Toronto Comiccon 2014: Stars Wars in TO

by Toni Weri

THE GALACTIC MISSION: Trooping with the 501^st/Rebel Legion at Toronto Comiccon 2014

On March 7^th-9th, I had the pleasure of Trooping with my fellow members of the 501^st and Rebel Legion at Toronto Comiccon, in Toronto, Ontario. It was, as always, an enjoyable event. Legion members from Ottawa, Toronto and the U.S.A attended this geeky event.

Photo taken by Toni Weri

I'll summarize what we, the 501^st/Rebel Legion, do. We are a volunteer, international costuming organization that raises funds for various charity organizations. We do this by setting up various booths at events, such as comic conventions or at local fundraising events. What do we costume as? As STAR WARS characters! All costumes are made by Legion members.

The good guys and the bad guys, banding together for the same goal, to make a difference while doing what we love.

Trooping for charity, that’s what we do. All funds raised during Toronto Comiccon 2014 will go towards a children’s charity.

How did we raise funds? Well, that’s one of the fun parts of Trooping. At major events, such as comic conventions, an elaborate and interactive booth is normally put together. At the beginning of the booth, the Canadian Garrison put together an info/recruit desk. Here, Legion members happily answered questions about our group as well as informed convention goers on how they can become a 501^st/Rebel Legion member. Normally raffle tickets are available at this part of the booth.

Photo taken by Toni Weri

The next section of the Legion booth was a “Blast-a-Trooper” for charity. Participants shot at Stormtroopers and Clone Troopers with awesome Nerf guns. It was actually quite a blast. Troopers underwent hours of being bombarded by foam blaster bullets, all in the name of charity.

Photo taken by Toni Weri

Moving along down the Legion booth, we reach the photo booth. Here, fans of all ages took pictures with their favourite Star Wars characters, for a small donation of course.

Photo taken by Toni Weri

The 501^st/Rebel Legion Canadian Base raised a total of $6170.65 during Toronto Comiccon 2014 for a children’s charity. Awesome job Troopers!

Photo taken by Phil Gotfried at Toronto Comiccon 2014

The Legion is active on five continents, with Garrisons and Outposts in over fifty countries around the globe. Making a difference while being geeky. Sounds about right to me.

For more information about the 501^st and Rebel Legion, please visit the links below.

http://www.501st.com/

http://www.rebellegion.com/

May the Force Be with You!

Toni Weri is a freelance artist. She is a geek of all trades, but her forte lies with anime, costuming, video games and Sci-Fi. 

You can follow her on Twitter or Instagram @ TONIGEEKGIRL

The Bake It So Story

This post was originally shared on our sister site, GirlCrafted.com
by Jordan Danger

Five years ago, my best friend MJ left cooking.

She was good at it. In fact, she was great. She made her way up to Executive Chef status by her twenties, and all that without a formal education. But she was tired of working in male-dominated kitchens where sexual harassment and homophobia was the norm. She was tired of getting passed up for promotions, paid a sub-standard wage, and never getting a long enough leash to do her best creative work.

So she left, and took a somewhat less prestigious job--though ironically, better-paid--as a barrista. We supported her in this decision, because she was burnt out and didn't love cooking anymore. But we kept her in the kitchen at home...in a positive way. We encouraged her endless baking of key lime pies, coconut macaroons, meringue eggs, and truffles.

Slowly, the love returned, and a desire to fulfill her passion was rekindled. So MJ enrolled in the bakery program at college. There, she has been kicking ass for the last three months.

Recently, MJ had a project to do: make an outgoing voicemail message for your future self, in five years' time. It was a Business Communications assignment, but it was also an assignment in self-affirmation. Because after years of being beaten down and made to feel less than awesome, MJ recorded this as her 'dream' outgoing message:

You have reached Mission: Bake It So, aboard the International Space Station. We are currently somewhere over Europe, travelling in excess of 17,000mph, and can't take your call right now, but we'd love for you to send us an email at _____, or you can learn more about us online at NASA.gov/bakeitso. Bake It So: literally as close to heaven as you can get.

