Today R2 joined members of the 501st and Rebel Legions and the Madalorian Mercs for KABC-TV's Spark of Love toy drive. We were there for the 3rd shift of the day at the Los Cerritos Center mall.
I arrived around 2pm for our appearance on the news at 3pm, and unloaded.
At 3pm, R2 and the other characters started roaming the closed-off parking lot to greet visitors. Families in the area bring a new, unwrapped toy to donate, and they get to interact and take pictures with the Star Wars characters. During the newscast, there are regular reports from the event that showcase the Star Wars characters and other volunteers, including companies that donate a lot of toys, and local fire and police department representatives.
A person in attendance managed to spill coffee on R2. It made for a different smell on the drive home.
Santa Claws was there.
KABC reporter Danny Romero spoke with various organizations that were there to donate toys.
At 5pm we wrapped up with a goodbye to the TV audience.
The event ended up filling 7 buses and 4 flatbed trailers with toys. There was at least one other event identical to this one, so lots of kids will be getting gifts.
This is one of my favorite events because it helps bring some holiday happiness to those who might not otherwise get a gift, and it has immediate feedback to those watching the newscast, as they can come meet R2 and all the other characters. I hope to be back next year.
Tonight was the 2025 Hollywood Christmas Parade, and for the 9th time R2 joined in on the festivities.
I arrived right around 12:30pm for the 6pm parade and met up with Gordon Tarpley, who had planned to be C-3PO (more on that later), and minutes later with William Miyamoto, who would be driving his Bumblebee car in the parade.
With a lot of time to kill, we checked out the cars.
We also walked the parade route, looking for any hazards that might be hiding under the red carpet. I did find a couple of manhole covers that we would need to avoid, and the center of the street looked like the best bet.
Then we ate lunch at Johnny Rockets, where we were joined by Darren Moser, who would be joining us as K2-S0. On our way back from lunch, we stopped in front of the Chinese Theater as we did last year, where R2-D2's, C-3PO's and Darth Vader's footprints live. William has costumed as Darth Vader in the past, so we each filled the footprints of our respective characters.
Before we knew it, it was time to get set up. Gordon unpacked his pile of C-3PO costume, and we got ready.
Only one problem: Gordon got all suited up, but when it came time to put on his C-3PO helmet, it just wouldn't fit over his head properly. We tried for 20+ minutes over dozens of attempts, but it just wouldn't go on, so we had to abandon that, and Gordon suited down. Gordon and I then joined Darren at the front of the red carpet, where the parade was already under way.
In fact, I had some concern that we may have missed the Star Wars groups, since the parade started around 6pm and we didn't get to the red carpet until around 6:40pm. But the Star Wars clubs were #26 in the parade order, and they were told not to line up until 6:25pm. Eventually, we confirmed that we had not missed them, they were still down Hollywood Boulevard too far out of view. It wasn't until around 7:21pm that they finally arrived.
Moments later, K2-S0 and R2-D2 joined in, in between the 501st Legion and the Rebel Legion. R2 and Chewie moved together, with K2-S0 just behind. I wasn't able to take pictures, but I found a YouTube video (plus when the parade airs on December 14, I'll post some more captures).
We marched/drove down the red-carpet portion of the parade route on Hollywood Boulevard, from Orange Avenue to Highland. Once we got to the end, a 501st wrangler worked with the security staff to get us through the crowd. We headed down the scary alley, back to the parking structure.
Things went well for R2 this year, and hopefully we'll will be back again.
Today R2 and I returned to CHOC in participation of their Epilepsy Awareness Month.
Although R2 was the only character visiting this day, he wasn't the only non-human.
We went room to room, visiting the young patients. We were running a little early, so after visiting the neurology floor, we visited the oncology floor, as we did on our last visit. As usual, no pictures with the patients, but the staff enjoyed getting pictures.
I hope we can visit again in the not-too-distant future.
Today R2 joined Kylo Ren (hey, why not?) as they visited young patients in the oncology ward at Childrens Hospital Orange County.
The floor was decorated everywhere with Star Wars balloons and such. Several of the patients had R2 plushies, and one wore an oversized R2 t-shirt.
As always, I can't take pictures with the patients, but the staff got a group photo (Kylo Ren is toward the back of the group).
The kids loved meeting the characters, and one 2-year-old in particular was so fascinated with R2 that we made a return visit to her room before wrapping up for the day. These visits are always meaningful, and I hope to be back before too long.
Tonight R2 joined members of the various Star Wars costuming clubs as part of the pre-show entertainment, as the Pacific Symphony Orchestra presented The Force Awakens in Concert, at the Great Park in Irvine, CA. The orchestra plays the score live to the movie as it is shown on the screen, making for a great listening experience.
The characters roamed the field pre-show, posing for pictures with arriving guests.
A little before the show started, I stowed R2 back into the Droidmobile and took my seat and enjoyed the show.
Everyone had a good time, and hopefully we get to do something similar again someday.
The other night at the Dodger game, during the photo op one of the fans stepped on R2's foot shell, and part of the foot shell skirt snapped off. The foot shells are made from flat sheets of PVC, and are glued together using PVC glue.
It's a simple fix, although taking the foot off the droid is always a bit of a pain. Since the droid was still in the car, I could use the droid lift to help elevate R2 to take the foot off.
Some PVC glue and clamps, and the foot shell was good to go again.
