You don’t need to be alarmed when you see Stormtroopers marching in Sapperton this weekend – they come in peace.
When Sapperton Day returns to East Columbia Street, storm troopers, Tusken raiders, Rey and a Jedi from Star Wars will be among the folks roaming the street. The 501st Legion and the Falcon Base, Rebel Nation, which are two Star Wars costuming groups that operate around the world, have agreed to send representatives to the festival.
While watching the news last month, Sapperton Day organizer Guy Ciprian saw Star Wars characters attending a Cinco De Mayo celebration. He looked into it and, discovering the groups attended some charity events, contacted them about Sapperton Day.
“Our charity is the Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation. They said they are in,” he said. “We always look to do something different at Sapperton Day. I am always looking for something cool that the public can engage in. I thought this would be great.
The Sapperton Day street festival, taking place on Sunday, June 10 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the 400 block of East Columbia Street, includes a pancake breakfast (10 a.m.), hot dog sale (noon), more than 100 market vendors and food trucks, amusement activities, a bouncy castle and slide, face painting, a climbing wall, a mini photo booth, a psychic fair and more.
The day’s musical entertainment includes performances by Senior Discount (1 p.m.), Pat Axe (2 p.m.), Affinity (3 p.m.) and Real Canadian Rock Band (4 p.m.). The demonstration area features a variety of parkour, karate, dance, cheer, tumbling and gymnastics demonstrations between 11:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.
In the popular Red Tape Race, sponsors will compete for bragging rights by racing small tricycles to the finish line. It takes place at noon.
