Since we last checked in with Celebration Chicago, they’ve added even more guests, including OG Chewbacca Peter Mayhew, The Clone Wars/Rebels and Her Universe head Ashley Eckstein, and lots and lots of others. From the films, there’s Temuera Morrison, Daniel Logan, Ken Leung, John Ratzenberger and Katy Kartwheel. Animation guests Donald Faison, Jason Isaacs, Vanessa Marshall, Myrna Velasco, Tom Kane, Catherine Taber and Dee Bradley Baker.
#WearStarWarsEveryDay kicked off a new challenge: the Star Wars podcast listener challenge for Force Friday (Sept. 30). Otherwise, just a regular week in wearing different Star Wars clothes every day – no new donations in Week 37, but we’ve already gotten some for Week 38. Thanks to everyone who has lent me a t-shirt that I’ve worn this week: Patricia, Bryan, Donna, James, and Lori!
Remember, every day I wear a new and different Star Wars apparel item, my daily pledge makers will chip in $4.65 to Collateral Repair Project! This week, we’ve got a mashup of The Force Awakens and The Little Prince, Admiral Ackbar for Rebel Legion, and some throwbacks to the past: classic posters, SW:CCG cards, stuff from two Celebration Europes, and one that was worn to the first Star Wars Celebration. Plus I recently got to talk up the Wear Star Wars Every Day charity fundraising campaign to my friends, Sarah and Rich, on the Skywalking Through Neverland podcast.
This review for Week 37 covers September 9 to September 16 of my wearathon, and an update on fundraising for Collateral Repair Project, a non-profit organization that provides emergency assistance, education, and community support to urban refugees.
Get more info on what Wear Star Wars Every Day is all about, or make a donation via GoFundMe or a per-day pledge. While each day I continue my project, another $4.65 is donated by our pledge makers, but I’d love to get that total up to $5.00 even (or higher!) for the last quarter of 2016.
Week 36 of #WearStarWarsEveryDay finishes up Salt Lake Comic Con and hits the milestone of Day 250! Big thanks to Karen, S, and J, for their donations in the past week, pushing us up to over $2,600 raised for Collateral Repair Project. Plus a fairly random assortment of Star Wars clothes – Thanks to everyone who has lent me apparel seen this week: Bryan, Paul, Donna, and Tyler!
Remember, every day I wear a new and different Star Wars apparel item, my daily pledgemakers will chip in $4.65! This week, we’ve got a Celebration V crew shirt, a Star Wars baseball mashup, 501st Legion and Rebel Legion shirts, a Fauxthentic History podcast shirt, and a women’s racerback tank top from Course of the Force. This review for Week 36 covers September 2 to September 8 of my wearathon, and an update on fundraising for Collateral Repair Project, a non-profit organization that provides emergency assistance, education, and community support to urban refugees.
Get more info on what Wear Star Wars Every Day is all about, or make a donation via GoFundMe or a per-day pledge. While each day I continue my project, another $4.65 is donated by our pledge makers, but I’d love to get that total up to $5.00 even (or higher!) for the last quarter of 2016.
Only a few more days left in the month to be eligible to win cool prizes in our August giveaway for Wear Star Wars Every Day – there’s the uncorrected advance proof of Ahsoka by E. K. Johnston (book doesn’t come out until October), the just-released Aliens of the Galaxy by Jason Fry, a Celebration Europe crew t-shirt, and a SWCE Rusty Droid bottle opener. Plus here’s the recap video for Week 34 of #WearStarWarsEveryDay, full of news on donations, what I wore, and now the latest on what’s going on with Collateral Repair Project.
Maxi big thanks to our anonymous GoFundMe donor this week, whoever you are! Also, thanks to everyone who has lent me apparel seen this week: Donna, Tony, Chris, and James! Remember, every day I wear a new and different Star Wars apparel item, my daily pledgemakers will chip in $4.65! This week, we’ve got some Rebel Legion wear, a pair of Boba Fett socks, a rarity from the 2006 US tour to promote the DVD release, and a really cool shirt from the #Cantina party at Celebration Europe. This review for Week 34 covers August 19 to August 25 of my wearathon, and an update on fundraising for Collateral Repair Project, a non-profit organization that provides emergency assistance, education, and community support to urban refugees.
Thanks to everyone who has supported Wear Star Wars Every Day so far, both our one-time donors and our per-day pledge makers. While each day I continue my project, another $4.65 is donated by our pledge makers, but I’d love to get that total up to $5.00 even (or higher!) for the second half of 2016. If you’d like to chip in at a dime a day or a quarter per day (or more), make your pledge at the per-day pledge form and you can choose whether to support the project for the entire year, or just start at the beginning of September. Or you can just make a one-time or a recurring monthly donation at GoFundMe.com/WearStarWars2016. Remember, if you donate in August, you might be eligible to win the prize drawings for an ARC of the upcoming Ahsoka novel, a Celebration Europe Crew shirt, and more!
