These 'Star Wars' cosplayers are doing good in the universe

SAN FRANCISCO -- Although there are many ways that fans can celebrate the "Star Wars" franchise, Jason Golden-Hall and Shelley Hawkins display their love of the series by getting into character with cosplay.

"We are people who dreamed of playing in this world with the kids who drew light sabers on their cardboard tubes and put buckets on their heads to be Boba Fett,' Goldman-Hall said.

Goldman-Hall is a member of the Golde Gate Garrison, a Northern California chapter of the 501st Legion.

"The 501st is an international group of 'Star Wars' costumers. We're more than 14,000 people strong across the world, in all countries, all different places," Goldman-Hall said.

The Golden Gate Garrison appeared at Fan Expo 2024 in San Francisco, one of the largest pop culture events in North America.

"We are the stormtroopers. We're the scout troops. When someone sees us, we are the thing that they played with as a toy, that they saw on a video game, that they loved as a kid on-screen with their dad," Goldman-Hall said.

"People see us, they are taken back to those movies when they were a child, and they had that love for 'Star Wars,'" said Rebel Legion Base Commanding Officer Shelley Hawkins.

Joining the 501st Legion at the Fan Expo was the Rebel Legion Endor Base, another worldwide "Star Wars" costuming organization dedicated to promoting the good guys in the "Star Wars" universe.

"I personally am more attracted to the light side characters. The 'good side,'" Hawkins said.

Each of these organizations is dedicated to recreating these characters down to the tiniest detail.

"We spend a lot of our time, a lot of our love making sure that we match that source material. It's all volunteer work," Goldman-Hall said. "We always laugh that it's for the smiles on the kids' faces, but half the time it's the smiles on the adults faces."

But for these "Star Wars" enthusiasts, it's not all about the costumes.

"We're cosplay, but we're cosplay with a purpose. So, we're going to charity events. We're going to community events, like libraries," Hawkins said.

"Any place that is a nonprofit, that is helping their community, that wants us to come, we'll be there as much as we can," Goldman-Hall said.

"Anything in the community that where we can help and bring some Star Wars joy, that is where we're going to be," Hawkins said.

For more information about the 501st Legion and the Golden Gate Garrsion, visit their website and Facebook page.

More details about the Rebel Legion Endor Base can be found here.