Legacy of ‘Star Wars' celebrated at Zion-Benton library; ‘There's always hope'
Approximately 100 people tapped into the force Saturday at 'Star Wars' Day, a first-time event at the Zion-Benton Public Library.
The library's celebration included 'Star Wars' crafts, a scavenger hunt, a photo booth backdrop with oversized cardboard figures such as Luke Skywalker and games with a 'Star Wars' theme. And, of course, visitors could come dressed in costumes.
Chewbacca, the renowned scruffy Wookiee warrior and Han Solo's co-pilot, was portrayed by Jill Knuth, a youth services librarian.
'I've always been a 'Star Wars' fan,' she said. 'I've been to big conventions and everything.'
While Chewbacca is a beloved character, Knuth's favorite franchise celebrity is C-3PO, the golden robot who is like a butler or voice of reason for its companions.
The franchise, 'just brings families together through fantasy, fun, just overall, the lore of 'Star Wars,'' Knuth said. Especially for children, Knuth believes that 'Star Wars' teaches, 'That there's always hope.
'Don't give up; never give up,' Knuth said. 'There are a lot of things that you can take away from 'Star Wars.''
Michelle Stinson, the community engagement librarian, brought daughters Zinnia, 6, and Adelaide, 4.
'The last time I've actually seen 'Star Wars' was when I was a kid myself,' she said. 'But I just thought that it brought a lot of creativity to not only the parents who were watching it, but to the kids as well, and I'm trying to introduce my kids to things I watched or enjoyed while I was a child.'
Rosa Medrano of Zion accompanied her grandchildren, the Serrato siblings of Zion, Valentina, 5, and Amalia, 6.
'I'm happy for them, they wanted to come,' she said with a smile.
Medrano has 'not really' watched 'Star Wars,' but is aware of the character of Darth Vader.
'What I like about this library is that they make a lot of events for the kids,' she said. 'Every time we can, we bring them.'
Ayden Moore, 11, of Waukegan, tried out the lightsabers at the photo booth. Ayden's favorite Star Wars character is Obi-Wan Kenobi, a Jedi master who promotes the message of having faith in practicing what is right.
Ayden feels that if you believe in something, you should, 'make it happen.'
Vanessa Mora of Zion, who brought children Jayden Mora, 4, and Sophia, 7, said, 'I love this library. They're so friendly and nice, and they always have a lot of activities for the family.'
Star Wars, she said, teaches children, 'hope. There's a lot of imagination, too.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Geek Tyrant
5 hours ago
- Geek Tyrant
Rey's Return to STAR WARS Reportedly Paused as Lucasfilm Prioritizes Other Projects — GeekTyrant
The Rey-centric Star Wars movie may be hitting pause… again. According to industry insider Daniel Richtman, the long-gestating New Jedi Order film, which would see Daisy Ridley reprise her role as Rey under the direction of Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, is reportedly back on hold. Richtman says, 'The Rey movie is on hold once again, as both the Shawn Levy and James Mangold Star Wars films are moving forward first. The project is not canceled — just temporarily on hold.' This shift isn't entirely unexpected. After Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight exited the project, a new writer was never publicly confirmed. Despite that uncertainty, Lucasfilm still appeared to view the film as a priority… until now. The status of Rey's next chapter has been murky for a while. One moment it's full speed ahead, the next it's reworking behind the scenes. But don't count Rey out just yet. In fact, a previously report suggests she still plays a major role in Lucasfilm's long-term plans. 'Rey, the scavenger-turned-Jedi played by Daisy Ridley in the last three episode movies, is key to the franchise's next turn. That potentially puts Kinberg's trilogy story development, as early in its conceptual stages as it may be, on a collision course with the Rey standalone movie that is actively in the works with director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy.' The report went even further, noting that Ridley's Rey is more than just another character. According to one unnamed source: 'She is the most valuable cinematic asset, in some ways maybe the only one, Star Wars has right now.' That might explain why writer-producer Simon Kinberg ( X-Men: Dark Phoenix ) is reportedly developing a new trilogy that could feature Rey in some capacity, though how it connects to New Jedi Order is still unclear. As for Ridley herself, she spoke about her return last year in an interview with Premiere magazine: "They simply asked if I wanted to do it, based on an idea, without the script being written yet. But if I hadn't been convinced by the concept, the movie wouldn't have been made. I took a day to think about it and I told myself that I had had great times making those films. 'This new adventure seemed fun to me, so why say no? My thoughts on the subject are quite simple: if I didn't think the story was worth telling, I wouldn't have come back." The project was said to be set 15 years after The Rise of Skywalker , with Rey building a new Jedi Order from scratch. Whether that vision still stands or gets absorbed into another project remains to be seen. For now, the wait for Rey's return continues… again.
