So let me tell you a little story.  I enjoy Star Wars, as a great many others do.  Now, I’m not exactly a poster child for fandom, but I enjoy the films and can geek out with the best of them when I see a Star Wars reference pop up unexpectedly in an image or film.  It should come as no surprise that I have friends who also enjoy the films, some of whom are a little more dedicated to the fandom than I am.

Now, with all that being said, something strange has been happening to me the past couple of weeks.  Artists that I know seemed to be focusing on Star Wars quite a bit.  Lots of images popping up, discussions being held, references being made, etc.  I don’t know if it was my subconscious picking up on things that always seemed to be there, or if it was something else.

It turns out it was something else.

I was visiting my artist, Rev. Matt Ellis, a few month ago and he mentioned that he was working on a Star Wars skateboard as a piece for a show.  I didn’t think too much of it, as he’s always working on something.  When he finally finished the board, he posted an image of it on facebook, and needless to say it was awesome.

After that, I also was hearing complaints from the lovely Lexci Million that her partner in crime was spending all his time drawing Star Wars images.  At the time they had just gotten a new TV so I figured he’d just been watching the movies a lot.

So this week, when I was looking for some upcoming events, I came across an article about Celebration V.  For those that aren’t at one with the force, the Celebration events are pretty much Mecca for hardcore Star Wars nerds.  It turns out this year, in addition to all the major events of the weekend, there will also be a tattoo pavilion featuring a skateboard art show.  Yep, while reading the article I found the exact same image that had appeared on my facebook page not 2 weeks ago.

The skateboard art is just one event going on in the pavilion.  Over the course of the weekend, there will be a tattoo competition, a gallery of Star Wars tattoo art, live art competitions between artists, and of course, a large number of tattoo artists on hand who will be available all weekend to get work done.

To find out more about the pavilion, as well as what artists will be featured there, head on over to theforce.net to get all the information.

Now if you live on the other side of the planet and can’t make it to California for the nerd gala, you may want to think about heading over to Doncaster in the UK.  This weekend is the annual Tattoo Jam, and the goal this year is to set the Guinness record for most people tattooed simultaneously.

Currently the record for the most people tattooed simultaneously stands at 178, set last year at The London Tattoo Convention.   But Tattoo Jam has lined up more than 300 artists from around the world who will all be in action at 2pm on Saturday in an attempt to set the new record for more than 300 people.
Organisers are appealing for 13 members of the public to act as stewards for the occasion and ensure the event runs smoothly.  Volunteers must be available to be at Doncaster Racecourse from noon on Saturday.  Everyone who helps out will receive a memorabilia T-shirt and certificate to mark the occasion.

There will also be the chance for Doncaster residents to become part of the record bid by going under the needle as part of the attempt.
Anyone interested must make a 2pm booking – either in advance of the event or early on the same day.

So if you’re in the neighborhood and you want to get your name in the big book of records, just swing by Doncaster and you’ll have the chance to do it.

Have any events coming up?  Send me an e-mail so I can put the word out.