Its THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME of the Year....Steel City Con!!

Garrison Carida is proud to once again be a part of STEEL CITY CON, which will be held on March 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th , 2012 at the Monroeville Convention Center, in Monroeville, PA. This is a very special year for Garrison Carida as we are celebrating the 10^th anniversary of our Garrison, and Steel City Con is one of our most exciting events of the year, that our troopers flock to in force.

This upcoming Steel City Con is really special, as there will be three very exciting Star Wars Celebrities in attendance.

Topping things off, is an amazing opportunity that no Star Wars Fan will want to miss. For the first time ever, Billy Dee Williams, and his son, Corey Dee Williams, will be appearing together to meet and greet fans and sign autographs.  Billy Dee Williams is of course very well known for his portrayal of Lando Calrissian in the Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. However, not commonly known, among casual Star Wars fans, is that Billy’s son, Corey, portrayed Klaatu, one of Jabba the Hutt’s henchmen in Return of the Jedi. These two Icons of the Star Wars universe will be appearing on Saturday from 12:00 PM -4:00 PM. and Sunday from 12:00PM until 3:00PM.

As if that opportunity is not enough, Anthony Daniels, the man who portrayed the Golden Protocol Droid, C-3PO in all six Star Wars Films, and continues to voice the famous droid in the Clone Wars animated series, as well as host the popular Star Wars in Concert. Mr. Daniels will be in attendance on Saturday from 10:00 AM- 6:00PM. to meet and greet with fans and sign autographs.

Of course there will be other highly recognized celebrities from Television and Film in attendance, as well as dozens of famous artists from the realm of Comics and Trading cards. Tons of vendors will also be on hand with a wide variety of Current and Vintage collectibles available at prices that will be hard to resist.

As part of our continuing tradition of  attending Steel City Con, Garrison Carida will once again be collecting unopened Star Wars Toys to be given to patients at various Children's Hospitals throughout Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Delaware. Our troopers conduct several visits to these hospitals annually, and Steel City Con has always been one of our most generous donation points throughout the year. As a special thank you for each donated toy, you will recieve a ticket for a raffle which our troopers hold at the conclusion of the Convention. Three exciting prizes are offered which generally consist of some kind of Star Wars collectible 

Garrison Carida encourages everyone with an interest in Popular Culture to come out to Steel City Con for a rare opportunity to meet these three popular Star Wars actors. Be sure to bring your camera and feel free to get some pictures with our Troopers as well. This will truly be a Weekend- Long Remembered.

For details on Steel City Con including how to obtain a three day pass which grants you early admission to the convention all three days, click here: http://steelcitycon.com/

Remember if you get in early you can be one of the first in line to get one of these highly sought after Autographs

Happy 10th Anniversary Carida!

On February 10^th, 2012 the troopers of Garrison Carida had plenty of reason to celebrate. 10 years ago on the 10^th of February, Garrison Carida officially became its own Garrison in the 501^st Legion. Prior to that Carida was known as the Eastern Squad and fell under the flag of the Empire City Garrison in New York City. When Carida grew large and was active enough to qualify to become its own Garrison it encompassed the areas of PA. WV. DE. MD. and DC. Within a couple of years the areas of MD and DC formed their own squad and are now known as the Old Line Garrison. Last year our WV troopers formed their own squad (Squad Corellia) and we anticipate their continued success as they move towards becoming their own Garrison in the future.

Garrison Carida has a rich tradition of Community Service and we are proud to have been the first unit in the 501st Legion to conduct a visit to a Children’s hospital to help lift the spirits of the patients and their families. As we celebrate our 10th anniversary we look forward to continuing and building upon the many relationships we have with charitable, and community organizations like, Children’s Miracle Network, Autism Speaks, Make a Wish, and Alex’s Lemonade Stand.  We also look forward to continuing our Toy Drives to support our Children’s Hospital Visits and also expanding upon our Imperial Literacy Project, which we conduct at our Local Public Libraries.

In addition to all of our Serivce based endeavors, our Troopers of course are looking forward to a fun year of trooping as well. Lucasfilm was gracious enough to give Garrison Carida the best Anniversary present ever, re-releasing Episode I in 3-D on the big screen. It gave our members a chance not only to troop an actual movie release, but also an opportunity to introduce their children to the movies for the first time on the BIG screen! Celebration VI will be taking place in August in Orlando and several of our members have already made their plans to make the great pilgrimage to this exciting event. Of course we will also continue to support our local conventions as well, Including Steel City Con (Monroeville, PA), Wizard World, Philadelphia, and many others.

We invite you all to check out our event calendar and come and see us at an event near you.  http://www.501stgarrisoncarida.org/events/index.php

If you are organizing an upcoming community or charity based event and think Garrison Carida can assist you, feel free to contact us here: http://www.501stgarrisoncarida.org/events/book-event.php