Back in the spring of 2006, George Lucas decided he would love to bring Star Wars fans from all over the world to march in the Tournament of Roses Parade on New Year’s Day 2007.
As I recall, our head of marketing at the time assumed that we would bring costumed characters only from the areas closest to Pasadena, California, where the parade is held. George, however, wanted to bring them from all over to say “thank you” for their support of Star Wars over the years, and to recognize the dedication of groups like the 501st and Rebel Legions for their community and charity service.
We ended up with literally blocks of marching Stormtroopers, Rebels, Imperials, Ewoks, droids, princesses, Darth Vader, and a spare Vader tracking the parade route on a side street in a van. The path of the troops to the Rose Parade was documented in Star Warriors, which is scheduled to be shown at Star Wars Celebration Europe on Pablo Hidalgo’s Behind-The-Scenes Stage in Halle 5.
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