How fast does it take to get from Santa Monica to San Diego? Under 12 parsecs! Chris Hardwick and the fine folks at Nerdist Industries are hosting a force filled Star Wars relay race from Santa Monica, CA all the way to a nerd-frenzied San Diego Comic-Con… and we’ll be there.
Co-hosting COTF along with Chris Hardwick and Alison Haislip will be The founder of Her Universe and the voice of Ahsoka Tano Ashley Eckstein. The trio will broadcast the race along with some exclusive interviews on both Starwars.com and the Nerdist Channel. And, as if Comic-Con wasn’t exhausting enough, the trio will all run quarter mile legs of the race themselves. COTF relay will take place from July 7-11, and 100% of the proceeds go to Make-A-Wish. We can’t wait to see the incredible costumes that are created for this event.
PRESS RELEASE: At quarter-mile markers, participants will hand off the official Course of the Force lightsaber to the next runner as they begin their leg of the journey. On July 7, Course of the Force will kick off with an event at the Santa Monica Pier at 10:00 a.m. The relay will start later in the day and end that night at the Redondo Beach Pier. Other planned stops include Huntington Beach Pier, Oceanside and Crystal Pier at Pacific Beach. Instead of running, Monday, July 9 will feature special sponsor promotions, to be announced at a later date. The final day of the inaugural Course of the Force will conclude in San Diego at the Balboa Theatre, with entertainment to cap off the epic journey.
Course of the Force Schedule
Day Start Time Start Location End Time End Location July 7 1:00 p.m. Santa Monica pier 7:00 p.m. Redondo Beach pier July 8 7:00 a.m. Redondo Beach pier 4:30 p.m. Oceanside pier July 10 7:00 a.m. Oceanside pier 5:30 p.m. Crystal pier at Pacific Beach July 11 7:00 a.m. Crystal pier at Pacific Beach 12:30 p.m. San Diego
Where would conventions be without the incredible costumes? There is something magical about seeing your favorite hero or villain standing in front of you in 3D. Costuming has come a long way since my very first comic book convention in the 1980s. The talented folks behind many of the costumes you’ll see below spent months toiling over hundreds of screen shots and concept art to make their creations look as realistic as possible. I’ll go out on a limb and say that conventions wouldn’t be what they are today (see: awesome) without the hard work and dedication of these creative misfits.
What day is it? I’m not even sure right now. My brain and body are officially fried in a wonderful way that only information overload could accomplish. I’ve seen a lot of talks, met a lot of people, and even gotten a look at a game or two. I’ll have to do a full write up later but for now I’m going to offer you, in no particular order, the talks I attended that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Upon arriving at PAX East on Friday morning I quickly followed the herd of anxious
enthusiasts to one of the longest lines I would wait in all weekend. After a few probing
questions, I discovered that I was in line to hear the keynote speaker of the convention,
and the more-exciting news, that speaker was Cliff Bleszinski.
PARSECS IS A UNIT OF DISTANCE NOT A UNIT OF TIME
Perhaps Han knows something that we don’t. haha
Of course it is. The Kessel Run is measured in distance. Distance to escape. (Shorter is better; 12 parsecs is phenomenal.)