May the 4th be with you – at the Denver Starfest

Last year we were so excited to go to the entire fabulous weekend of Starfest and my kids loved it. We went for all 3 days and there were tons of things to see, events to attend and stuff to buy! 🙂 Read more about our visit last year here.knockout

This year they have brilliantly scheduled it around  May the 4th, Star Wars day celebration announced for the United States is taking place in Denver, CO, at the annual StarFest convention. Rumor has it that Margaret Thatcher was actually the first to utter the pun that has become an international holiday for all fans of Star Wars movies, culture and fun.

Not just a day – but a full weekend of activities celebrating Star Wars, including a Jar Jar Binks Dunk Tank, Yoda Sound-Alike contest, Miss Empire Pageant, light saber piñata bashes, stormtroopers, life-size functioning R2D2 robots, a “These ARE the Droids You’re Looking For” scavenger hunt, trivia, and art and costume contests.  “May the 4th Be With You.”

“It’s the ultimate Star Wars Geekend,” says organizer KathE Walker.  “We’ve been running this convention since May, 1977. That first year, we were contacted by Lucasfilm, asking if we would mind running a 16mm trailer for a movie they were releasing at the end of the month called Star Wars.  They gave us some hand outs and t-shirts to give away and as far as I know we were one of the first conventions to show the trailer anywhere. I figure it this way…if it weren’t for us showing the trailer and getting folks excited about the movie, Star Wars wouldn’t have been the success it is today,” she laughs. “Okay, so I like to think that way.”

starfestToday, StarFest includes programming and attractions celebrating a host of sci-fi, fantasy and horror films and TV shows. More than 25 media guests will also be in attendance, signing autographs, meetings fans, and speaking onstage.

Many Star Trek guests are also expected to appear.  Nichelle Nichols (Lieutenant Uhura from the original series, ) Tim Russ (Tuvok the Vulcan from Voyager) and Suzie Plakson ( Worf’s half-Klingon mate, K’Ehleyr from Star Trek: The Next Generation) will all be greeting fans, signing autographs and appearing on stage during the 3-day festival, set for May 2-3-4 at the Marriott Tech Center.  Patrick Stewart (Captain Jean-Luc Picard from Star Trek: The Next Generation and Professor X in the Xmen) is also planning to appear, although his appearance is tentative, awaiting professional commitments.

StarFest is one of the nation’s oldest fan-run science fiction media conventions.  Over the decades, the convention has grown to celebrate all forms of science fiction, fantasy and horror, and includes several other conventions-within-a-convention the same weekend: ComicsFest, HorrorFest, GameFest, RoboFest and DigiFest. Owned and operated by lifelong sci-fi fans Stephen and KathE Walker, the weekend event draws more than 10,000 fans annually.

General Admission tickets are $35 for Saturday or Sunday; $55 for a weekend pass. Child tickets are $15/$24.  Upgrades and VIP packages are also available.  Buy tickets online at www.StarFestDenver.com .

StarFest opens Friday, May 2 at 3:00 pm and the fun runs non-stop until Sunday, May 4th at 6:00 pm.  The Marriott Tech Center is located at 4900 S. Syracuse Ave, just north of Belleview, and east of I-25 in Denver/Greenwood Village. For more information, visit www.StarFestDenver.com.  

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