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

Squad Corellia! Now Serving the Outer Rim Territory of the Mountaineer State

Garrison Carida is proud to announce the formation of the newest squad in the 501^st Legion, The Corellia Squad. This milestone has been a long time coming as our membership grows in strength and numbers in West Virginia. Squad Corellia enters a 6 month probationary period at the end of which they will be made a full fledged squad.

The Corellia squad still falls under the umbrella of Garrison Carida, but allows for the West Virginia Troopers to form a tighter more organized entity and will allow Garrison Carida to provide better service to the galactic citizens of the mountaineer state, and further facilitate the recruitment of new troopers from West Virginia to strengthen the squad. As the Squad grows in numbers they will embark on the ultimate quest to form their own Garrison.

Garrison Carida is proud to see our brother and sister troopers from West Virginia take this monumental step towards autonomy and Carida likens this move to our first born moving out of the house for the first time to go to College. Congratulations troopers, You’ve taken your first step into a Larger World!

WE WANT YOU!

Have you ever Dreamed of becoming one of your favorite Star Wars Action Figures?

Well Dream no more…Garrison Carida is always looking for new members and encourages anyone to sign up for our Imperial Academy program. All that is required for 501st membership is that you be 18 years of age and have an approved costume re-creating one of the villainous characters from the Star Wars Universe.

When you sign up you will get a user name and password which will allow you access to our forums. You will be assigned an advisor and be given your own build thread on our forums where you can post up your progress and questions. Your advisor will walk with you every step of the way to ensure that you build a quality costume which meets or exceeds the standards for 501st membership.

No matter your experience or skill level our dedicated advisors will help you learn everything you need to know to become a fully approved 501st member. All you have to do is work hard and be willing to post up your progress in your build thread on our web site. Our members will be eager to offer advice and encouragement to help you along the path to 501st membership

These costumes are not cheap, in fact they can be quite expensive, and it can take a considerable amount of time to build one, but there is no time limit to finish your costume. All that is required of our cadets is that they post to the forums at least once a month to demonstrate to our Academy staff that they are still interested in joining.

The Academy regularly holds “Armor Parties” where our members and Cadets get together and work on building costumes. This is an awesome opportunity to get to know the other members and see what different costumes are available to make. Who knows, you may decide to make a totally different costume once you have a chance to see the different options in person.

Our cadets are also encouraged to join us as "Squires" at trooping events where you can learn exactly what we do once we have our costumes built and what a difference Garrison Carida makes in the lives of our communites. As a Squire you will be tasked with assisting our members with getting their costumes on, and guiding the members through the field of fans that come to see us at our events. Squires are also tasked with taking photos of these events for our website which helps with our Public Relations efforts. There is nothing more motivating for a cadet to finish their costume than squiring an event.

To sign up for our Academy program and enlist in the 501st Legion at Garrison Carida head over to http://501stgarrisoncarida.org/enlist/ and follow the instructions on how to sign up. We hope to see you join us on the battlefield soon!

Take me Out to the Ball Game

What’s more American than baseball? How ‘bout Star Wars and Baseball?!? Garrison Carida was proud to partner with a couple of high Profile Baseball teams to help them celebrate Star Wars and 80’s pop culture July 22nd, and 23^rd

The State College Spikes and the Philadelphia Phillies held separate special events at their respective ball parks and invited the Troopers from Garrison Carida to invade and take over their stadiums for the night. The heat was oppressive, but in the end was not enough to repel the firepower of Garrison Carida and the 501^st Legion.

Smiles and excitement abound when the Empire is at the plate. Look out for Garrison Carida at your local ballpark…You never know when the Umpire will Strike Back!

Be sure to check out all the pics from both events here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/garrisoncarida/sets/72157627267574348/with/5969294055/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/garrisoncarida/sets/72157627210298353/

We Remember SL-1078--May the Force be with you Chris!

Garrison Carida is sad to announce the Loss of one of its own. Chris Richards SL-1078, 32 year old husband and father of three beautiful daughters passed away this week from unexpected natural causes. Chris and his wife Abbey are both members of Garrison Carida, and this loss is profoundly felt not only by Chris and Abbey’s family, but by their extended family here at Carida as well!

Chris was a fierce friend and was very dedicated to the Charity Mission of Garrison Carida and the 501^st Legion! One of the members of Garrison Carida pays tribute to Chris with these words:

From a trooper’s perspective and the perspective of a friend, Chris was an amazing man.
Chris joined the 501st Legion almost a decade ago, shortly after he and Abbey volunteered their time at a hospital visit at the Children’s’ Hospital of Pittsburgh. Chris enjoyed the costuming and social aspects of the 501st, but where he really shined was in his selfless service to the community and to those less fortunate than he.

Chris’ role in life was to make people smile. Whether it was at home with his wife and kids, at work with his beloved clients, or out at a charity event with the stormtroopers, Chris was there with great heart, great spirit, and great focus on making people smile. Whether handing a sick child a toy, cracking jokes with friends, or braving the heat in costume to make folks smile at a charity walk, Chris was there smiling, giving of himself, and making those around him feel warmth through his charitable spirit and his keen sense of humor. Chris was a dedicated dad, a loving husband, and a great friend to all who knew him. He was selfless, he was a ham, and he enjoyed life.

Our beloved friend SL-1078 of the 501st Legion will be missed dearly. He was taken from all of us too quickly, but the ripples of the lives he touched, and smiles he shared will resonate with us forever. Chris even earned an award for his service to the community from the 501st Legion's Garrison Carida. Chris turned his love of Star Wars into a mission of service in spreading smiles across the galaxy!

A Living Trust has been established for Chris and Abbey's three children....Donations can be made to:

First National Bank
3891 Route 30
Latrobe, PA 15650
Checks should be made payable to Richards Family Fund

911th Airlift Wing Family Fun Day-July 10th, 2011

July 10^th, 2011 saw the troopers from Garrison Carida supporting the Troops from the 911^th Airlift Wing in Coraopolis, PA at their annual family fun day at their base.   This was another hot one, but a more deserving cause was never known. We wanted to thank these brave men and women, and especially their families, for the personal sacrifices that each of them endure to serve our country every day.

Lots of fun was had by all including our troopers who got to play around all the cool aircraft, and show their patriotic spirit, and national pride. Of course their were lots of photo opportunities and all the smiling faces of those who were attending the event is evidence enough that it was an other mission accomplished for our troopers. Great job guys!