A beacon lit up for local Star Wars fans on March 22nd as SpooksieBoo Events hosted The Inland Empire Strikes Back at North Park in Downtown Riverside. The event brought together fans of the beloved franchise to cosplay as their favorite characters, browse Star Wars-themed vendors, and immerse themselves in the Star Wars community!
Adrian Taylor
North Park was filled with dozens of cosplayers, roaming the event and interacting with each other in character. Some guests attended wearing outfits that were so well done that they began to have lines forming just to take photos with them or to just chat about their outfit. Walking through the event was an immersive experience with Stormtroopers stopping guests to interrogate them and other characters walking around playing their part.
Adrian Taylor
Scattered throughout the event were themed vendors selling everything from homemade Star Wars cookies to custom-printed T-shirts and vintage collectables from throughout the decades of the franchise. One standout to me was Comic Book Clothing, which screen printed Star Wars parodies onto shirts giving fans a good laugh and something fun to take home.
Adrian Taylor
Adrian Taylor
Actors from the Disney+ series Star Wars: Skeleton Crew made an appearance. Ravi Cabot-Conyers as Wim, Ryan Kiera Armstrong as Fern, and Robert Timothy Smith as Neel hosted a panel where they shared behind the scenes stories from filming and answered some audience questions. They even had booths where attendees could meet them, take photos, or even get autographs on their collectibles.
Adrian Taylor
The event also featured a variety of engaging panels. One of the highlights was a lightsaber choreography session hosted by stunt actresses Ming Qiu and Lauren Mary Kim, both of whom have performed in multiple Star Wars productions. They demonstrated a full fight sequence live on stage before inviting audience members up to learn the basics of lightsaber combat with the professionals.
Adrian Taylor
From amazing cosplay to panel discussions from Star Wars professionals, The Inland Empire Strikes Back is a hub for all local IE Star Wars fans to come together as a community and have an amazing time.
