The force awakens at Star Wars Day
THERE’S nothing Toowoomba’s Luke Shadbolt loves doing more than donning his ARC clone-trooper outfit from Star Wars and entertaining crowds. Mr Shadbolt and his colleagues in the 501st Legion’s Redback Garrison were some of the “stars” of the Toowoomba City Library’s Star Wars Day on Saturday.
Thousands of people, mostly families with children, poured through the doors across the day to enjoy fun and games based around the massive sci-fi film and entertainment franchise.
Mr Shadbolt said to be part of the 501st Legion, a worldwide collection of cosplayers for Star Wars, participants had to have costumes approved based on rigorous standards.
“My outfit is based on a comic book so there is a little leeway, but for a stormtrooper the outfit has to be perfect,” he said.
“It’s good to have standards like that, because then everyone represents us properly.
“It’s the real deal, like we walked straight off the screen.”
Mr Shadbolt said he loved being part of the Star Wars community because of how fans supported each other.
“My favourite part is probably just putting smiles on faces and showing off the level of quality we represent,” he said.
“You get to be part of a great community and everyone just works together.”
Toowoomba Regional Council’s Angela Morgan said Star Wars Day was always a massive success for the library, with last year’s attracting more than 4000 people.