In the past, I've celebrated the genius of John Hughes at First Avenue, but I wondered: Would folks be interested in five hours of sci-fi action? I took a chance and posted a save-the-date pic of my daughter in her Leia Halloween costume.

On Saturday, Dec. 12, Transmission hosted "The Cantina: a Star Wars Dance Party" in the First Avenue main room. Did folks show up? Did they ever. Nearly 1,200 people turned up at First Ave to celebrate the movies that have captured our imaginations for decades.

Big thanks to sponsors The Current, The Electric Fetus and City Pages, as well as to the local chapter of the 501st Legion, an international fan-based organization dedicated to the construction and wearing of screen-accurate replicas of Imperial Stormtrooper armor, Sith Lords, Clone Troopers, bounty hunters, and other villains from the Star Wars universe.

Folks had a blast, we raised great money for Toys For Tots, and it was a fantastic start to a historic week for fellow Star Wars fanatics.

I'll let the pics do the rest of the talking from here.

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Related

• Jake Rudh's Day Off: tracing the films of John Hughes
• Toys for Tots
• Star Wars: the official website
• 501st Legion