What is Invasion ? It’s a Star Wars fan event being run this weekend by the Emerald Garrison which is as far as I can figure out, the Irish Star Wars fanclub as such (correct me if I’m wrong). On Friday afternoon I was lucky enough to get a Press Pass to see what was going to take place over the weekend.
First thing that was noticeable as I walked down the footpath to the RDS was the fact that I had to walk through a bunch of stormtroopers which was quite surreal. Here’s where I have to be honest. I’m not the hugest of Star Wars fan, I always preferred the Marvel characters and stories or the work of Joss Whedon.
Walking in, you have the usual merch stands with tshirts, mugs, pens and light sabres. You have the comic books, or graphic novels if you prefer, ranging in price from 6 euro to well over 100 euro for two specific numbers.
Throughout the venue there are some nice little quirky things happening. You can get your photo taken so it looks like you are a limited edition action figure. There’s a Jedi Academy for the kids. You can have a look at replica Darth Vadar masks and heads of otherworldly creatures.
The Emerald Garrison has also recreated ships and props from Star Wars, some of which are really cool, including the cuddly Ewoks.
I guess the biggest drawing of the weekend though, I’d say for fans is that some of the actors from the Star Wars films are around and there are Question and Answer sessions happening.
Some of the proceeds from the event will go towards Irish Autism Action, so fair play and I know that getting the sets together and actors over to the event is expensive. When the price can be up to 25 euro for an adult and 15 euro for a child, it seems a little too much when some of the actors pose for photographs or sign an autograph for a charge. Maybe that’s the way these things work but meh.
Tomorrow (April 25th) is the last day, if you’re very into your Star Wars it’s worth a look. You can get tickets here, there are online discounts available. It is quite fun being followed by a Stormtrooper!