Day 1 of Course of the Force: Annnnd… We’re Off
by Perry Michael Simon on July 7, 2012
Day one of Course of the Force was a big success. Of course, when the lightsaber relay departed Santa Monica Pier, I lost sight of it, but, thus far, I haven’t gotten a phone call about any 12-celebrity pileup in El Segundo, so I’m pretty sure it went well all the way down to Redondo. (I live nearby and could check, but I’m lazy) The kickoff was, however, a blast, as you can see by the video recap:
Oh, wait, that’s not the video recap. That’s some of our Nerdist and Course of the Force folks singing along to “Don’t Stop Believing.” They did this in public, so it’s fair game. (I’m behind the camera. And not singing.) Turns out that the video recap is late. We’ll have it when it’s ready. Until then, we have pictures, lots of pictures. I took a bunch of pictures at the opening “Con-ival” in Santa Monica, many of which I tweeted (you DO follow me @pmsimon, right?). And I wasn’t the only one taking photos. Herewith, a few highlights:
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- Chris and Chloe, being all adorbs
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- Spazmatics on stage, all about the 80s
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- Shoebacca.com’s big shoe…
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- …and Chewbacca, a/k/a Peter Mayhew
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- The Nerdist crew singing “Don’t Stop Believing.” Really.
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- Chris high-fives a fan
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- The main entrance. Inflatable!
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- Some familiar folks from the 501st Legion
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- Zachary Levi and Paul Scheer on G4
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- Alison and Alex!
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- Our hosts, Ashley, Alison, Chris, and Alex, with Mr. D2
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- Here comes Chris leading the relay!
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- …and there goes Chris, with kids from Make-a-Wish in support.
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- Passing the airport.
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- It’s gotta be hot in that outfit.
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- The whole family’s into it.
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- Da Barge.
The first 13 are mine. The rest came from… I’m not sure, but we had a lot of folks on the case. And so did the StarWars.com folks, who had this Flickr gallery ready:
Great day. Sunday, the relay sets out bright and early from Redondo and heads for Huntington Beach Pier, where there’ll be music and festivities for everyone at Huntington Beach Pier starting at 4 pm with a special free concert with someone I don’t think I’m supposed to mention here at 8 pm PT (okay, it’s The Dan Band. Whoops). See you there….
Oh, and ABSOLUTELY go to the Course of the Force eBay auction page RIGHT NOW. You can bid on the Epic Meal Time-autographed Star Wars BBQ apron, former Hasbro photographer Gianni Loperlogo’s book “insight” signed by George Lucas, a year’s supply of Otter Pops (yes!), special edition hardcover Fraggle Rock and Locke and Key books, a Star Wars Millennium Falcon 2007 Hallmark ornament artist proof, a VIP tour of the Warner Bros. studio lot and a Starline Tour of L.A. for two with airfare, and a limited edition COTF Anakin Skywalker Ultimate FX lightsaber. RIGHT NOW. Go bid.
Where can I find more videos? D: …. I want to vicariously live my life through a camera on the other side of the planet with this run-a-thon. D: D: D: D: D: D: D: D:
If you guys can show more live stuff or recaps that would be amazing (or point me in the general direction where those are happening (coz im a dumb-dumb)).
My son ran the LAX leg at Century Blvd. So fun for him. Only way to get a teenage nedr to smile. Thanks!!!!
This has totally got me even more excited for Star Wars Celebration in August. ALSO is there any word of the sister wives attending happy fun Star Wars times in sunny hot Orlando? That would be amazing if they could but I know scheduling is challenging to say the least.
Video’s coming right here, soon. Delayed for production reasons but it’s coming Sunday morning (Pacific time), or at least that’s the plan.
This looks absolutely amazing. Congratulations to everyone involved for doing such wonderful thing. I hate being half a world away.
I left my lightsaber in El Segundo
I gotta get, I got-got ta get it
Perry, did you ever know you are my Course of the Force Hero? You are the wind beneath my X-Wing.
@jetpackblues —buhahaha I was thinking that too !!!
Are you going to do it again this year?