[[43] TK-61596 (Mayo)'s Troop Log]

Troop #43: July 23rd, 2023—London Pride Parade, London, ON

 

Parades are my favourite troops, and Pride parades especially so. It's always such a joy to participate. This year I got to debut my second pair of "parade arms", painted up permanently in blue and pink. Though I am not trans, the trans rights movement is very important to me. I was very glad to rep the cause. The gorgeous pauldron is from Teresa at Geeky Pink!

 

My fiancée Carisa is the Jawa in this photo, and we were especially glad to have two of our friends come out for the first time as handlers - Dustin, on the far left, and Sienna, in the white jacket. Dustin is working on a Jawa to join us, too. 

 

[[43] TK-61596 (Mayo)'s Troop Log]

Troop #42: July 22nd, 2023—London Comic Con Scavenger Hunt, London, ON

 

This one was to drum up some attention for London Comic Con, which is in September. This park, Storybook Gardens, is a lovely place for kids. I used to visit it all the time when I was little. Great to be back there as a mascot. There didn't actually seem to be any scavenger-hunting, though—I'm not sure why the event was called that. 

 

 

[[43] TK-61596 (Mayo)'s Troop Log]

Troop #41: July 1st 2023—Canada Day Parade, Windsor, ON

 

Always enjoy this one! Big turnout. We blasted Star Wars marching tunes as we walked, it was awesome. I also got to use my new arms for the first time; I built additional arm pieces (Thanks Mark from AP!) that I could paint for parades instead of taping them up every time. I also bought pauldrons from Teresa at Geeky Pink, they are lovely!

 

 

 

 

 

I love this photo of Vicki, the pilot. 

[[43] TK-61596 (Mayo)'s Troop Log]

Troop #40: May 27th, 2023—Defeat Depression walk, London, ON

 

Another photo op for a charity walk. This one for a cause that means a great deal to me. Happy to participate! I'm on the right.

[[43] TK-61596 (Mayo)'s Troop Log]

Troop #39: May 7th, 2023—Kids Help Phone walk, London, ON

 

Last one of a triple-troop weekend, a nice easy photo op at the gathering area before a charity walk for Kids Help Phone. The Jawa is my bride-to-be, Carisa! We're getting married next June. Those who troop together! 

[[43] TK-61596 (Mayo)'s Troop Log]

Troop #38: May 6th, 2023—Free Comic Book Day, London, ON

 

The weather at this troop was absolutely ideal. Exactly the right temperature, a nice breeze, not a cloud in sight. Superb turn out. One of our handlers caught a photo I really like of me before the crowds showed up. 

 

And some other shots from the day. I'm generally the "thumb-up, gun-up" guy.

 

 

[[43] TK-61596 (Mayo)'s Troop Log]

Troop #37: May 5th, 2023—Star Wars Day school visit, Sarnia, ON

 

My first time trooping at a school! Very cool to interact with such a wide age range of kiddos. Would love to do it again sometime. The only photo we kept for ourselves was this one:

[[43] TK-61596 (Mayo)'s Troop Log]

Troop #36: April 29th, 2023—CK Expo, Chatham, ON

 

One of my favourite gigs of the year. A lovely, bite-sized convention. The only photo I got in my TK was from the Blast-a-Trooper range:

 

Here I am again, this time in my Rebel Scum (Jedi) robes. 


And some other shots from the day. The members in our area have been making wonderful props, it's great to troop in front of these backdrops.









 

[[43] TK-61596 (Mayo)'s Troop Log]

Troop #35: March 3rd, 2023—London Children's Hospital Corus Radiothon, London, ON

 

First troop of the year, and the 4-year anniversary of my first 501st troop! A wonderful event. Smiles aplenty. 

 

This is my favourite shot of the day. He wanted a stormtrooper to sign his cast. I signed my TK number. 

 

And some other shots of the group.

 

[Field Exercise Awards -- Post your milestones here]

Hello! Passed the 25 mark, requesting badge update.  Thanks in advance!

 

 

[[43] TK-61596 (Mayo)'s Troop Log]

Troop #34: September 17th and 18th, 2022—London Comic Con, London, ON

 

This one is the biggest one in my area this year, and it means so much to me that it went so well. When I joined the 501st, my area didn't have much activity - just a couple of members, in the next biggest city closest to mine. I was usually driving 1-2 hours for troops, which I was happy to do. Since then, however, our membership in London, Ontario (where I now live) has soared, and so many members are bringing all kinds of creative talents for set design and prop-making, which means that our showing at LCC this year was awesome. It was a really proud moment for me and the other members who have gotten to see London grow into what it has become: a bustling hive of scum and villainy Star Wars joy!

