May the Fourth was certainly with Moose Jaw, as Main Street crowded with cars itching to give a wave to their favourite characters on the evening of Star Wars Day on May 4 — but it wasn’t just Star Wars fans.
To celebrate the iconic “nerdy” holiday, Joe’s Place Youth Centre organized an impressive collection of local volunteers who took their place on the sidewalk and meridian outside the youth centre, waving to the cars passing by.
The drive-by parade was called Childhood Heroes on Main, and it drew a long line of Moose Javians to cruise up and down Main Street to wave, shout, and honk at their favourite characters.
“We figured, hey, we've got some cool costumes and its international Star Wars Day, so we might as well put those costumes to use,” said organizer Joe Dueck.
Everyone was there, from Marvel hard-hitters like Captain America and Iron Man, to beloved video game faces like Master Chief and Mario, and of course, the Disney princesses made an appearance.
But the show was mostly about Star Wars, with Stormtroopers rubbing elbows with Rebel X-Wing pilots, Sand People sharing a sidewalk with mercenaries, and the heroes of the galaxy waving to their enthusiastic fans — Chewbacca, Princess Leia, Rey, and even the droids of the hour, R2-D2 and C-3PO.
“It's a little bit eclectic," said Dueck. "But we wanted to make sure that every type of superhero and Disney hero was represented for the kids who wanted to come out."
Joe’s Place would normally have been celebrating Star Wars Day with an appearance at either Fan Expo or Saskatchewan Entertainment Expo in Regina, showing off its incredible collection of handmade movie props and costumes from the franchise, but the expo was postponed this year due to pandemic restrictions.
It may not be an exact replacement of the expo experience, said Dueck, but it was something the youth centre wanted to do to spread some cheer to the isolated kids in Moose Jaw.
“This was kind of a win-win, because kids in Moose Jaw really need to be doing something fun right now and so we've pulled together a little bit of our own [expo] right here at Joe's Place,” said Dueck.
After pitching the idea to the youth centre’s staff, Dueck had more interest than expected. The parade line-up expanded, Disney princess got involved, and volunteers donned their armour to spread some smiles.
The celebration was certainly well-received, with southbound traffic creeping past for over an hour while characters waved, posed, and danced to theme songs, and Moose Jaw enjoyed yet another social-distanced stroke of community fun.
“We were pretty excited to give some kids a bright moment in a weird situation [like the pandemic],” said Dueck.
