Star Wars fans attempt to break lightsaber battle record along SF's Embarcadero
SAN FRANCISCO (KTVU) - The forces of light and dark clashed in San Francisco Friday night as Star Wars fans gathered for a massive lightsaber battle, hoping to break a world record.
Rain fell as people gathered in Sue Bierman Park along the Embarcadero at about 8:30 p.m. Some had lightsabers pre-ordered from event organizers, others had brought their own.
Blue lightsabers of Jedi knights parried strikes from red Sith lightsabers, the dark side of ‘the force’.
"I found these deep in a cave. I found both crystals on different parts of the planet," said Alfonso Godinez, a fan who was carrying a homemade lightsaber he's using to produce an indie Star Wars-related film 'End of the Empire’.
"It's part aluminum. It's been folded out like, 3,000 times like a samurai blade," said Lee Eisenhower who came from Sacramento with his homemade lightsaber.
Some fans even flew in from out of state to join the event, which included a pre-battle party and a post party.
Organizers say they've held lightsaber battles in Toronto and New York for eight years. This is the first year they've held the battles on the West Coast.
People signed up online to purchase lightsabers for one of the four events in San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego and Seattle, all held within the 24-hour time limit needed to break the record.
"The existing world record for the largest lightsaber battle is 7,000 set in San Diego at Comicon. And so we have had 10,100 lightsabers reserved in advance so I think we're almost guaranteed to smash through the record," said Kevin Bracken, a co-founder of New Mind Space, which organizes the events.
With the Ferry Building and Bay Bridge lights in the background, colorful lines of light twirled in the air. It was a chance for Star Wars fans to act out favorite scenes from the epic story.
"We saw the movie last night so I’m getting really into it," said Collin Kwan of San Francisco, "You know, it's better than a holiday company party."