 

I did several hours of Blast-a-Trooper, which continues to be my favourite thing ever:

 

 

 

 

Carisa got to take her Jawa for another spin:

 

 

 

And some other great shots of our members and props:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[[43] TK-61596 (Mayo)'s Troop Log]

Troop #33: August 26th, 27th and 28th, 2022—FanExpo Canada, Toronto, ON

 

And here's the big one of the year! It was great to return to this event after so long. As much as I enjoy the smaller, more intimate events, there is something about the sheer number of costumes and props that really transports you to the galaxy far, far away. As always, I consider it privilege to participate. 

 

Some photos of me:

 

 

I'm the third trooper back, with the earbuds in. (Shoutout to Ukswrath's hearing assist)

 

A photography booth was offering free photos of cosplayers, so Carisa and I got some with our costumes:

 

 

 

 

Now I switch over to rebel scum for a moment:

 

 

And, as Carisa puts it, the tragic story of a Jawa who didn't get a blaster:

 

 

 

 

Of course, as all you troopers are all aware, I couldn't see her hand until it was right in front of my face. 

 

We also got to meet Anthony Daniels. His car was delayed so his team snuck him into our change room to hide, totally unplanned. I was heading in for a drink of water and nearly bumped right into him from behind while he was telling movie set stories. The whole garrison got a good laugh after that. That's me standing to the side, in the Jedi outfit.

 

And some other cool shots:

This one honestly looks like it could have been ripped right from a movie. The Hoth backdrop from Atlantic Garrison was phenominal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[[43] TK-61596 (Mayo)'s Troop Log]

Troop #32: July 24th, 2022—London Pride Parade, London, ON

 

Pride parades are always among my favourites. Here is my Pride Trooper this year:

 

This event was extra special because it was my partner Carisa's first troop as an approved Jawa! I sewed her robe myself. Thanks goodness Jawas are supposed to have frayed edges.  Here she is with our special guest of honour, Grogu:

 

Group shot:

 

 

[[43] TK-61596 (Mayo)'s Troop Log]

Troop #31: May 7th, 2022—Free Comic Book Day, London, ON

 

Silly me, I missed another one. A great outdoor gig taking photos with folks waiting in line for free comics.

 

I'm the "thumbs-up" trooper in this shot.

 

And the rebels:

 

And the droids:

 

And the Mandos. Such good looking Mandos.

[[43] TK-61596 (Mayo)'s Troop Log]

Troop #30: July 1st, 2022—Canada Day Parade, Windsor, ON

 

Return of my Maple Trooper! Great parade, huge turnout of people. It was overcast but it never rained!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[[43] TK-61596 (Mayo)'s Troop Log]

15 minutes ago, gmrhodes13 said:

Well done trooper, looks like you can request another trooping badge, don't forget to edit the total in your first post  

 

 

 

Thanks!! I sure will - I've got a few more to post, we'll see how many I can bank at once. 

[[43] TK-61596 (Mayo)'s Troop Log]

Troop #29: May 28th, 2022—Pop Culture Con, Wallaceburg, ON

 

I accidentally swapped the order of this post with the previous one. This was the second convention (albeit a small one) for which I was the point of contact, and it was the first event that my beloved significant other Carisa joined me as a volunteer. She worked the table while I did Blast-a-Trooper all day. It was a small setup, but a very fun day and boosted my confidence considerably as a representative of the 501st in the public.

 

My partner in crime.

 

 

 

 

 

And here's a fun one. This is my fellow TK (X-wing pilot at this event) Dean's car. But we can pretend it's mine for a minute!

[[43] TK-61596 (Mayo)'s Troop Log]

Troop #28: June 25th, 2022—Forest City Comic Con, London, ON

 

Another small-ish convention - and we sort of failed in the picture-taking. But it was fun! They had us set up in a stairwell, which sounds strange, but was more spacious than expected and meant that we got lots of foot traffic.

 

Only one shot of my TK, blurry at the Blast-a-Trooper station. Pre-blasting!

 

But we were in the paper!

 

Some other shots:

 

[[43] TK-61596 (Mayo)'s Troop Log]

Troop #27: April 30th, 2022—CK Expo, Chatham-Kent, ON

 

First convention of the year, and one we in Vindicator Squad really enjoy! It's on the smaller side but the turnout is always amazing and we have a great time. I was trying some different speaker placement that made my chest-plate stick out a little, in case those of you with eagle-eyes are wondering. It has since been adjusted and corrected. 

