Star Wars Day

This past Saturday was Star Wars Day at the Higgins. When I arrived to take photos, the line to get in was way out the door! All the museum guests looked like they were having a great time with the Star Wars characters who visited from the New England Garrison of the 501st Legion and Alderaan Base of the Rebel Legion. The Higgins Sword Guild and Doshi-Kai Kendo Dojo also joined in for some lightsaber demos. The helmet in the last photo was passed around during a presentation on creating plastic armor. Very cool!

Sword Class

As I mentioned before, I attended another sword class to shoot some different weapons, techniques, and students.

At one point, there was a group of students trying the class out for the first time.

Trebuchet Contest

The Museum held a trebuchet contest this weekend. For anyone who does not know, a trebuchet is a Medieval siege device and a type of catapult. Teams built their own trebuchets and were judged on accuracy, coolness, etc. As usual, I was there to shoot photos.

 

More Photos

While I was at the Museum for Robin Hood Day, I stopped by the sword fighting class. I'll be going again this Saturday to see some other weapons/techniques, but until then, here are a couple pictures from last time.
The first one was used for a brochure about the classes.

Robin Hood Day

This past Saturday was Robin Hood Day at Higgins. All the guests I talked to said they had a great time, and the staff/volunteers did a wonderful job acting out the story of Robin Hood all day. I was there to shoot some photos, although I didn't get as many as I would have liked. Nevertheless, here are a couple to provide a glimpse into the day:

The Sheriff of Nottingham wasn't too happy with Robin's antics during Prince John's retelling of the Robin Hood story.

Quite a few of the Merry Men and citizens of Nottingham got together for the Sherwood Sing-a-long, including Robin himself (center), Maid Marian, and the captured Prince John (far left).

These young ladies joined in on the fun too:

Bar Mitzvah Photos

Joanne, who is in charge of museum rentals, asked me to take some photos at a Bar Mitzvah this past Saturday. The focus was on the set up - the tables, buffets, etc. to show people interested in renting the Museum how it can be transformed for events.

The evening was Lord of the Rings themed. Credit goes to Bloomer's Florist for the centerpieces and to Pepper's for catering.
It was quite fun and I wish I could have stayed longer to get some images of the guests enjoying their food instead of just empty tables. I will try adding these shots next time I'm at a rental event.

I also enjoyed talking to the party's photographer, who showed me some of his photos and shared ideas/tips.

A couple of my favorites:

Scimitars to Samurai: Armor Goes Global

Like I mentioned in my previous post, my friend Chris and I photographed the exhibit opening last Saturday. There wasn't as many people there as I had hoped, but it was definitely interesting and enjoyable.
Here is a quick overview of some of the day's events:

Nancy did a presentation about Queen Zenobia of Palmyra

In this area, visitors could examine things from the cultures represented in the exhibit, such as samurai armor, a Persian hand shield, and spear heads.

Finally, here are a few photos from the demonstrations of Japanese fighting/sword techniques, performed by Doshi–Kai Kendo Dojo.

Viking Invasion!

On Saturday the 29th, Vikings invaded Higgins Armory!
My assignment was to photograph the day's events.
These included:

Viking games in the Great Hall

Making your own shield and rune necklace