May the fourth be with you

Chris Russell | DispatchCivil War re-enactors are joined by re-enactors of fictional wars (from Star Wars, Ghostbusters and Pirates of the Caribbean) who got into the fun at the Ohio Statehouse to mark the 150th anniversary of the Civil War on April 10, 2011. The fictional "cosplayers" had just come from the Columbus Toy Show at Veterans Memorial Auditorium. Many of them are members of the Ohio Garrison of the 501st Legion, a fan group devoted to dressing up like the villains from Star WarsRequest to buy this photo

Chris Russell | DispatchAndy Renzetti, central Ohio's only "official" Darth Vader, goes all out in his $2,000 costume. Renzetti makes frequent public appearances as the "dark lord of the Sith."Request to buy this photo

Fred Squillante | DispatchA life-size Star Wars figure, Captain Rex, made of LEGOs, stands guard during the grand opening of a new LEGO store at Easton Town Center on Friday, July 31, 2009 in Columbus, Ohio. Customers lined up to purchase items, including popular Star Wars sets. The line to get in the front entrance of the store wrapped around an Easton block, resulting in a wait of over two hours for many people to get in.Request to buy this photo

Adam Cairns | DispatchAfter getting his picture taken with R2-D2 and C-3PO, Hayden Garrett, 4, of Worthington, stops to touch the remote-controlled Star Wars droid at the Mid-Ohio-Con inside the Columbus Convention Center on Nov. 26, 2006.Request to buy this photo

Adam Cairns | DispatchStar Wars characters, including Chewbacca the Wookiee, right, on tour promoting the DVD release of the original trilogy, made a stop at Children's Hospital in Columbus to visit several in-patient kids on August 26, 2006. Four-year-old David Arnott from Newark (being held by his nurse Felicia Romagnoli and watched by his mother Tammey Arnott) got a kick out of the 7-foot-tall furry character's height. Twenty or so kids had the opportunity to meet and have their pictures taken with the Star Wars characters, which also included Wicket the Ewok and several stormtroopers.Request to buy this photo

Chris Russell | DispatchTheresa Huntley and her son, Jared, 8, work as a team to get a robot to work properly at the COSI Star Wars exhibit in July 2006.Request to buy this photo

Chris Russell | DispatchShane Frazier, Powell, 12, enjoys his ride on a "hovercraft" at the COSI Star Wars exhibit.Request to buy this photo

Neal C. Lauron | DispatchVisitors to the Star Wars exhibit at COSI are reflected in the case for a stormtrooper costume.Request to buy this photo

Neal C. Lauron | DispatchDayton Public Schools students Shiatil Wocknoks, 3, Jeraeja Hancock, 8, Jamesha Blair, 7, Lakendria Grant, 8, and Tenaeja Hancock, 9, try to tip over a robotic device used in a hands-on Star Wars exhibit in COSI in July 2006. The exercise was called "Balancing Act: Dynamic Stability," where the device keeps its balance even when being tipped from one side or the other.Request to buy this photo

Kyle Robertson | DispatchCole Longstreth, 10, of Columbus, gets the autograph of Star Wars characters Darth Vader and Darth Tyranus as part of the COSI experience "The Force" before the start of the Columbus Crew game on Saturday, July 8, 2006.Request to buy this photo

Neal C. Lauron | DispatchWendy Hesslink of Artex (an art-moving company) inspects the Master Yoda mannequin/puppet/prop from the Star Wars movies before setting him up in the display case as part of the Star Wars exhibit that opened to the public June 2, 2006, at COSI.Request to buy this photo

Tom Dodge | DispatchIn this 2005 photo, Cody Stone, left, and Taylor Madison, right, battle with lightsabers in the hallway of the Graham School (3950 Indianola Ave) while Brittany Erwin, lower left, and Brad Barnett, far right, watch. One of the classes offered at the school was Star Wars Film Production, taught by Andy Shields (not pictured).Request to buy this photo

Will Shilling | For the DispatchAndy Renzetti, 27, of Westerville, dressed as Darth Vader, battles Rachel Steiner, 22, of Westerville outside the Arena Grand theater in 2005. The waiting line for Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith filled the lobby and spilled out the doors, reaching Nationwide Boulevard by 9 p.m.Request to buy this photo

Renee Sauer | DispatchAdam Miller, 18, waits in line at Arena Grand Theatre, Wednesday, May 18, 2005, for the midnight screening of Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith. Miller showed up at 9 a.m. that day "for the experience." He said, "We're fanatics. I wrote my college essay about Star Wars -- and I applied to Harvard!"Request to buy this photo

Robert Caplin | DispatchBrad Sherman, of Upper Arlington, is dressed as a stormtrooper in one of the ballrooms at the Hilton at Easton Town Center, the venue for the Mid-Ohio-Con comic book festival in 2002.Request to buy this photo

Neal C. Lauron | DispatchTonya Tannehill, center, helps her children Amy, 2, left, and Alex, 5, with a book about Star Wars at the Wagnalls Memorial Library in Lithopolis in 2002.Request to buy this photo

Neal C. Lauron | DispatchKeith Morris, 11, welcomes the rain from his front yard in Groveport. He and his brothers (Zachary and Ben) and sister Tatianna, along with next-door neighbors Sonny and Josh Hammond, played Star Wars outside in the rain on August 22, 2001. On a sunny day, the children would be riding bikes, but as long as there wasn't lightning, Keith's mom gave them the OK to play outside.Request to buy this photo

Mike Elicson | APWil Schroter poses with some of the Star Wars toys displayed in his Worthington, Ohio, office on May 6, 1999. Schroter rented a 500-seat theater in Columbus for a private showing of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace to workers at his Internet consulting firm, NGDA Interactive Communications, and their guests. But their enthusiasm surprised even Schroter, a diehard fan. They closed down offices, rented out theaters and took weeks of vacation to stand in line for tickets.Request to buy this photo

Tom Dodge | DispatchStar Wars collector Matthew Ghidotti, 9, is shown with his action figures at his Upper Arlington, Ohio, home for a 1999 Dispatch story about collections.Request to buy this photo

James D. DeCamp | DispatchRoger McEldowney, a Newark (Ohio) High School math teacher, with some of his massive collection of Star Wars memorabilia in 1999.Request to buy this photo

Karl Kuntz | DispatchPeople line up at a North-side Toys 'R' Us store on Morse Road at midnight on Sunday, May 2, 1999, for the early-morning opening to sell Star Wars toys on Monday, May 3.Request to buy this photo

James D. DeCamp | DispatchThis 1999 photo shows Brandon Jones, a North Side systems analyst, who had filled nearly every drawer, closet, cabinet, shelf, table and wall of his apartment with Star Wars stuff -- action figures, books, comics, cards and posters.Request to buy this photo

Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker, starred in a Star Wars-themed commercial for the Columbus-based Big Bear grocery stores in 1999, the year The Phantom Menace opened.Request to buy this photo

Mike Munden | DispatchEd and Kari Gillett were the first in line for a showing of the special edition of Star Wars at the Lennox Theatre in January 1997. Ed said he had seen the movie 80 times.Request to buy this photo

Mike Munden | DispatchTen-year-old Jon Avery, dressed as Yoda, wanders around the lobby area of the Lennox Theatre before a showing of the special edition of Star Wars: A New Hope in 1997.Request to buy this photo