Event Round Up, July & August
September 2nd, 20177/1–4th of July Parade, Laurel
We arrived at the Laurel Boys and Girls club around 10:00AM, checked in, got dressed, and in our parade line up by 10:45AM. While waiting for the parade to start we took pictures with various Laurel dignitaries and parade participants. At 11:00AM the parade started. We got lucky and were third in line for the parade route, so we didn’t have to wait vary long to get moving in the parade. The temperature at the start of the parade was 88 but felt like it was 95. We were lucky enough to have a slight breeze, a warm one but a breeze none the less. During the parade Natalie, Becca and Henry tossed candy while we marched along and handed out candy and 4th of July necklace beads. There was a nice turn out for the parade given the temperature. We ended the parade a little after 12:00PM. We then climbed in our vehicles, downed several bottles of water, and headed on our way back to the Laurel Boys and Girls Club.
Post the parade awards where handed out, and we won the Dick Bromley Special Award for Most Innovative!
Troopers:
Jim – SL
Stephen – TK
William – TK
Melissa – TI
Bob – TI
Squires:
Natalie
Becca
Henry
7/1–Library Comic Con, Catonsville
The library hosted a mini “Comic Con” in the lower meeting room of the building. Cosmic Comix had a table set up outside along with other vendors including the Disney store. Inside were local artists, authors and some crafters. There was a costume contest and various other kid-centric activities. Once Mike and Bry were suited up, we entered the meeting room to a lot of excited people. Marc W (in his Mando kit) was already in the room with his squire. We took position with him and many photos were taken. We had good conversations with many of the attendees, children and adults alike. Bry had a particularly excited child who wanted to see my AT-AT and conversed with me about all aspects of the walker. :) We had a good time, though it was a little warm, as they had the door to the outside open and we were standing next to it. Mike switched out of his FO TK and into his Biker Scout to be more comfortable. Mike (our GML) approved Bry’s TIE reserve on site and he wore that for the rest of the event. The library gave us plenty of water and a large conference room to change in. We decided to pack up when we were shown up by the arrival of Batman. :D
Troopers:
Bry – TA, then TI
Mike – FO TK, then TB
7/8–Honorary Member John Barnett Induction/Bday Party, Middle River
John Barnett, a life-long friend of our own Jesse Pollock, was an immensely generous soul. After a fundraiser meant to help with his own medical bills, John donated all the money gathered to a child with cancer. This, along with a life spent caring for kids, made the decision to induct John an easy one. We arrived at 6pm and were shown to our changing area where we all got suited up. Walt from WTF got Niko (John’s nephew) into his TB kit to surprise his uncle. We were then led into a side room until John arrived in his Imperial Medical Transport. John was then led into the hall while the Imperial March stared playing. Emily and Jesse led the troops in order of GA’s, R2, 501st, and then the Mandos. We flanked John and then marched him up to the front of the room where the host for the evening, Brian Talley, gave his introduction speech. Jess–John’s friend–then gave a speech and handed the mic over to Emily, who inducted John into the Old Line Garrison. After we presented John with his racing shirt and his certificate, we handed the mic over to Jason Ski, who also made John an honorary member of Kirimorut Clan.
After the induction ceremony was complete, we danced for a bit and then headed outside to cool off. We posed for some pictures with guests before going “buckets off’ to eat. The remainder of the evening was spent socializing, raffling off some merchandise, and raising money for our newest garrison brother. It should be noted that Walt’s Trooper Factory provided so much for this event. From donating and fitting John’s nephew with a TB kit, donating helmets, patches, and poker chips for sale/raffle. WTF really helped to make this night what it was and we don’t know where we would’ve been without their help.
At the end of the night, John’s Mom was immensely grateful: “Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for what you did for Johnny tonight. It meant so much to him to see how many people love him. What you do is amazing and it will never be forgotten. You gave him a lasting memory. Love you all!!!” – Jeanne Barnett
Update: Just a few weeks later, John became one with the Force. Cancer had ravaged his body, but hadn’t dimmed the generous spirit which we so admired in our brother. At his request, John was buried in his Old Line member shirt; many members of the Garrison attended the viewings and funeral.
