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Star Wars Experience – Jedi on Promotion - Amsterdam, Netherlands
by Exar Xan
September 2005
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 Exar Xan alias Sander is an avid Dutch Star Wars fan and not unlike many others, he signed up for Jedi duty during the release of the Classic Trilogy on DVD.
Here is his tale �
I had been planning to make my own Star Wars costume already for a little while so that I could go to conventions with it. When I finally found somebody to help me out making a Jedi costume, I couldn't imagine what it would feel like to wear it for the first time and mingle with other dressed-up fans. That moment, however, came much earlier than expected and it was more exciting then I ever thought it could be.
My story begins on a Friday, just before the release of the Classic Trilogy DVD-box. My Jedi costume was about finished and Leonie came looking for me on MSN Messenger. Leonie is the girl who helped me out making my costume. When I told her it was almost finished, she reacted enthusiastically: �Great! Then you can join us this Wednesday, I guess?� �
I didn't have a clue what she was talking about, so I asked her to elaborate a bit. She explained that the people of Century Fox Netherlands had asked Star Wars fans to come to Amsterdam, dressed up in their costumes to promote the Classic Trilogy DVD release in a store. During the special event, customers could then take pictures for free with the costumed fans. It sounded like big fun so I emailed the person in charge and joined up with the team.
A bit nervous, I travelled by train to Amsterdam that day, skipping school (We do not really advise you guys out there to start doing the same as Sander here; your momma�s would be mad at us real quick ~ the JTA crew).
When I entered the building I was greeted by a man who promptly took me to the place where I could dress up and where some of my fellow fans had already assembled. When I looked around the room I saw Leonie sitting in the middle of a bunch of people I didn't know (yet). One of them was already fully dressed as Darth Maul and made quite an impression. Of course I met up with some of them and after some talking about I went to the room and I changed into my Jedi costume. It gave me goose bumps to put it on for the first time!
Soon after I finished changing we began our tour through Amsterdam into the general direction of the store where it all had to happen.
On the short walk to the store we had to make a few obligatory stops, mainly because �Darth Vader� couldn't see a thing through the visor in his helmet and thus had to walk really slowly and carefully, but also because some tourists wanted to make pictures of us. There was a drizzle pouring down that day, but even that couldn't bring the good mood down.
When we arrived at the store there was already a small crowd waiting for us, so we immediately had to pose for some pictures with the entire group. From that moment I lost track of time, because things followed quickly after one another. I had real entertaining chats with many members of the fan group and made some good friends in the process. I even met a couple and yet another guy from the city where I live; the man was equally dressed up and helped his friend out with his Boba Fett costume.
I got some nice remarks throughout the day like "Nice outfit dude!" and "Hey Obi-Wan, how are you?" but one reaction stuck out a bit from the others. At some point a couple entered the store carrying a small baby girl in their arms. The man walked straight to Leonie who was dressed as Princess Leia and asked if they could get a picture of her with the little baby girl. The baby�s name was � Leia; yes, indeed, she was named after the spirited senator and Rebel leader from Star Wars! This brought a smile to my face; life can be so sweet!
They say that time flies when you are having fun and that day time did indeed fly by. Not just fast but sadly enough with the hyperspeed of the Falcon. The promo action ended and we walked back to the house where we had changed clothes, got back in our regular garb and ate some pizza. Then some of my newfound friends drove me home.
That night I fell asleep with a big smile on my face � being a SW-fan rules!
~ Exar Xan
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