 

This was also my first experience doing a panel. I'm sitting in the middle; to the left is our squad leader Jason, and to the right is our squad XO Paul. I'm the squad PR liaison. 

 

Group shot! I'm the TK with the thumbs-up.

 

Some more of me in my TK:

 

 

 

This right here is "my Vader", Steve. You always remember your first Vader.

 

And some more photos from the event:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[[43] TK-61596 (Mayo)'s Troop Log]

Troop #26: December 21st, 2021—Mount Brydges Vaccination Clinic, London, ON

 

Small troop to encourage and congratulate kids getting their Covid vaccinations. Still rocking the candy-cane trooper for this one!

 

[[43] TK-61596 (Mayo)'s Troop Log]

Troop #25: November 27th, 2021—Santa Claus Parade, London, ON

 

Back to a proper marching parade last year. The reverse-parade was a great idea for the pandemic, but it was WAY harder to keep warm. I much prefer being on the move in the cold months!

 

I love decorating TK suits for holiday or pride events. This time around I repurposed some costume pieces from my high school production of Willy Wonka. I played the Candyman. Hat and cane now officially Empire-certified!

 

 

Left: Me, 2021

Right: Me, 2014

[[43] TK-61596 (Mayo)'s Troop Log]

Troop #24: November 13th, 2021—Geeky Gift Holiday Market, London, ON

 

With the pandemic still fresh at the time, London Comic Con didn't run last year - instead, they organized a smaller, holiday "mini-con" that could better facilitate physical distancing protocols. Our collection of props and set pieces in the London area continues to grow as more of our members venture into 3D-printing and prop-making. Lucky me, who gets to stand with them!

 

 

A couple with me in my TK.

 

And some more photos from the event:

 

I'm the Jedi in this one.

 

 

[[43] TK-61596 (Mayo)'s Troop Log]

Troop #23: September 25th, 2021—a little ACTION pop-up mini con, St. Thomas, ON

 

Thread revival time! With the pandemic waning, I've been so excited to be back to trooping that I completely forgot to document my adventures. Here come a swath of troops from the past year.

 

This event was a cool one since it was the first that I attended in my hometown of St. Thomas, Ontario. Not only that, but as the only (then) resident of St. Thomas in our Garrison, I was the one who worked with the event organizers to co-ordinate the troop. It was a great first experience with 501st leadership for me. It rained almost all day, but the turnout in our little alleyway was still awesome!

 

 

A couple of me in my TK.

 

Group shot of our members who came out - I am the Jedi near the middle. Easier to co-ordinate without a bucket on!

 

And finally some more shots of my fellow troopers.

 

 

[[43] TK-61596 (Mayo)'s Troop Log]

Troop #22: August 14th, 2021—Free Comic Book Day, London, ON

 

Nine months and three lockdowns since the Santa Claus parade last year, our squad got to do our first troop of 2021! While guests waited in line to participate in Free Comic Book Day at our local comic store, we offered photo ops and collected donations for Make-A-Wish. It felt SO good to kit up again. Hopefully it isn't too much longer before we get the chance to do it again. Plus, we raised $370 for Make-A-Wish—woohoo!

 

I'm the rightmost TK, next to the TIE pilot. 

 

 

I'm the middle TK in these shots.

 

I'm the one in front, to the rightmost side of the photo. 

 

I'm the one to Vader's right in this one. 

 

I spent some of the day in alternative costumes (Plo Koon and generic Jedi):

 

I am dressed as Plo Koon in this one. 

 

In this one I am in the Jedi outfit with the black mask. 

 

And some other great shots of our squad, alongside our Rebel Legion and Droidbuilder colleagues:

 

 

 

 

 

These droids were SO impressive.

 

 

Good times!

[[43] TK-61596 (Mayo)'s Troop Log]

Troop #21: November 14th, 2020—Santa Claus "Reverse" Parade, London, ON

 

After a long, pandemic-induced hiatus from trooping, I was thrilled to have the chance to suit up for this neat reverse parade near my hometown. We, along with all the other "floats", set up stationary displays along the runways of the local airport. Cars would drive through single-file and wave from their windows. It was a joy! A very clever alternative, too. It was non-stop traffic from start to finish—I'm told the line-up for entry was over 5km long! Great turnout and tons of fun.

 

That's me on the far right in the Christmas sweater.