Sunday, May 1, 2016

Star Wars Day 2016 (Singapore): May the 4th Be With You


Star Wars Day has come again. The event is celebrated on May 4th each year but it was held earlier to take advantage of the long weekend. This year is the third instalment of the event in Singapore and it is held at the OCBC Square outside Kallang Wave Mall at the Singapore Sports Hub. I dropped by early yesterday for a look. Today, 1 May 2016 (Sunday) is the last day.


By the time I reached the venue a good crowd had already showed up for the opening ceremony. Characters from the 501st Legion Singapore, Cathar Outpost Rebel Legion Singapore and Fightsaber marched in to kick things off. I always get goosebumps when the music plays and the characters come into view. I love seeing the whole group together. 


Making his debut at the event was Luke Skywalker, based on his appearance in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (SWTFA). Herve Cotton is the man in the robes. Though SWFTA was screened at the end of last year, he could only put the costume together in April after seeing additional footage in the Blu-Ray / DVD release. Accuracy matters a great deal.  



Here are a couple of other characters who were around yesterday morning. I didn't see Darth Vader. I would have liked to get a shot of him bringing Kylo Ren around, like a family outing. Lol. You have to hand it to all the guys in costume. As the event is outdoors and with the weather we've been having, I imagine it is very hot for them. 




























The highlight for me would have to be the toys display. Ranging from 1977 to the present, there was plenty to see.   




One of the most interesting sections is the custom table. There were custom painted props, figures, vehicles, card backs and even a life-sized droid!


IG-88 here was built mainly of cardboard. It's very well painted and it even has moving parts and working electronics. Wow!


Check out the custom card backs done in the vintage style by Boyan Customs.


"Hi, I'm Matt. The new radar technician."


Several tables had merchandise for sale. Nothing for me these days as I'm streamlining. I'm focussed on the Black Series 6" and also Star Wars Rebels. 




A lot of the work the above mentioned Star Wars groups in Singapore do is for charity. This year's charity is the Make A Wish Foundation and there were several ways in which you could contribute. Be it taking a photo at the photo booth with a card back backdrop, getting a portrait or fan-art done, purchasing badges, shirts and cookies. 

This year's backdrop at the photo booth is different from last year's. I believe the picture is of the old National Stadium. And notice the Emporium price tag at the top and the "Kallang" brand at the bottom. Nice!



You can catch The Band of Doodlers "live". They will be working on a total of four pieces and once completed, the pieces will be auctioned off for charity on Sunday. 


A toy photography display by Sunny Ang was set-up. He has a number of interesting and hilarious pieces. Some of which are available for sale and some of the proceeds will go to charity. 


Sunny has also set-up a simple diorama where you can take a photo and enter it into a contest where you can stand a chance to win his Photo Book. Here's my attempt at it. I can't say I'm happy with it. I should have worked on it a bit more. 


All this and I haven't come to Fightsaber yet who gave another great performance. The cast members were mostly new. It looks like recruitment is going well. The skit they put up had a couple of Sith searching for a Sith Holocron. It would be boring if they found it and went away isn't it. So they had to contend with other Sith and also, the Jedi. 


Here's a pic of the Sith Holocron. It's a very nice custom piece. I hear it was made with assistance from the folks at Neo Tokyo Project. 


Always a favourite is the Fightsaber Jedi Training Workshop where Younglings can learn some basic Jedi skills. This segment was better organised this year. You had to register your kids beforehand in order to participate. 


I spent a couple of hours there and had fun viewing the displays and taking photos. The venue is spacious but hot. Once again hats off to the guys and girls in costume. I like taking photos of and with you. There was a SWTFA Panel which I didn't stay for. I wanted to check out another event. Hopefully there will be more panels and more activities.

Click this link for more photos.


Thanks for viewing! And May the 4th Be With You!


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