Troopers:
Bob – TI + 2 GA’s
Charlie – TI
Chris – TR
Emily – CC
Jason – R2
Jesse – TS + GA
Matt – TK
Melissa – TI
Mike – TB + GA
Rob – TB
Ryan – TI
Warren – Veers + GA
William – TK
Donna – (First State Squad – Garrison Carida) – TI + GA
Squires:
Pat
Lucienda
Kelly
7/22–Family Fun Day, Columbia
This was a carnival-themed closing event for church’s VBS. There were lots of one on one interactions with children of all ages as well as adults; at least 100 folks were there at any given time, with many photos taken by attendees. POC was profusely grateful that we came and asked us to keep them in mind next summer. Very fun event!
Troopers:
Andy Youell – TB
Terry Dossey – R2
7/22–Galactic Con, Columbia
We arrived at the event around 8:30am and were shown to our changing room by our point of contact. Eric and Jesse began to set up the 501st table as Troopers began showing up. Once we finished with setting the table up, we all went back to suit up. Traffic was pretty light throughout the day. After several hours of trooping and discussing prop-making and costuming with the attendees, we were treated to pizza and water from our event host. Some of us then changed back into civilian clothes and worked the table for a bit while others walked around, posed for pics, and talked with the guests. Overall, it was a small, but fun con and the kids were excited to see us. We packed it in around 5:30 when most of the crowd was gone.
Troopers:
Bill – IS
Brian – FOTK
Charles – TI
Cheryl – ID
Eric – TB
Jesse – TS
Kelly – Juno E
Kevin – TI
Matt – TI
Michael – TK
Pat – TK
Rob – TB
Warren – Veers
Galactic Academy:
Bobby – (GA)
Delaney – BH/ID (GA)
Gabby – (GA)
Keira – TB/TI (GA)
Nick – TK (GA)
Olivia -ID (GA)
Garrison Tyranus:
Damon – DZ (GT)
R2 Builders:
Jason – R2
Squires:
Lisa
Dan
7/26–Hospital Visit for Farrah, Bethesda
We had a great time with National Institutes of Health. Troopers arrived and were ready to go by 3:30pm. They had a large room and a cooler of water set aside for us. We marched into the Children’s Inn lobby where the kids were waiting for us. Farrah was dressed in her Chewie onesie and bolted for Norman when she saw Chewie. The kids, workers, and families took pictures with us before we made the march, led by Farrah, to the hospital. We took some photos in the hospital lobby, then made our way to the kids wing to meet with some of the patients that weren’t able to get to us. There was another stop in the lobby where we met the director of the hospital before Farrah led us back to the Inn to get changed. WJLA came out and we were featured here: http://wjla.com/news/local/star-wars-ch … ery-county The Children’s Inn and NIH were wonderful to us, and we all had such a beautiful time. Hopefully this will open the door to many more troops there.
Troopers:
Allen – TR
Barron – TB
Bill – TI/IS
Cheryl – ID
Emily – CC
Jesse – TS
Matthew – TC
Melissa – TI
Warren – Veers
William – TK
Other Groups:
Jason – R2
Norman – Chewbacca (RL)
Squires:
Ry
7/22–Aberdeen IronBirds Star Wars Night, Aberdeen
We arrived around 4pm to get suited up. The changing room was a downsize from the previous years, but we made due. It was a humid evening with a slight rain delay. We got on the concourse around 5pm as folks were coming in for the game. The crowd was very well behaved as we hung around the front gate to take photos with people. We spread out when the game started, taking breaks or walking around the stadium. Eventually, most folks got suited down around the middle of the game and headed home.
Troopers:
Andrew – CC
Devin – TB
Donna – TI (GC)
Emily – CC
Kyle – DS
Pat – TK
Rob – TK
Donna – TI (GC)
Mary – IC (GC)
Squires:
John Gainey
7/29–Star Wars Night with the Blue Crabs, Waldorf
This was a great troop! We couldn’t have asked for better weather after such a shaky forecast. Compared to Washington Nationals or other LFL approved sporting events this was very casual. We were basically told to just do our thing with no limitations other than not to go onto the field. Changing the game to a double header really seemed to confuse the fans as we were in a room right next to the receptionist and constantly overheard her updating people by phone. The crowd really didn’t arrive till closer to 6pm, which was apparently the normal start time for games. Overall we’d all say it was a great turn out by the fans and had no issues.
