July has been a busy month for troops so far! Saturday July 18th found us in Lawrenceville, GA for the Mason's Annual Car Show to raise money for Charity. The Mason's have always been a bit of a mystery to me (they still are!) but one of them is also one uf us, and Greg asked us if we could come out and troop the Car Show.
Once again we were blessed with a cooler than normal July afternoon. Someone is smiling down on us since we were to be out in the sun the whole time trooping. Here we are waving to the passersby. That was too funny walking around the downtown, like this sort of thing happens all the time.
Joey brought his famed Batlanta Crime Cruiser, aka the Batmobile to the event and he also snapped these candid shots of us. I guess he was trying to be a bit artistic in his camera angles. Funny... this was a car show afterall and we didn't get many shots of the actual cars! (Except for his Batmobile, of course!)
Kris as Darth Vader decides to strike up the band!
Afterward we always get a little loopy. For fun I decided to grab Liz's TIE bucket and put it on. I popped the hoses into my pouches. And that was it... everyone had to get into the act. Dogs and cats, living together... mass hysteria!
It was a great afternoon. After last weekends gruelling (in a good way) Museum troop, this afternoon was very laid back and low key.
And here's the gang (minus Liz who snapped the photo) at the traditional after-troop meal. We walked up the street a few blocks to McCray's Tavern, got tables up on the roof overlooking the downtown square and finished the afternoon in style with a few beers and good times!
Sunday, July 19, 2009
July 18, 2009 - Mason's Annual Car Show
Sunday, July 12, 2009
July 11th, 2009 - Night at the Southern Museum
On Saturday night, July 11th, 2009, the Southern Museum of Civil War & Locomotive History Venue in Kennesaw, GA had a "Night at the Museum" event. Just like in the movies, they were planning on having an event where the museum exhibits come to life and interact with the guests and with each other. It was an awesome idea and everyone was clamoring to do it once the invite went out to us in the 501st Georgia Garrison to be a part of it all.
The premise was the museum had obtained a meteoroid from the Smithsonian which of course has an unusual effect on all of the exhibits. The main thing that was asked of us was to never break "character". This time we were not dressing up as Star Was troopers, we WERE Star Wars troopers! We had to be fully in character 100% of the time when we were in front of the public.
There was all kinds of costumes today. Ben Franklin, Abe Lincoln, Queen Elizabeth, WWII Soldiers, Attila the Hun, Civil War Soldiers, live statues, and then there was us Star Wars guys interacting with it all. Let me tell you it was a FANTASTIC time!
Some of us decided not to don the usual Star Wars getups. This event was special and many of our members have other costuming interests as well. Here's a couple of our pirating folk!
We trooped from 5pm when the doors opened to 8pm when they closed. It was EXHAUSTING but everyone loved every minute of it.
And here's the gang, the conquering heroes of the night. Great job, Troopers!! (and Pirates, and Soldiers!)
Sunday, July 5, 2009
July 4th, 2009 - Church Picnic for Foster Families
On July 4th, 2009, my Mother-In-Law asked if Liz and I, along with any of our costuming friends would be interested in appearing at her Church picnic for the Foster Families/Children that the Church sponsors. So I put the word out and we got a great response. Events like this are what's at the heart of the 501st and many were glad to take some time from their July fourth holiday to brighten the lives, even a little bit of foster kids. The Church sponsors 3 Foster Families and the picnic was for those foster children, along with the church member's children. All of the kids were very excited about the event!
We were somehow blessed with spectacular weather! For a July afternoon in Georgia, it was quite cool with very low humidity. But there was some great shade to be had around the Church, too. We had Liz and I in our TIE and Scout, 2 Stormtroopers, 2 Jedi, and the big man, Darth Vader himself!
Everyone had a great time. I played a bit of whiffle ball, Liz and Jessie tossed the football around a bit, but the funniest thing was all of us going through the chow line in full gear.
We currently only have a few photos. We hope to get some soon from one of the Church ladies. After Andy had an armor blowout and had to get out of his Vader, he was able to snap a few photos. And then Danny showed up unexpectedly right as we were finishing and he quickly got armored up for the last few minutes of the day.
