.org/

Sci-Fi Spectacular at Blossom

The Cleveland Orchestra summer concert series at Blossom Music Center is something of a tradition in northeast Ohio.  Therefore, when the orchestra invites Great Lakes Base, Ohio Garrison and Rancor Clan to be part of its “Sci-Fi Spectacular” concert – it is an opportunity NOT to be missed! 

The giant amphitheater is settled right in the middle of the 800 acres of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park; which giving the entire venue a very “Endor” vibe.  Which means a few early morning rainstorms passing over the area made for a beautiful (if not humid) afternoon.  This was my fourth tour of trooping for a concert at Blossom and still one of my favorite local venues.

Keeping with the “Endor” theme, would you believe the entrance to our dressing room is via a small “bunker” elevator, on the far side of the amphitheater?  Once our “small Rebel force,” as well as a few troopers and lone Mando Merc had a chance to suit up and make our way back up the hill towards the main entrance -- affectionately referred to as “the hill of death” – we spread out along the path, as guests began to camp out the best spot on the lawn for the concert.  As you can imagine, people would drop their folding chairs, coolers and blankets at the sight of us – wanting to get a picture with us; EXCEPT the guy who came with a fresh box of pizza… even a “jedi mind trick” wasn’t enough to get that guy to share.  When it came time for the concert to begin, some of us changed back to street clothes and other stayed in costume as our contact lead us to a section of open seats for us to enjoy the concert.

The Cleveland Orchestra kicked off the performance with (what else) the main theme from “Star Wars.”  After a medley of songs from popular sci-fi TV shows over the years, and the main theme from “Superman: the movie” (one of my personal favorites), it was time for the “Star Trek” portion of the evening; and to welcome the evening’s special guest.  George Takei was the guest narrator for the evening.  Mr. Takei told the story of how the original crew of the USS Enterprise was purposefully designed as a metaphor for the various cultures of Earth – coming together to create a better future.

 During intermission, you could see kids playing on the amphitheater lawn with toy lightsabers – which as a Star Wars fan, always brings a smile.  Since Fuzzball was our resident Jedi Knight for the evening, I challenged him (there MAY have been some “chicken clucking” involved on my part) to go over there and play along with any kid looking to test their skill against an fully trained Jedi – the same way I did, many years ago.  I’ll give my former “padawan” credit, he stood his ground expertly against a pair of rambunctious “younglings” – one wielding a double-bladed lightsaber – as well as simply interacted with a group of kids barely old enough to lift the lightsabers they were carrying.  As Fuzzball’s former Star Wars costuming mentor, watching this made me very proud!

Overall, it was another great concert at Blossom Music Center as our crew packed up to head for home from the “forest moon” of Cuyahoga Falls. 

It's What We Do

Most fans know the Star Wars universe timeline is centered (literally) on the events in "Episode IV: A New Hope" specifically the “Battle of Yavin” (BBY) when the Death Star was destroyed.  In the case of Great Lakes Base, our timeline for keeping record of events begins around June 3rd, 2006 and the opening weekend of "Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination” touring exhibit at COSI in Columbus, Ohio.  I was there, and for many of us (now veteran) Great Lakes Base members -- this was our first experience with a major Lucasfilm event, as well as welcoming Rebel Legion members from across the country.

Here is a brief “timeline” of history, as it pertains to Great Lakes Base development:

5BBC = Jedi Knights of Cleveland (Fanforce) formed

4BBC = “Attack of the Clones” in theaters

3BBC = JKOC early costuming events with RL and 501st
1BBC = Celebration III and “Revenge of the Sith” in theaters

1BBC = Cincinnati Pops at Blossom

0BBC = Star Wars “Where Science Meets Imagination” at COSI

3ABC = Great Lakes Base formed

5ABC = Inaugural “Star Wars Night” with Detroit Tigers

6ABC = Cleveland Pops concert  (Brian and Paul’s “Duel of the Fates” performance)

7ABC = Toledo Walleye – GLB with the Stanley Cup

8ABC = Great Lakes Base Five Year Anniversary

Eight years later (or 8 ABC) and there have been many historic moments within Great Lakes Base -- too many to list on a simple blog post.  The reason I included The Jedi Knights of Cleveland in this timeline is that I know for a fact, because I was leading most of them, that many our early Rebel Legion/501st costuming events were organized via the JKOC – before the Midwest Base (now Great Lakes Base) website and event medals were even up and running.  It was around the time when Cincinnati Pops performed at Blossom Music Center when most of our local Star Wars costuming events migrated over to Rebel Legion.  I remember the debate among the MWB command staff (back when I was OH Captain) over the merits of awarding online “medals” to people for trooping. While there were good points on both for and against the practice, I’m pleased to see the tradition has survived because IMHO those tiny digital symbols that show up in your profile (whether you have 2-3, or close to 300+ ) represent more then just some form of bragging rights… they represent our HISTORY!