Gizmodo
5 hours ago
- Gizmodo
LEGO Star Wars Phantom Menace Podrace Wasn't This Cheap Last Prime Day, but Now It's Practically Free
It's hard to decide which is more surprising — the fact that Star Wars: The Phantom Menace is now 25 years old, or that LEGO has been creating amazingly detailed Star Wars-themed sets and models for just as long. The 25th anniversary celebration of LEGO Star Wars continues with this amazing diorama depicting the iconic podrace between young Anakin Skywalker and Sebulba on Tatooine, and Amazon's selling this adult set for just $54. The LEGO Star Wars: The Phantom Menace Mos Espa Podrace Diorama has 718 pieces and depicts the podracers as they blast through Arch Canyon, with faithful reproductions of both Anakin's and Sebulba's podracers. Once completed, the diorama is a foot wide, just over 4.5 inches tall, and 5.5 inches deep, perfect for any shelf or other prominent place to proudly display both your LEGO skills and your Star Wars fandom. See at Amazon You're probably already aware that in addition to being one of the most popular gifts and pastimes for kids, LEGO has made a huge impact with their model kits that are geared toward adults. These adult kits are more detailed and designed to be displayed after completion, not played with. (So, few if any moving parts and no pew-pew spring guns shooting tiny projectiles.) These kits are a great way to relive your own younger days when you were building and playing with LEGO sets all the time, and taking the time to build a detailed, intricate set like the LEGO Star Wars: The Phantom Menace Mos Espa Podrace Diorama is a fun and relaxing activity. This is just one of six LEGO Star Wars sets that are aimed at the adult LEGO and Star Wars enthusiast fanbase, and as part of the LEGO Star Wars 25th anniversary celebration it comes with a special anniversary brick that caps off the display. By far the most memorable scene from 1999's Star Wars: The Phantom Menace was the battle between young Anakin Skywalker and the vicious, underhanded podracing champion Sebulbla at the Boonta Eve Classic on Tatooine. The first Star Wars movie in 16 years heralded a new era of stories and canon and created a new generation of devoted fans. If you were one of those new fans, or if your fandom goes as far back as the very first installment of the Star Wars saga, you'll love the opportunity to display your fandom with this detailed and faithful representation of that iconic podracing scene. It's just $54 right now at Amazon during this 33% off sale as part of the 25th anniversary celebration of LEGO Star Wars. See at Amazon
San Francisco Chronicle
a day ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
‘Jaws' at 50: How Steven Spielberg's shark movie changed my life and cinema forever
It's been 50 years since American movies, and a boy's life, changed forever. ' Jaws ' was released on June 20, 1975, a seismic event in moviegoing. Few films can be said to have changed cinema, but Steven Spielberg's early masterpiece is one. With an unprecedented marketing campaign, an unusually wide initial release and crowds packing showings from its opening weekend, the shark thriller literally invented the summer blockbuster season. It also happened to be the first 'adult' movie I ever saw in a theater. At age 9 and growing up in Indianapolis, I might have been too young to see it; my sister Kristin, four years younger, certainly was. Before 'Jaws,' the only films we'd seen in theaters were Disney-type fare. Perhaps our parents couldn't get a babysitter, or maybe they didn't care. Like the rest of America, they wanted to be where the action was. I likely would have fallen in love with movies anyway at some point, but you could connect the dots directly from that viewing to this column, the latest in a career spent in the dark. If it hadn't been then, it likely would have been in 1977, when the summer movie season became a full-blown phenomenon. Of course, there was George Lucas' ' Star Wars,' which 11-year-old me saw seven times, but there was also the 'Jaws'-inspired 'The Deep,' the Burt Reynolds car chase action comedy 'Smokey and the Bandit' and the James Bond film 'The Spy Who Loved Me.' I could go on: 'Grease' and 'Revenge of the Pink Panther' in 1978; 'Alien' and 'Moonraker' in 1979; 'The Empire Strikes Back' and 'Airplane!' in 1980. You get the idea — I saw them all. In 1981, at age 15, I broadened my horizons. I spent the summer watching the Spielberg-Lucas 'Raiders of the Lost Ark,' fantasy films 'Time Bandits' and 'Clash of the Titans' as well as the box office bomb 'Megaforce,' a terrible action movie starring Barry Bostwick that for some reason sticks in my mind to this day. In the fall, I ventured into more sophisticated fare, what we'd call Oscar bait today. 'Chariots of Fire,' the eventual best picture winner; then 'Reds,' 'Ragtime' and many others. By college I was consuming the French New Wave and film noir, and the rest is personal history. However, the summer box office season of big scale adventures, eye-popping special effects, jump scares and belly laughs still holds an allure for me after all these years. I'm obviously not alone; the recent Memorial Day box-office weekend, led by ' Lilo & Stitch ' and ' Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning,' was the best ever for that holiday. This summer is shaping up to be the best since at least 2019, the last before the pandemic. Spielberg calls such genre movies 'films of imagination,' although one has to say that character-driven comedies and dramas from 'Casablanca' to ' Anora ' are also imaginative, but I know what he means. Science fiction and action films have a way of transporting the viewer into another realm — alternate universes, if you will — more than conventional comedies or dramas do. Yet, what is the future of the summer movie season? Despite its current viability, home viewing habits in general and higher movie theater ticket prices present obstacles. The legacy of 'Jaws' has lasted 50 years. Will it last 60? I think so, but who knows. ' How to Train Your Dragon ' is going strong, Pixar's ' Elio ' and the zombie sequel ' 28 Years Later ' just opened to high expectations, and 'Jurassic Park Rebirth,' a new 'Superman' and 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps' loom. Still, few of these movies reach the sublime level of 'Jaws,' which is quite simply not just the greatest summer movie, but one of the best suspense films ever made, not only in its visual splendor and memorable performances, but also the character-driven script by Carl Gottlieb and Peter Benchley from Benchley's novel, Verna Fields' kinetic editing and John Williams' legendary score. Its troubled production, mainly stemming from the fact that the mechanical shark often didn't work properly, is the stuff of legend. Spielberg, then only 27, had to invent on the fly. With the shark, nicknamed Bruce, unavailable much of the time, scenes with humans became more important. With its brooding battle of wills, Robert Shaw's classic USS Indianapolis monologue and a clash between civilization and the elements, 'Jaws' became the '70s version of 'Moby Dick,' a man vs. nature parable that was almost operatic in its humans' obsession with the destruction of an unstoppable predator.
