Joliet Star Wars Day 2016

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Joliet Star Wars Day, Chicagoland’s very own Star Wars celebration, reaches a new high in its seventh year! Didn’t make it out? No problem, I got you covered.

Although they called for rain and thunderstorms, the Kamino-like forecast couldn’t stop the thousands of fans from coming out for the seventh annual Joliet Star Wars Day this past Saturday. Although this is the seventh year, it is only my third time attending the event. I remember hearing about it in the past, and never made it out, assuming it was a smaller event that a lot of public libraries hold now and then. I couldn’t have been more wrong. This thing seems to get bigger and bigger every year; it’s a mini Celebration! Last year brought in about 7,000 people, which was over 2,000 more than 2014, and the expectation this year was about 10,000 attendants. Joliet Library put on an amazing event, and filled two buildings and a street with amazing vendors, authors, artists and scratch-made costumes and props.

As with previous years the day starts with a costumed parade at 11:00 am in front of the Joliet Area Historical Museum, which is just a block or so away from the library. From Jawas to Vader, and even Barf from Spaceballs, plenty of characters were represented by the best costuming clubs around–not to mention a fully armed and operational Death Star. The 501^st, Rebel Legion, Dark Empire and the Mandalorian Mercs all brought out the best that the groups had to offer.

I personally loved the Ralph McQuarrie Darth Vader costume, not one you see around all the time. The kids in attendance, adults too, have amazing opportunities for photo ops from all the characters, but the clubs aren’t the only ones costuming. I can’t count how many little Rey’s were running around lightsaber-ing (new word) it up. Cosplayers are seen roaming around the event all day, interacting with the crowds, and getting the recognition they deserve!

Uh, does someone want to tell him he’s not canon? I don’t.

Vendor tables were located mostly inside this year, possibly due to the weather forcast. Although on a positive side note, it didn’t really rain. In the Museum building, the Mandalorian Mercs’ local clans Nexu and Cin’ciri Verda had a table set up with scratch made blasters and various pieces of armor and a couple helmets. I’m sure that more than a few onlookers walked away inspired to start work on a set of their own (I know I need to get back on track myself). Droids built by the R2-D2 Builders club were on display, including a lava pit droid and a mouse droid, and the famous BB-8. Another great table was setup by Twin Suns Outpost. Twin Suns Outpost is run by Eric Pfeifer, who is owner of the one of the largest Star Wars collections in the Midwest. He also runs the podcast Twin Suns Transmissions with his fiancé, Savanna Kiefer AKA The Dorky Diva. TSO specializes in rare and one-off art from a host of different artists. Rounding out this area were tables of toys and collectibles old and new, from vintage to bend-ems (unlimited articulation). The main building was home to this events version of “Artist Alley”. Artists such as Jamie Snell, Steve Palencia, James Tampa and the great Dave Dorman were signing and selling prints and posters. If you haven’t checked any of them out before, I suggest you do, great art! John Jackson Miller was here for the second year, the author of some of the best in Star Wars literature. His works include Kenobi, The Lost Tribe of the Sith, Knights of the Old Republic and A New Dawn. Also Keith Ryan Kappel, who writes for Fantasy Flight Games on their Star Wars line of role playing games, was there running table top games with fans.

Eric Pfeifer at the Twin Suns Outpost booth

Chris Macht was running a table, selling toys and random collectibles from his personal collection. Chris is the documentarian behind the heartfelt films The Force Among Us and The Force Within Us. If you haven’t seen yet, he is crowdfunding a new project, a reality series called “The Real Fans of the Saga.” It’s a Star Wars spin on the Real Housewives shows, and is focused on Chris and three of his friends, and looks to be really entertaining. You can find the project at this link.

Another highlight for me from Joliet Star Wars Day was being introduced to the project “The Man Who Shot Luke Skywalker.” The man behind it is one of the original photographers from the Kenner days. It’s a fascinating story, and they had prints for sale as well. I didn’t pick any up at the booth, but I’ll definitely be picking some of these up for the ol’ Star Wars room soon.

To cap it off, Rebel Force Radio podcasted live from the second floor of the event!

Rebel Force Radio’s Jimmy McInerney with State Representative Bill Foster

All in all, it was a great day, and another great year for Joliet Star Wars Day. If you live in the area, be sure to be here next year–Joliet Star Wars Day has quickly become a can’t miss event!