Behind the force
I started up the 1st sensory legion, which is an open costume group who aim to hold meet and greet days specifically for visually impaired,disabled and people with learning difficulties.
Many
conventions are either to busy, or have a que ticket system, or for
whatever reason are not always accessible to disabled guests.
we want to make these sort of days more accessible to all
and create a relaxed, fun environment when you can take photos and spend time with the various costume characters.
we want to make these sort of days more accessible to all
and create a relaxed, fun environment when you can take photos and spend time with the various costume characters.
And also to be around people in the same position as others, and to be among friends and people who understand the situation.
Costumes
will be able to be touched and explored, there will be a touch table
with objects of refferance that can be handled, all of these different
elements will open up whole new worlds to these people who may have only
expierienced the tip of the iceberg.
These days are so important, they create memory's and discovery, stimulate interest and ideas, and even motivate.
One
blind man who inspired this quest has been blind since birth and loves
star wars and despite the fact he has listened to the film almost
everyday for the last 15 years - he has no idea of the appearance of the
characters,and the variations of species, etc.
Not every blind person gets a lot from feeling toys, for some they are to small, so a full size costume is ideal.
Many
years ago myself and a work colleague was on our way to london with a
deafblind gentleman to attend a fun day which was being held in
leicester square.
On
the train i was telling him what we would see and what would be there
and we knew that the BBC was going to be there promoting the new series
of DR WHO.
Now
going by the gentleman's age and working out when he lost his sight we
guessed that he may know or remember DR WHO, so we mentioned it to him
on the train.
again and again we went over it, trying to use different words, but he just wasnt understanding.
It got to the point where we sort of gave up, whatever we tried it just was not getting through to him.
Later on during the day we approached the DR WHO stand and asked if we was allowed to touch the Dalek.
They said yes so we put the gentlemans hand straight onto the dalek and he signed to us DR WHO .
Myself
and my co worker burt out laughing - we had previously been trying for
over an hour to explain this to him but nothing - the minute he felt the
Dalek he knew.
This tells me how important touch is,these cultural icons become so iconic.
that he instantly knew what is what as soon as he touched it.
My main mission will be to bring the world of star wars/ tv / film culture to those
who ordinarily may not be able to access it as easy as we can.We aim to
hold the first ever meet and greet conventions - specifically aimed at
disabled people.
IF YOU CAN HELP IN ANYWAY
EITHER BY TROOPING OR ATTENDING WITH PROPS ETC
PLEASE EMAIL ME
JJ
extremeclowning@hotmail.co.uk
26th October 2013
11am-3pm
Star Wars
Feel the Force - meet and greet day
Specifically aimed towards visually impaired, disabled, and adults with learning difficulties
(
family and friends will be permitted but this event is purely to allow
disabled people access to star wars, as they may not be able to attend /
access mainstream conventions)
The Venue
Peterborough Parkway PSL Club
Peterborough Parkway PSL Club
651 Lincoln Rd
Peterborough
PE1 3AH
Telephone 01733 567835
E-mail for both clubs is parkwaysports@btconnect.com
Parking, plus food and drink will be available
plus a lockable changing room
water / squash and jaffa cakes will be supplied.
the venue is wheelchair friendly
Star wars actors attending
Warwick Davis,
Pam rose,
Alan flyng
Peter burroughs
Nick Joseph
but could still use more
they will be permitted to sell autographs etc and keep the money - as they are not charging for attending
star wars costuming groups have been approached to attend
individuals can attend and troupe if they wish the more the merrier
Various costumers from all over the U.K will be attending
Various costumers from all over the U.K will be attending
The more diverse the mix of characters the better it will be for the visually impaired
please remember that there will be a lot of visually impaired at this event, so it would be very beneficial if your costume could be touched
any props or models are also welcome as long as they can be touched under supervision
any props or models are also welcome as long as they can be touched under supervision
various disability groups in the area have been contacted
goldhay arts
pyramid pioneers
chime
beat this
lavalamp
sense
mencap
deafblind uk
shine
press will be informed
to come on the day
the response has been so huge
we do not want to risk having to turn people away
500 emails was sent out
before we realised how popular this would be
so i am guessing a lot of people will turn up on the day without tickets
the hall holds 250
200 tickets were available online
123 left - so far
Playgroup of 160 disabled nursery children will be coming to the event at 2pm
they heard about the day before it went viral!
and i didnt want to turn them away
so they will come at 2pm
FEEL THE FORCE DAY R.N.I.B RADIO INTERVEIWS
Jimmy feeling the Millenium Falcon for the first time
Discovering star wars through costumes and props
Feeling star wars figures for the first time
Discovering star wars through touch
ALSO
we have an R2 UNIT
film crew
photographers
compare
touch table - items supplied by Steve sansweet
braille posters / running orders
music / P.A
fancy dress competition
Q/A session
character line up for visually impaired
door staff
stewards
2 B.S.L interpreters
4 Deafblind mannual interpreters
Head of touch tours from the tate modern - interveiws / photos
We have had over 1000 retweets
and re-posts but the money is still low
below is the link to kickstarter
The day will still run without the funding but we have over 150 people helping from all over the U.K and it would be nice to at least be able to feed and water them and help out with petrol etc.
we are up to £735
our goal is £3,000
so we constantly need to push this
we need some bigger companys that could maybe work with us
I have a friend who has agreed to wear the Leah slave bikinni (if we can get hold of one)
if the funding comes through, the photos of her will be on facebook
no funding no photos
.JPG)
My friend Jimmy who is Deaf and Blind
who will be helping on the day
.JPG)
My friend Enzo who has Cerebral palsy
who will be helping on the day
SPECIAL GUEST
MUGLY
The worlds ugliest dog
2012
Purple elephant media will film and document the event for youtube