Troopers:
Josh – TR
Nick – TA (GT)
Andy – TB
Nick – TK
Squires:
Dan
Lisa
Emily
8/1–National Night Out, Laurel
We arrived at the Lake/Boat house around 5:00PM, and at the time it was raining pretty heavily. This was a rain or shine event around. Around 6:30 the rain let up some and we headed on out. We hung out around the food table to take pictures with people while getting their food. This also provided shelter from the rain when it started to rain heavily again. Around 8:00pm the rain went away, and it turned into a good evening. The Laurel Police Department put on some really good presentations. It was unfortunate that it was raining and we couldn’t mix and mingle more with the crowed. The Laurel Police Department does several community events, and after talking to Lt. Lynn they’re looking forward to working with us again for some of their future events.
Troopers:
Jim – SL
Stephen – TK
William – TK
Melissa – TI
Squires:
Patrick
8/5–North Carroll Library SW Spectacular, Hampstead
This was a great little library event. The kids took pictures with us when they went between tables playing games and making Star Wars crafts. The library was glad to have us back again this year. The number of kids seemed to be higher than last time.
Troopers:
Jason – R2
John – TK (GC)
Matt – TK
Bry – TA
8/5–WCFL Comic Con 2017, Hagerstown
This is the library’s 3rd annual comic con, and it didn’t disappoint. There were plenty of visitors and many awesome costumes. We arrived at around 10:30, and the staff gave us a big room to change in stocked with snacks and drinks. A couple Mandos arrived, too. We roamed the halls and took lots of pictures. There were vendor tables, activities for the kids, a costume contest, and a small costume parade the visitors participated in. A college student (Patrick Wilford) from University of Maryland, working on his Thesis about Star Wars cosplay, shadowed us for the day and took notes and asked us questions about our costumes, the 501st, and our interest in Star Wars. We wrapped up around 3pm.
Troopers:
Ryan – TI
Brian – FOTK
Scott – TI (GC)
Squires:
Marc
8/7–Police Cops Camp, Laurel
We arrived at the Laurel Police Department around 1:00PM, and started suiting up. By 1:30 we were ready to roll. We started by fulfilling a special request: two of the campers had a younger brother who wasn’t old enough to do the camp but heard we were there and wanted to meet up. He has been battling cancer and was on his 3rd operation. He is big star wars fan and “really really really” likes Storm Troopers. So we got to spend some one on one time with him and his dad, taking pictures laughing and talking about Star Wars. We must have spent a good half hour or so talking with him untill he had to leave. After he left the Police Cop Consouler had three different age groups of kid ranging from 6-12. We spent about a half hour with each group, answer questions about the Empire, making jokes and having a good time. While they were there they had their finger prints done, so it was a lot of fun walking around asking them for identification and looking over their finger prints and chatting with them. After we were done meeting with the different groups, Lt. Lynn presented us with Laurel Police Department Coins, which was a very nice gesture.
Troopers:
Stephen – TK
Andy – TB
8/18–Salvation Army Day Camp, Middle River
We arrived at 11am and were led to our changing area. After getting suited up, we walked out into the main lobby where the children had all gathered. We took several pics with the kids and then did a brief Q&A session, led by Windy and Neil, on our armor and some Star Wars trivia. After , the kids were lead into the gym, where they had blow up obstacles and other games set up. We participated in some games with the kids and kept posing for pictures. It was incredibly hot in the gym, so after about an hour, we headed back for a much needed water break. After our break, we headed back out into the gym to participate in more games, as well as to pose for the group pic. All in all, it was a fun troop. The kids were well behaved, and everyone seemed to have a good time. We then retired back to our changing area and called it a day.
Troopers:
Jesse – TS
Michael – TK
Neil – ID
Rob – TK
Squire:
Kyle Harkins
GA:
Keira – ID (GA)
Niko – TB (GA)
8/26–Motorcycle Rides for Special Olympics, Westminster
You couldn’t ask for a better weather for an outdoor troop! It was gorgeous! We ended up having to change at our cars, because the person with keys to unlock our changing room was out of town. Other than that, everything went very well. We suited up, walked around the vendors, and chatted with bikers. There were some very nice bikes there. Matt E. was actually able to get on one in his Clone armor! Then we waved bye to the bikers as they headed off to ride. As always, the CC Special Olympics folks were very glad to have us there. All-in-all, it was a great event. Afterwards, most of the troopers were able to meet up for lunch at the local Irish pub.
Troopers:
Matthew – TC
Cheryl – ID
Matt – TK
Bill – TK
Mellisa – TI
Squires:
Bill