This year also happens to mark the FIVE YEAR ANNIVERSARY of Great Lakes Base!  To help celebrate this milestone, GLB has adopted a special logo to commemorate the event and is planning to hold a special celebration later this year. Keep an eye on the GLB forums for more information.

In researching this blog post, I discovered that marching in the Avon Heritage Duct Tape festival marked this Rebel Pilot/Jedi’s  280th successful “mission” as a member of Rebel Legion!  That’s important when you consider all the miles travelled, charity work donated, friendships and other life experiences that have transpired as a result of being part of the greater timeline that is Great Lakes Base, because, as we say...

“It’s what we do!”

Why (We) Love R2-D2

by: Kurt Zimmerman

photo courtesy FoogyOne

This morning R2-D2 and I had the privilege of visiting the University of Michigan C. S. Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor, with several members of the 501st and Rebel Legion. There is always at least one memorable surprise with any hospital visit, and today did not disappoint.

R2 and I at first visited rooms on our own while the rest of our Star Wars group suited up.  We went from room to room, accompanied by a hospital nurse, to visit the young patients who could not leave their rooms to see all the characters in the conference room.  There were photos, wide grins, happy waves, and appreciative glances from moms and envious looks from dads who wished they had their own R2-D2; nothing out of the ordinary.

We then visited a young lady who was resting peacefully in her bed, her eyes closed.  Her nurse and mom both told her she had a visitor, and R2 let out a happy beep for hello.  There was no response and her mom said, “Look, R2 is waving at you,” and the young patient glanced over, unimpressed at the astromech’s waving utility arms.

 It is difficult to know exactly what to do when you visit a patient’s room, since going in as strangers we are unaware of the challenges they are facing.  This young lady was very lethargic, possibly a victim of a stroke or head injury? (I didn’t know?)  But R2 is not one to be ignored, so he carefully nudged up to the young lady’s bed until he touched it.  Then he gently pushed, and pushed again -- and again.  Before long, he had the hospital bed rocking back and forth.  He let out a cheerful series of beeps and kept nudging his way into the bed.

Like I mentioned earlier, each outing yields at least one surprise, and this young lady, who was once indifferent to her mechanical visitor, started to giggle.  It was subdued at first, but as R2 continued to demand her attention, she started laughing.  Despite the obvious challenges she was dealing with earlier, she was now fully engaged and laughing!

Her mom stood nearby, shocked. Her trembling hand covered her open mouth, and she was weeping.  I can only guess that this was the first time she had seen her daughter laugh since whatever distress had befallen her; there was no way for me to know?  But the nurse who had been escorting R2 and me between rooms suddenly left the room, also in tears, mumbling something like: “well, that was awesome…”

R2 stopped rocking and tried another utility arm wave.  This time, the young patient responded by raising her arm, fingers splayed in all directions, weakly waving back.  The moment had been made, for everyone present to remember forever.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I love R2D2!

“Rebel Air” Rides Again!

It has been a while since I was able to post anything new here at “All Wings Report In!” – feels good to be back!  While I shake off any lasting effects of “hibernation sickness” that may be lingering, I wanted to thank the many readers (and guest bloggers) who encouraged me to bring back the official web blog of Great Lakes Base. 

Motor City Comic Con celebrated their 25th anniversary this past weekend.  As this convention has become one of our biggest annual traditions, you know this means the Great Lakes Base, Great Lakes Garrison, Clan Suumpir’ade and our newest friends at Great Lakes Droids were going to have to put on a display worthy of such a milestone year.  In fact, the convention organizers treat all of us exceedingly well – to the point where our groups’ area on the convention floor keeps growing every year.  And that extra space comes in handy when you consider that between us we bring not just the traditional info booths, but a full scale Droid Factory and even “Docking Bay 94” photo backdrop; all for con patrons to interact with and take pictures with us.

photo courtesy Kristie Johnson

Part of what I love so much about Motor City Comic Con is that it’s a chance to go on a road trip up to Michigan for the weekend; carpooling that has earned the nickname "Rebel Air" over the years.  There’s something about the feeling of dropping out of hyperspace as you switch off the cruise control along the Ohio Turnpike as you make the turn near Toledo... heading for “that state up north.”  Once you enter the convention center using the back entrance -- not unlike the secret bunker on Endor -- and get settled in with about fourty of your closest friends and ALL OF THEIR (multiple) ARMOR BINS… the next few hours are just a constant blur of photos, vendors, catching up with people and good times.

With the debut of our NEW “Docking Bay 94” photo backdrop, one of the coolest moments of the weekend came when we assembled the entire “A New Hope” cast of heroes; along with dozens of Jedi, Rebels, Clones and Shadow Squadron.  Overall, I’d have to say Great Lakes Base helped celebrate Motor City Comic Con’s 25th anniversary with one of our strongest showing in all my time with Rebel Legion!

So after two busy days of trooping, it was time to turn our ship around, hit the cruise control and "Rebel Air" heads for home!