Bridgeview Community Center,
Bridgeview, IL
December 10, 2006
Story and Photos by Chris Spice (Darth Spice)
UNLEASH THE
TROOPS, SCORE SOME TOYS! Last
month Dustrho with some assistance from Darth Berger stormed the
Bridgeview ToyCon Charity Toy show. I was pretty impressed with the
outcome and decided to dust off Sandtrooper Jason and pull him out
of semi-retirement to pull a little active duty. The photos from
last month prompted me to investigate and maybe even score a couple
things for an early Christmas present or two of my own. We headed
out early as I was suiting up to do benefit photos with the
Midwest Garrison for
the Pediatric Oncology
Treasure Chest Foundation. It’s enough of a privilege to be
allowed to wear the uniform but to help out a cause that is so
worthy how could you say no to a such a noble request? Upon arrival
I couldn’t believe the mound of knee-high toys that was accumulating
in our dressing area. Even though the show is a mere $3.00, if you
bring in any packaged toy you can avoid that small fee!
Once
again I was surprised to see the vast amount of Star Wars toys that
were for sale on the floor. You could find anything ranging from the
vintage line to the very newest figures from the Saga collection.
After suiting up we took time to pose for photos with many people
who had lined up and were patiently waiting while we took what
seemed like forever to capture a group photo. I was downright
shocked with the amount of people who just kept filing through that
place. There was a steady buzz throughout the show the entire time
we were there. The Midwest Garrison didn’t disappoint anyone either.
There was quite a very large group to come out. We also had a few
members, albeit very outnumbered from the
Rebel Legion. It’s so much
more fun when the crowd is in to it as much as we are.
That
is one of the things you can truly admire about the members of these
groups. As high as fuel prices are, and even the hour or two rides
to and from, there always seems to be a pretty decent turnout. The
dedication and selflessness never will cease to amaze me. Some even
had some pretty impressive costumes for their younglings. I’m
looking forward to showing the younger generation how to “play
dirty.” Towards the end of our visit we managed to get the entire
group outside because we couldn’t fit everyone in the shot indoors.
This show was a very enjoyable and any Trooper who could get to any
of the future events, I would strongly suggest. As in most of our
missions, you’ll never know unless you go. For all the trouble you
can have going store to store in your searches, you can sometimes
find things you’re looking for under one roof. Until next time
Troopers, United We Find!
PHOTO GALLERY To see the photo gallery
containing 70 photos click
here.
Once
again I was surprised to see the vast amount of Star Wars toys that
were for sale on the floor. You could find anything ranging from the
vintage line to the very newest figures from the Saga collection.
After suiting up we took time to pose for photos with many people
who had lined up and were patiently waiting while we took what
seemed like forever to capture a group photo. I was downright
shocked with the amount of people who just kept filing through that
place. There was a steady buzz throughout the show the entire time
we were there. The Midwest Garrison didn’t disappoint anyone either.
There was quite a very large group to come out. We also had a few
members, albeit very outnumbered from the
That
is one of the things you can truly admire about the members of these
groups. As high as fuel prices are, and even the hour or two rides
to and from, there always seems to be a pretty decent turnout. The
dedication and selflessness never will cease to amaze me. Some even
had some pretty impressive costumes for their younglings. I’m
looking forward to showing the younger generation how to “play
dirty.” Towards the end of our visit we managed to get the entire
group outside because we couldn’t fit everyone in the shot indoors.
This show was a very enjoyable and any Trooper who could get to any
of the future events, I would strongly suggest. As in most of our
missions, you’ll never know unless you go. For all the trouble you
can have going store to store in your searches, you can sometimes
find things you’re looking for under one roof. Until next time
Troopers, United We Find!