Dark Skies Awakens Festival - Coonabarabran

This past May, members of the 501st Legion's Hunter Hornet Squad and the Rebel Legion's Tython Base were honoured to be invited to the inaugural Dark Skies Awakens Festival in Coonabarabran NSW, a Star Wars-themed celebration of space, popular culture, geekdom, and cosplay.

Characters from both Legions were welcomed by the town across four events spanning the entire weekend.

Town Tour

Starting from 9am the group of Star Wars characters participated in photo opportunities with the Padawans participating in the Son’s of Obi-Wan Saber classes.

Shortly after 10am, accompanied by a local photographer, the team leisurely tackled the brief walk into town, stopping to greet numerous residents with high-fives and fist-bumps. We enjoyed a frolic amongst the autumn leaves in Neilson Park before continuing into the main street to visit the town’s cafes, businesses, and landmarks.

The town was incredibly welcoming, with plenty of photos of families in cosplay and excited locals.

Siding Spring Observatory

In the afternoon, the group visited Siding Spring Observatory for a unique and exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the 4M Anglo Australian Telescope in costume, with the penultimate highlight being a stroll around the exterior catwalk. We enjoyed breathtaking views and were afforded some special photo opportunities with the Warrumbungle Mountains as a picturesque backdrop.

Cabaret

At 5:30 the troopers arrived at Coonabarabran Town Hall for the Star Wars-themed cabaret. Guests started arriving from 6pm with many joining in with the Star Wars theme with appropriate galactic attire (although we spotted one random pirate). Power outages at the venue delayed the commencement of the evening’s entertainment and catering.

Once power was restored, we enjoyed a well-earned meal and watched most of the first half of performer Bowie Unzipped (a cover band for the Starman himself, David Bowie), before once again kitting up to support the Dark Skies organiser David Hunter, donning his Chewbacca costume, for a bagpipe performance of various Star Wars themes. Sons of Obi-Wan thrilled the crowd with an extended Saber training performance. We remained in kit for some additional photo opportunities before retiring for the evening. to watch the remaining Bowie performance.

Mother’s Day Fun Run

Sunday was an early 8:30am start at the stunning Neilson Park, along the banks of the Castlereagh River, for a Mother’s Day Fun Run. Each of the team accessorised our costumes with an element of pink in support of Breast Cancer Research. We walked with participants for the initial 200m and waited to greet people as they looped over the bridge.

Conclusion

After clocking in a total of about 6.75hrs in costume, both Legions would like to thank Coonabarabran for their warm hospitality with a special mention to the Dark Skies committee and event organiser David Hunter & family. We look forward to coming back next year and in greater numbers!