Feeling the “Force”
Lake County fans of the popular Star Wars movie franchise experience Orlando convention.
Written by Blair Townley; Photos and Video by Anthony Rao
In a county far, far away (well just Orange County)…the Central Florida area was invaded by 30,000 Jedis, Stormtroopers and the occasional Wookie walking around.
They were all in town to attend the Star Wars Celebration V convention, the massive gathering place for fans and regular visitors alike interested in meeting the film’s stars, buying authentic merchandise or coming costumed in their favorite characters.
Orlando’s Orange County Convention Center was chosen as the location for the fifth Celebration convention and LAKE Magazine was given an exclusive look into all that goes into the convention as well as the meaningful experiences people had there.
Guiding LAKE Magazine’s steps around the event was Randy and Amy Herman of Clermont, a couple who are members of the most popular Star Wars costuming organization in the world, the 501st Legion.
Several of the members of the world-known group make up the hundreds of volunteers helping make the convention possible from August 12-15 and also participate in several charity and local events.
“When George Lucas Industries does something and they need help, we are the ones he calls because our standards are very high, things are movie-accurate and because we donate so much of our time not just to events but creating items and networking with people,” Amy says.
501st Legion’s Mark on Convention
Besides volunteering around the convention, the 501st also sponsored a room – the 501st Legion and TK Helmet Exhibit which held authentic costumes created by 501st members along with Stormtrooper helmets on display for a Make-A-Wish Auction happening at the convention’s conclusion.
The costumes and helmets were provided by members with the auction helmets decorated by several celebrities including Lost creator JJ Abrams, Weird Al Yankovic and Ray Park, who played Darth Maul in Star Wars: Episode 1- The Phantom Menace.
“Fans built all the costumes in the room,” Randy states. “Some members got to meet [Star Wars creator/director] George Lucas in the 501st room Friday morning as Lucas was brought in before the convention opened to do a walk-through. He told one member he did a good job on his recreation of the Han Solo Carbonite cast.”
A secondary room of 501st members was the R2-D2 Builder’s Room that housed various replications of the movie droid built by members. Those R2-D2 units later took part in a 501st-sponsored event, the Celebration V Droid Races that included drag races and equipment pulls.
Another popular convention event hosted by 501st members was the Celebration V Troop-Athlon that had costumed teams going through a relay race of activities.
Todd Erdman of Clermont, dressed as bounty hunter Boba Fett, was part of one of the 501st teams taking part in the relay and was lucky enough to ride the Segway course that ended the race.
“I’ve never been on a Segway before so it should be interesting,” says Todd before starting the race.
As for the excitement of the event, it was apparent everyone wanted to take every opportunity to have a picture with the beloved characters.
“We were in our Storm Trooper uniforms yesterday and I couldn’t even get out of my hotel room door because there were people in the hallway of our hotel asking for pictures,” he adds with a laugh.
Watch LAKE Magazine’s online video of our adventures at Star Wars Celebration V convention as you take a trip to a galaxy far, far away.
Convention Facts:
-Started as a convention to celebrate The Phantom Menace in 1999, the convention occurred during the years Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith were released. This year’s Celebration V recognized The Empire Strikes Back’s 30th anniversary and 2013 will have Celebration VI for Return of the Jedi’s 30th anniversary.
-Some of the celebrity Star Wars guests at the convention included Jake Lloyd [Young Anakin Skywalker from The Phantom Menace], Peter Mayhew [Chewbacca], Anthony Daniels [C-3PO], Carrie Fisher [Princess Leia], Mark Hamill [Luke Skywalker] and Star Wars creator/director George Lucas.
-What was the convention like for first-time convention-goers Randy and Amy? “It’s like drinking from a fire hose. There is something for everybody with 860 hours of programming and you won’t get to do everything,” Randy says.
-Among those 860 hours of programming were fashion shows, speed dating, a year-by-year Star Wars Quiz show [hosted by Elvis Trooper] and a Star Wars Celebration Chapel for couples wanting to get “married” at the convention.
-A full-size replica of the TIE fighter from the original Star Wars films was on display at the exhibit and was sent to the convention by a 501st member from Belgium.
-The 501st Legion was started in 1997 and is also known as “Vader’s Fist” as it a fictional Imperial Stormtrooper unit. The mission of the Legion is appearing and contributing to charity events in the areas where different groups of the worldwide-known legion are located (www.501st.com).
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