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<\/a><\/p>\n“They’ll have\u00a0FUN”, they said!<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n “They’ll get to meet Storm Troopers!”<\/p>\n “And Jedi!”<\/p>\n “And C-3P0!”<\/p>\n “And Droids!”<\/p>\n “And Slave…” Wookie?? \u00a0Hmmm…. \u00a0What kind of show is this!?<\/p>\n Yes, when taking kids to a geek convention full of costume groups and cosplay folks, devoted fans and those who thrive on mash-up’s, scandal and satire, you never know what your’e going to see or if even\u00a0half of it will be appropriate for children.<\/p>\n It’s okay, kids… she’s covered in fur. It’s not like she’s naked, right?<\/p>\n So, while there are always going to be those few, random people pushing the limits with costumes you can never “un-see”, the experience of Star Wars Celebration maintained a welcoming, family atmosphere.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Oh, and “they” were right. \u00a0Kids had a blast and we had fun watching them take it all in.<\/p>\n Here is our Star Wars Celebration 2015 Family\u00a0Recap. \u00a0Hope you enjoy!<\/p>\n We arrived two hours early. \u00a0As we walked up to the door, our children were confused. \u00a0Jedi of all species walking around, talking, laughing, standing in line at the food trucks, Sith Lords chilling out, having coffee and getting ready for their day, droids wandering around taking photos with people… and then something terrible happened. \u00a0The thing all geek parents fear most- that their children will suddenly be struck with terror instead of joy at the sight of costumed characters.<\/p>\n Turns out, Stormtroopers scare the crap out of my son. \u00a0Or, they did when the day started… but I’ll get to that later.<\/p>\n First we met the Slave Wookie shown above. \u00a0The kids wanted absolutely nothing to do with “her”, cowering behind the stroller and between our legs to avoid the gaze of the monster.<\/p>\n After that, we found the Droid Builder’s corner and the awesome set up hosted by the R2-D2 Builders Club.<\/p>\n After our slow walk around the droid section, we happened upon an amazing activity hosted by UNICEF entitled “Force for Change<\/a>“. In their booth, each participant was given a ticker to track footsteps and then sent “through the galaxy” to save the universe. \u00a0Each step a participant took earned points that added up to real food packets. \u00a0Those food packets were then donated by UNICEF, to families in need all over the world. \u00a0The activity was open to children and adults of all ages. \u00a0They were welcoming, informative and incredibly accommodating, even to my tiny 2 year old who just couldn’t handle NOT participating. \u00a0Take a look at their experience below;<\/p>\n The kids had an especially great time going through that course and everyone there seemed genuinely excited to be there and to interact with convention goers of all ages. \u00a0After visiting UNICEF, we then found ourselves here;<\/p>\n Where, while in line for the photo, we were offered a free backpack in exchange for downloading the Star Wars Rebels: Recon Missions<\/a>\u00a0game on our iPhones. \u00a0Done and done! \u00a0Hooray free backpacks! … now to decide if we will open them and actually use them…<\/p>\n After that, we went over to the Lego Play area where, thanks to our Director of Cosplay; Adam Brohel standing in line for us (because no one wants to stand next to two toddlers under 5 being forced to stand in a line during the nap time they are not getting for over an hour), we were able to build ourselves some adorable, tinsy, tiny, Celebration-Exclusive\u00a0Millennium Falcons. \u00a0Every day they offered a different build; Thursday was a Star Destroyer, Friday was an X-Wing, Saturday was a Tie Fighter and Sunday was the Millennium Falcon.<\/p>\n Once we finished playing with Legos, we turned the corner to find a giant Darth Vader, made entirely out of Legos. \u00a0This figure, standing what appeared to be 2 stories high, was a collaborative effort built by convention-goers from Thursday through it’s completion finally on Saturday night. They offered several build stations where people could go and help build pieces of the imposing figure to then be set in place by a Master Builder. \u00a0The result was an incredible, group effort- one the entire convention could take pride in being part of. \u00a0Unfortunately I didn’t get a great shot of the entire statue because it was GIANT and I had two very antsy toddlers by that point who didn’t want to stand still while mommy was getting her money shot. \u00a0Oh well. \u00a0Use your imaginations.<\/p>\n Next we found an R2-D2 bubble machine <\/a>by Imperial Toy, LLC<\/a> along with their entire line of new Star Wars Bubbles. \u00a0The bubble machine is due for release this autumn and was available for preorder only that day, while the smaller bubbles can be found at several stores today.