Star Wars and Minor League Baseball are two things that are awesome in their own right -- what could be better than the two of them together? On Saturday May 21st, CAVSWCC had a vintage roadshow at the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes' annual Star Wars Night. The Quakes are a SoCal minor league team affiliated with the Los Angeles Dodgers (my other lifelong passion/curse), so to have been invited to set up a display of vintage Star Wars items in the stadium's concourse was an incredibly fun experience, to say the least.
Minor League games have a unique charm -- from the quaint and cozy stadium's more intimate atmosphere to its absolutely carefree spirit (epitomized by the dancing-till-the-sun-rises Dewback-like mascot "Tremor"), there's a quirky sense of fun that exists nowhere else. When you bring costumed Star Wars characters and grandstand lightsaber vendors into the mix, the wonderful strangeness is made all the better.
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| "You know, I could go for a beer and a Dodger Dog..." |
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| "Lightsabers, get your lightsabers here!" |
What really made the night was to be able to share a sampling of vintage items with the cross-section of people attending a baseball game. We were told that "Star Wars Night" was without question the most popular game of the year (aside from those featuring rehabbing Major League stars), so the game's attendees were generally quite receptive to our little set-up. The Sigma C-3PO Tape Dispenser pleased and disturbed with regularity, while the Kenner 3 3/4" Millennium Falcon seemed to bring back the most memories for passers by. Others reminisced about building some of Mark E.'s model kits that were on display.
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| Setting up shop. |
The cross-generational impact of Star Wars manifested itself perhaps no more satisfyingly than with a series of hands-on demonstrations (led by Tessa) with a Meccano MovieViewer. Parents remembered fondly while their kids were overcome with curiosity about the strange analog device, all the while recognizing the moving pictures inside as being from "the first" Star Wars movie.
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| "Action!" |
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| A 501st Trooper appreciates his vintage ancestor. |
After the 4th inning, we packed up and secured everything in the administrative offices upstairs, sharing a lift with none other than the Dark Lord himself.
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| Ele-Vader |
We then took our seats to take in the rest of the game, which turned out to be a "dandy" (as Vin Scully would say), with the Quakes defeating their rival San Jose Giants by the score of 4-3.
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| The home team sported jerseys inspired by a Galaxy Far, Far Away. |
As a Dodgers fan, seeing the Giants players' photos replaced with Star Wars villains (and Jar Jar Binks, just because) was particularly satisfying!
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| Jar Jar sports an impressive batting average of .500 |
All in all, it was a blast and I hope we'll get to be a part of it next year. Until then, go Quakes!
Nice work guys. You hit a home run.
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