Me (left) and MJ (right).

I should probably have mentioned, MJ is an uber-nerd. For both the written and recorded 'future self' assingments, all of her science was verifiably accurate. This message is not a joke: if MJ had a genie, she would wish to be baking on the International Space Station doing science and food wizardry.

MJ is my hero. She makes me believe that you can be true to yourself and succeed in your goals. Make your own music, sing your own song, and soon the whole world will be singing along.

Tuition is tight and there's a long road ahead of MJ before she reaches her goal of universal baking domination. But we, her family and chosen family, stand behind her. In a way, a win for MJ is a win for all of us.

(And of course, I can't help but put it out there that if you, too, want to support MJ, you can like her Bake It So facebook page in preparation for when it really gets going, and if I knew how to set up a scholarship fund for her, I'd do that too. I don't, but on the off-chance there's a rich and powerful benefactor out there looking for a place for their money to go, they can email me.)

MJ is my hero in many ways, not just baking and goal-setting. She is the only person who knows exactly who I am, exactly how I think, and exactly what I want when I'm having a meltdown. She is an unwavering friend to all her loved ones, and a daily good Samaritan. These things all make her great. But her ability to say, "I'm a grrl, and a world-class baker, and these things can co-exist!" makes her my hero today. Her straight-A grades don't hurt, either.

Comment below to say congrats! 

The Star Wars Identities Exhibit in Ottawa

This post was originally shared on our sister site, GirlCrafted.com
by Jordan Danger

Well, since my boyfriend most closely resembles a Wookie, and my best friend MJ called dibs on being Han Solo years ago, I guess my sass and penchant for odd hair-dos makes me a ringer for Princess Leia. And so off we went--Han, Chewie, and Leia--to the Star Wars Identities exhibit here in Ottawa last weekend.

I didn't know what to expect from this show, and frankly it didn't really matter: MJ is a lifelong Star Wars fanatic, so even if the exhibit was simply 200 props piled in the middle of the floor, we were going to take her to see it and she was going to love every minute of it. The girl knows things that no one but Lucas should know; I can ask her about any character in the Mos Eisley cantina, and she will give me their name, their dog's name, and the mailing address. I'm not joking when I say, this exhibit would be a 'win' no matter what was there.

To my delight, however, it was much more than just props in boxes. The whole show had a spin on 'nature vs. nurture', genetics, and innate vs. learned behaviours. The show starts off with each visitor choosing a Star Wars species and naming their character, and as we walked through the show, we assigned those characters back stories, home planets, professions, and personality traits. An earpiece allowed each of us to hear the audio tracks to various animations detailing how our own human identities are formed, citing examples from the Star Wars saga. Pretty cool stuff, indeed.

The props were really great, too. I enjoyed that there were a lot of concept sketches and random funny scribbles by the production team, all with explanations posted to share the 'inside jokes' with you. As a travelling exhibit, the setup was quite simple--no X-Wings hanging from the ceiling or life-sized dioramas to walk through--but the artifacts were all in pristine condition and displayed in crystal-clear cases. It made me even more certain than ever that Jedi robes should totally be the next fashion trend.

And how did MJ like it? She wandered through with giant wide eyes, taking photos of everything, even items from the newest three movies (which she generally hates, like all genuine old school Star Wars fans). She loved the interactivity of getting to build your own character, choosing traits and back stories and saving them all on the supplied magic wrist band, which later presented you with a projection of your completed Star Wars character.

This is a girl who, every time the opening notes of the Star Wars theme song roar through the speakers on her TV, smiles like a fiend and conducts the orchestra. So, other than wanting to actually wear some of the costumes, I think MJ was about the happiest little geek in all the universe. And even I--with much more a Star Trek upbringing--was mesmerized by the impeccable props and super cool interactive character-building displays.

I recommend you head down to the show, which is continuing on at the Canada Aviation & Space Museum until October 14 2013. Whatever your age, whatever you geek level, you will emerge with a new Star Wars identity to call your own.