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spaceport
2008 |
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saturday
19th - sunday 20th april 2008 |
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Report by Mark
Newbold and Gerald Home |
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Last autumns
Spaceport event was a rip-roaring success, attracting record crowds to
Wallasey and star guests Richard LeParmentier, Gerald Home, Paul Blake
and Rusty Goffe. With news reports reaching around the planet, the
word was very positive on this springs event... |
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The final weekend of the Sci-Fi at
the Movies exhibition gave visitors the chance to meet Stormtroopers and
Clonetroopers, as well as real life stars from the movies. The marquee
star signing for the event was Peter Mayhew who played Chewbacca, along
with Ian Liston and returning guests Gerald Home, Rusty Goffe and Paul
Blake. In addition there were other costumed characters
including Halo, Spiderman, Batman, Power Rangers and RoboCop all adding
to the Sci-Fi theme... |
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Saturday 19th April 2008 |
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Gerald Home,
Tessek and Mon Calamari officer, Return of the
Jedi |
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Gerald - "It
was a great pleasure to be invited back to Spaceport for the closing
weekend of their Sci-Fi Exhibition. As usual, Ken and Sue Moss and their
team looked after us very well." |
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C.O of
Knights of the Empire Rick
Snoman presents the actor guests with KOTE
goodie bags |
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Actor
guests and KOTE members |
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Gerald - "I
took the opportunity to meet up with my Dark Side friends." |
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"Pleased to meet you Mr Fett." |
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"Don't
cry Mr Maul." |
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"Keep
taking the medication Mr Emperor." |
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Gerald -
"It was
great to meet up with the Mighty Chewbacca again, Peter Mayhew." |
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Little
and Large |
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Gerald -
"This was
the first opportunity I had to be a real ambassador for SWORA, the
wonderful new alliance of Star Wars groups from different countries, and
my Star Wars chums were happy to help me spread the word." |
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Paul
Blake |
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Ian
Liston |
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Rusty
Goffe |
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Peter
Mayhew |
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Gerald -
"Knights of the Empire arranged our appearance and it's fantastic to see
them going from strength to strength, as they are such a friendly, fun
bunch of people, a real pleasure to work with." |
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Sunday 20th April 2008 |
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Mark Newbold,
Webmaster and Editor |
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Mark - "I arrived at
Spaceport Sunday morning at 11.30am, a late night updating the site and enjoying a Tenacious D tribute band
put paid to my planned crack-of-dawn start, but nevertheless I was there in
plenty of time to enjoy yet another successful and busy day in the life
of Spaceport on what would be the final weekend of the Sci-fi at the
Movies event." |
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Just a
few yards away from Spaceport lay the River Mersey |
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Mark - "The Spaceport is
set just on the banks of the River Mersey and despite a light rain that
came and went throughout the day the ferries were running - which they
hadn't been the day before - and the atmosphere was great. An
event commemorating the Zebrugge Ferry disaster was held on the river,
and a multitude of people attended as well as many uniformed officers
who performed the solemn ceremony." |
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The
Spaceport was buzzing with people |
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Mark - "Everything I'd
been told about the event was there. Great props, a bustling
merchandise area, some lively and engaging guests and whole new
generations of kids waving Lightsabre's and dressing up in costume.
And not only Star Wars, there were mini Bat-Man's and Spiderman's
everywhere. The future of sci-fi looks to be in safe hands." |
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The
Knights of the Empire, preparing for their next mission |
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Mark - "I was fortunate
enough to have been put in touch with Mick Byrne of Knights of the
Empire, a UK-based costuming group who broke away from the 501st back in
2005 and have continued to grow ever since. Mick was kind enough
to give me the run of the KOTE backstage area which gave me the
opportunity to pick his brains about the various events that KOTE have
participated in over the years." |
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I'll
get me KOTE |
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Mark - "As well as the
kind of events you would imagine - conventions and signing events - KOTE
have also appeared at the Download Festival at Donnington Park, one of
the worlds premiere heavy rock events and on Celebrity Scissorhands,
the reality TV show that also featured Star Wars star Warwick Davis." |
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Mick (top
right) surveys the troops... |
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Mark - "Mick gave me a
fascinating run through the history of KOTE, including their forthcoming
appearances on Charles Ross' 2008 UK tour of One Man Star Wars show.