<\/p>\n Then it was time for a quick walk to the hotel food court where, on our way to the door, we met our first Sandtrooper\u00a0up close. \u00a0TD-13117, to be exact, from the Mos Eisley Police Department<\/a>, a 501st Legion detachment dedicated to law enforcement in Mos Eisley.<\/p>\n Next came pizza, a quick nap and then on to the next thing which was a stop to the Family Room upstairs.<\/p>\n The Family Room!<\/p>\n OOOH EMMM GEE!!! \u00a0This place was a brilliant idea and whomever thought of it deserves a medal. \u00a0There was origami classes, making your own droid activities, drawing characters, a child’s costume contest, making paper bag puppets, workshops with an R2-D2, trivia games, lightsaber training, Ewok decorating and decorating magnets with Madalorian Mercs. \u00a0These activities ran all four days from 10am until 6pm most days, except the day we were there on Sunday. \u00a0Sad for us. In fact, the only complaint I had at all, was we got there too late in the day to participate in many of the activities which ended at 4pm that day-which was not a complaint toward them, just that I assumed things would run all day as they had on previous days and I didn’t check first.<\/p>\n We walked in 10 minutes too late to have our kids join the last Youngling Lightsaber Training event of the day, which was traumatic for a minute, until the nice\u00a0people\u00a0at the desk gifted my young Jedi with a beginning reader book called “Luke Skywalker’s Amazing Story”. All was forgiven and once the activity was over, the open floor area was open to all children, where an epic lightsaber battle ensued.<\/p>\n Check out the gallery below for a few images of our time spent in the family room.<\/p>\n While this epic battle was taking place, I was over at the Galactic Academy<\/a> booth getting information. \u00a0 The very\u00a0existence of this group filled me with so many emotions; excited, grateful, relieved and most of all, completely sold and ready to sign up.\u00a0\u00a0You see, as a geek parent, we face greater challenges than most, as the world of ultra-geekdom doesn’t typically welcome children. \u00a0I was a geek long before I was a parent, and I noticed the change as soon as I attended my first event while pregnant. \u00a0There is an air of irritation, disgust almost at times when the ultra fans see children at these events because somehow, it’s become “cool” to hate kids. \u00a0This type of agism puts parents on guard, forces them out of events and experiences they once loved simply to avoid the “kids don’t belong here” drama. \u00a0So, finding a costume group giving honor to the needs of geek families and providing a safe, fun place for our children to be welcome was like finding a spring in a desert.<\/p>\n The Galactic Academy is an independent costume group created by, but not directly associated with the folks in the 501st. \u00a0They encourage cooperation between costume groups and often work together at events, complimenting one another with similar values and standards.<\/p>\n The club is specifically for children under 18 years of age. \u00a0That’s right- UNDER 18!!! As in… no limit downward, only a limit upward. Infants are welcome. \u00a0Toddlers are welcome. Everyone under 18 is welcome. \u00a0FINALLY… a group of parents deeply passionate about Star Wars and costuming understood the value of creating a group like this. \u00a0It has only been around 3 years and it is already global. \u00a0Go ahead, look it up- I bet there’s a garrison near you! \u00a0One major difference between adult costume groups and the Galactic Academy, is all are welcome. \u00a0You don’t have to choose “dark” or “light”. \u00a0They accept any and all from mercs to Jedi to dark emperors and beyond. Needless to say, we will be<\/p>\n One MAJOR problem we had leaving the Family Room; massive, terrible, end of the universe meltdowns because absolutely NOTHING else in the entire galaxy could be as important as lightsaber battles with new friends.<\/p>\n And yet… we moved on, they survived and we took the last 2 hours of the day to leisurely walk around the main hall,\u00a0see some amazing artwork, action figures, exclusive merchandise and people watch. \u00a0Check out what we saw in the slideshow below:<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a><\/a><\/p>\n <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n<\/a>He gave us a ticket for smuggling and told us to be on our way. \u00a0He also gave my four year old his first interaction with a trooper that didn’t absolutely terrify him. \u00a0This guy, whomever he was,\u00a0took the time to kneel down, help him feel comfortable, gave him a postcard (ticket) and showed him it was all okay. Whoever you are, TD-13117- you\u00a0helped him overcome that hurdle and I truly thank you! \u00a0The rest of the day was a blast with him being brave enough to meet other awesome characters because you took the time.<\/p>\n <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/a> <\/a> <\/a> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n<\/a><\/p>\n