The hunt for a new name for my video series is over! Since we mostly focus on the latest in new Star Wars storytelling in TV, films, books, comics, and events, Unboxing Star Wars is now Star Wars Story Talk! Yowie the skunk, Baby Jawa, and I review the latest book for the kid set: Star Wars: ABC-3PO, by Calliope Glass and Caitlin Kennedy, with illustrations by Katie Cook. We also flash back to LEGO Star Wars Days held earlier this month at LEGOLAND California and discuss the new LEGO Star Wars TV series, The Freemaker Adventures. For more details on the LEGOLAND event, check out my article on starwars.com: LEGO Star Wars Days. Plus random fun with a Jawa buddy, and then some Baby Jawa fun time!
Quick reviews
→ Star Wars: ABC-3PO – Two thumbs up! Love the Katie Cook illustrations and fun rhymes by Calliope Glass and Caitlin Kennedy. Great for fans whether kids or parents! (For ages 3-5)
→ LEGOLAND California: LEGO Star Wars Days 2016 – A lot of fun! In a year without any new permanent Star Wars additions to Miniland, the park still knows how to make a great Star Wars event with plenty of unique activities including photo ops with costumers from the 501st Legion, Rebel Legion, and Mandalorian Mercs; the really awesome Fan Gallery, showcasing amazing Star Wars-themed builds from LEGO fans; family build, trivia and costume contests; and a bunch of scavenger hunts. Plus sneak preview screenings of the first episode of LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures.
→ LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures. Thumbs up! If you’re a fan of the previous LEGO Star Wars series, this new show on Disney XD will delight! Maybe a little more kid-focused than some of the previous series, it still contains the great mix of Star Wars stories with LEGO humor, and introduces a new set of heroes!
We review what #WearStarWarsEveryDay is up to for the second week of May! And we start off with a bang – some really cool biker scout trooper armor! We also had one donation to Collateral Repair Project in this week, and a whole bunch of folks who lent clothing to cover me every day of the week! Thanks to Todd of the Imperial Sands Garrison of the 501st Legion for the helping me fit into his scouttrooper armor, and him, Paul, Darren, James, and Mike for letting me borrow shirts (and even a hockey jersey). This review for Week 19 covers May 6 to May 12 of my wearathon, and an update on fundraising for Collateral Repair Project, a non-profit organization that provides emergency assistance, education, and community support to urban refugees.
#WearStarWarsEveryDay heads out of April and into its fifth month, May! No donations to Collateral Repair Project in this week, but we did have a whole bunch of folks who lent or donated clothing for the last two days of my Celebration streak and the beginning of my monthly focus on fandom! Thanks to Paula for the donated shirt, and Todd, Debby, Jennifer, and Caitlin for letting me borrow items of clothing — this time going on the small side with a bib and a ladies small t-shirt. This review for Week 18 covers April 29 to May 5 of my wearathon, and an update on fundraising for Collateral Repair Project, a non-profit organization that provides emergency assistance, education, and community support to urban refugees. Also, I was on the Galactic Fashion podcast recently talking about the project and about geek fashion for guys!
Just a reminder, I want May to be a showcase of Star Wars fandom, highlighting different fan efforts such as websites, podcasts, costume clubs, collecting clubs, artwork, etc. So if you’ve got something cool to donate or lend, like a club shirt, hat or costume item, send it on over, and I’ll promote your group or solo effort. I’ve got plenty of 501st Legion wear lent to me, but stuff from other clubs would be awesome! Get the shipping info here.
Word on the streets (well, the message boards) is that Disney has told the 501st and Rebel Legions that certain Expanded Universe characters are “not being allowed to march” in the Star Wars Weekend Motorcade. The only character we know for sure at this time is Mara Jade, but it’s easy to guess at several others from there. Nanci Tosche Station has thoughts.
One big question: Would this apply to characters from other eras who haven’t crossed over into tv or movies, like the Old Republic, or does it only affect post-Return of the Jedi characters who may in the path of the sequels?
Although this means certain costumers (including quite a few women) will no longer be able to march in the official parade, certain means of quiet protest have been suggested: Attendees can still dress in costumes or don EU character shirts.
UPDATE: TFN’s Eric Geller reached out the Lucasfilm on this, and they told him “that neither Disney nor LFL ordered a prohibition on EU characters in the SW Weekends parade.” Tosche Station maintains they’ve heard otherwise from 501st members, although no one is yet sure how high at Disney the orders may come from.
Before the show opening on Sunday, I took a tour of the main convention floor of Star Wars Celebration Europe in Essen, Germany. Check out all the cool ship models and other dioramas from the Belgian 501st Legion, as well as a peek inside the Rancho Obi-Wan Experience and LEGO displays from Halles 11 and 12 of Messe Essen.
And below, a video of the Fan Hall booths in Halle 5, including the R2 Builders Club, Rebel Legion and 501st Legion and other fan organization booths.
While at Comic-Con in San Diego, I got the chance to sit down with Star Wars author John Jackson Miller to discuss his upcoming novel Kenobi, his recently published sci-fi work Overdraft: The Orion Offensive, and his other upcoming projects, and a Kenobi giveaway from Del Rey at Comic-Con.
And below, Miller gets a surprise visit from Lisa Curtis (dressed as Miller’s character Zayne Carrick from Knights of the Old Republic comics), who presents him with an honorary membership in Rebel Legion
