MISSION REPORT: SpoCon '08

MISSION REPORT: SpoCon 2008

It's Monday morning immediately following a Con… SpoCon, to be exact. It was held on the beautiful campus of Gonzaga University in Spokane. I had never been to Gonzaga, nor have I spent any time in Spokane, so I was in for a treat. The weather was clear and sunny, but not too hot. I found Spokane to be such a nice place; clean and friendly, with a small town feel. We stayed downtown and had quite a time figuring out all the one-way streets! Spokane has everything you could ever want; great shopping, wonderful parks, easy parking, great old buildings, excellent eating choices - who knew Spokane was such a great place?!



My Padawan and I were invited to tag along with the 501st Legion, the premier Star Wars costumers organization. It was absolutely fabulous; the people and costumes were incredible! Stormtroopers, a Tuskan Raider, a Tie Pilot and of course, Darth Vader himself, were all in attendance. Even Chewbacca made an appearance, even though he is not considered part of the Empire. We were the token rebels, representing the Rebel Legion, a sister organization to the 501st. Dressing and acting as Jedi, I have to say, is an incredible thrill!

Friday, we had the privilege of participating in the Opening Ceremonies. I have heard that there will be a video on YouTube of the fun opening of the con. For three days, we posed for pictures, talked to Star Wars fans, walked the campus, worked on our 'game face' and poses…but mostly just had a great time hangin' with other Star Wars geeks - I never get tired of movie quotes! You haven't lived until you see a Stormtrooper doing a tap dance (what is it about those Stormtroopers that is so dang funny??) I think the funniest part of the weekend was watching a Stormtrooper, a Tuskan Raider and Darth Vader prancing around the park-like setting of the university like little kids - a scene I will not soon forget!



If you have never been to a Con, there are workshops called panels where people 'in the know' discuss their area of expertise in an informal classroom setting. There were many panels at SpoCon, and we got to sit in on the "501st Show 'n Tell" panel. They discussed the finer points of assembling the costumes that are showcased in the movies. Incredibly complicated it is to put together a movie-accurate Star Wars costume, and it can be quite expensive, as well. We also enjoyed the panel "Browncoats, Klingons & Jedi, oh my!" where we discussed putting together 'soft' costumes, both under the constraints of a budget and not. Our good friend and fellow Jedi, Deunan, did a fantastic job explaining the details and tips to putting together a movie-accurate Jedi costume. I had the distinct pleasure of acting as Jedi Vanna White (aka her assistant!).



The special guest of the con was Timothy Zahn, the well-known science fiction author. I was honored to meet him; he is the nicest man! I was most impressed with his demeanor and grace to everyone who requested autographs and pictures with him. He is an honorary member of the 501st, so he spent some time with us posing for funny pictures and just hangin' out. I especially enjoyed hearing him speak about his experiences working with George Lucas and talking about his books - they are so good!



In the slower times of the con, Lisa and I got to tour Spokane a bit - we went to see her childhood home, the ritzier neighborhoods, the incredible Episcopal Cathedral and her old school, Mary Cliff. We did manage to snag a letterbox at a very nice coffee house, as well. While we were there, the staff at the nearby Verizon store spotted the Jedi enjoying the sunshine and breakfast on the patio and came and asked for pics - too much fun! They just so happened to have a professional photographer handy (!!) and took quite a few shots of us posing with them. I just love walking around dressed as a Jedi!

We also enjoyed Manitou Park, which was very close to Lisa's childhood neighborhood. We had the chance to take some great costume shots along the pond and in the Japanese garden. So beautiful! And, we couldn't leave Spokane without riding the turn-of-the-century carousel at Riverfront Park. We drew quite a bit of attention walking around the park dressed in Jedi robes, as you can imagine! We were stopped for pictures and had a great time on the carousel and indulging in some ice cream. The park is absolutely wonderful, the weather was to die for and I could not have asked for better company.