Amazingly, one member of KOTE has booked his entire years worth of
holiday to follow the tour around the country. Now that's
dedication to the cause." |
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Some of
the attractions at Spaceport |
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Mark - "After enjoying
KOTE's hospitality I ventured out into the show and took a look around
the exhibition itself. On the ground floor were displays and
interactive activities for the children to take part in, and much like
the National Space Centre in Leicester it was all geared towards giving
kids a greater understanding of the cosmos and our aim to travel closer
to it." |
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The
queue's at Spaceport |
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Mark - "It's always a
good idea to activate kids imaginations by mixing science fact with
science fiction, and clearly this is something that Star Wars does so
well. On the ground floor there were lines of kids and adult
queuing up to enjoy the activities at hand, which was great to see and
Spaceports organisers should be commended." |
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Ok, spot the
dude who escaped from his carbonite block... |
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Mark - "As well as being
an informative event Spaceport also caters to the sci-fi fans among us,
and who wouldn't be impressed by the displays at hand. Luke
Skywalkers of Skywalkers costume hire and fancy dress organised and
provided the displays, which ranged from the six Star Wars films to such
diverse classics as E.T, Marvel and DC heroes and RoboCop." |
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Two
heads - always better than one (as Zaphod would say) |
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Mark - "On my travels I
came across these two fantastic Terminator heads, which caught my eye
thanks to being a growing fan of the excellent Sarah Connor
Chronicles." |
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Believe
it or not, the one on the right was at my wedding... |
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Mark - "And what sci-fi
gathering would be complete without the presence of the Klingons?
A sci-fi staple, these two handsome fella's were on their best behaviour
when faced with my shaky camera..." |
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Two
future Jedi Knights |
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Mark - "Maybe I'm getting
old but I get more and more of a kick out of seeing kids at these
events. Star Wars is grabbing their imaginations just like it did
mine thirty years ago, and watching kids like these throw themselves into the stories and
characters is really great to see." |
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Jabba
the Hutt, wondering where his latest dancer has gone... |
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Mark - "Perhaps the most
impressive prop put here by Skywalkers was their full size Jabba the
Hutt. Kids were lining up to have their photo taken with him, but
sadly no metal-bikini clad temptresses were on hand to fulfil the role
of Princess Leia." |
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Gerald
and Mark shamelessly promoting their latest venture... |
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Mark - "One of the joys
of being a webmaster is interviewing the stars and brains behind the
Star Wars saga, be it an author, actor, artists or director.
Gerald Home has become a good friend to both myself and Lightsabre over
the past couple of years and it's always a pleasure catching up and
seeing what the latest news is. Here we are promoting S.W.O.R.A -
the Star Wars Outer Rim Alliance, an international grouping of sites
that will be launching worldwide over the summer." |
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Peter
Mayhew, signing for the fans |
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Mark - "The weekends
marquee attraction was Chewbacca star Peter Mayhew, who had journeyed
halfway around the world from Texas to attend the event. As ever
the queues for him were long and he was happy to chat and sign anything
for his fans, accompanied by his lovely wife Angie." |
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The
bustling signing area |
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Mark - "Along with Peter
and Gerald were Ian Liston and his wife Vivien as well as Paul Blake -
Greedo from A New Hope, and a fellow West Bromwich Albion fan - and
Rusty Goffe, who was entertaining the younger crowd members with his
antics. With a very relaxed and informal atmosphere it was clear
that all were enjoying the event." |
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Well,
even the Empire needs to advertise... |
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Mark - "Moving away from
the signing area there was still plenty of activities going on. On
the first floor a sizeable area had been put aside for photo's with the
stars, giving anyone who so wished the chance to be photographed
alongside their favourite KOTE characters. Kids were queuing up to
have their snaps taken with Clonetroopers, Mandalorians, Jedi's and Sith
Lords." |
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Tony
and his Corran Horn Jedi robes... |
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Mark - "Returning to the
backstage KOTE area I had chance to chat with Tony Jay, a long time
costumer who explained the history behind his Corran Horn outfit.
As far as Tony is aware he is the only costumer worldwide wearing the
Jedi robes of the Corellian Jedi Master. With a glut of new
costumes in the works, keep your eyes out for Tony and his fellow KOTE
members at conventions all across the United Kingdom during 2008 and
beyond." |
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Yoda -
too cool for school |
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Mark - "The day was
coming to a close and after saying my goodbyes to the KOTE team and the
assorted guests I made my way around the exhibition for the final time
and couldn't resist snapping everyone's favourite green Jedi -
apart from Kit Fisto perhaps - resplendent in Spaceport cap. He
may have been a target of Order 66 but never let it be said that Yoda
was a victim of fashion..." |
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Ferry crosses
the Mersey |
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Mark - "Once again the
British Star Wars community proved that it can put on just as warm and
welcoming a show as any country in the world, and the Spaceport event
was no exception. With yet another record gate we can only hope
that someone has the good sense to bring the Star Wars galaxy back to
Wallasey in the future. If they do, you've got your first paying
guest right here." |
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