Lone Pine Sanctuary TFA Movie Night July 15

[Rebelrach]

Date: Friday 15th July 2016

Venue: Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, Fig Tree Pocket, Qld

Time: 4pm – 6pm

Mission: To add some Star Wars characters to the Friday night free kids movie event at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. They host Farmers Markets and a free movie outside the Zoo by the river. Screening TFA, naturally having us attend was a good plan.

Trooper Attendance:
Redback Garrison:
Zerebin – Kylo Ren
Oevil1 - TK
Beanie – TFA TK
Mykill – Reserve Pilot

Southern Cross Garrison:
Rhino – Snowtrooper

RL:
Stormraven – Galactic Marine
Jediprincess – Xwing pilot
Natgear - Jedi
Rebelrach - Jedi


Support Crew:
Shazam (also photographer extraordinaire)
Lucky Phil
Gai – Southern Cross Garrison


Details:
Troopers assembled throughout the afternoon at Lone Pine Koala sanctuary. The weather was a bit inclement but no rain fell, and the temps were quite pleasant. We were shown to a demountable office our change area, a good location a short walk to our target trooping area. We were definitely near the zoo...“What an interesting smell you’ve discovered” was an understatement!

We entered the Sanctuary to not-unexpected stares and excitement from the patrons. When instructed to NOT stop for photos as we had a date with the koalas, of course Oevil1 the publicity hound did indeed stop for photos and was mobbed by a bunch of tourists. Well eventually everyone was…for a tourist it’s a pretty awesome thing to go to a zoo and meet Star Wars characters!

We were very fortunate to be able to get some group and individual photos with ‘Spoon’ the bulletproof koala who didn’t bat an eyelid being placed in the arms of such an odd array of characters. Troopers milled around and posed for pics with patrons and tourists.

Our wranglers were invaluable keeping the troopers safe at the sanctuary, with uneven terrain and fading light. Thanks to Gai and Shazam and Phil!

We headed out at twilight to the Farmers Markets and proceeded to do what we do best, wow the crowds, scare the crowds, have pics with the various stall owners and public, and inject that SW magic into the evening. The crowds were down a bit due to the weather, but the kids and parents, some in costume who came to see the movie, were pretty excited to see us.

As the light faded visibility was poor so we headed back to de-armour at 6pm just as the movie began. Troopers dispersed – home, to the markets for food, or to pull up some grass and watch The Force Awakens… again. It was great to look amongst the crowd and see the odd light saber or kid in a Stormtrooper mask here and there.

Thanks to all that came along on a Friday night, with all of its logistical challenges, but it was definitely a memorable troop!

Charity Funds Raised: Nil

Injuries / Malfunctions: Nil.

Public Incidents: NIL. Though Kylo did scare a few kiddies and took credit for demolishing the jumping castle (when it was really just deflated by the operator)

Mission Status: SUCCESS! Talking with the Events Manager later she was thrilled to have us along, super impressed with the costumes and way the crowd reacted and we hope to do some more events down the track with the Sanctuary. They were grateful we attended and I can attest our troopers were pretty stoked to meet some wildlife! It was a great little troop.

Photos

A big thanks to Shazam for his great photography skills!!

Poster



First order with koala



Kylo spots a computer console oh no…



Kylo destroys a computer console



Say Koala!



Where to next – oh they have dingos!!



G’day Skip! What’s that? Sonny fell down a well?



Just one churro thanks I’m watching my figure



Dude you gotta try this…is that your mouth?



Kylo destroys the jumping castle



Settling in for the outdoor movie