WATERVILLE — “Star Wars” enthusiasts from around Central Maine gathered at the Waterville Public Library on Sunday to snack on Sarlacc Cake and Bantha Brownie Bites while playing Storm Trooper Bowling and coloring pages inspired by the popular series, the seventh installment of which was released last week.
“The new movie is something that doesn’t happen every day,” said Sarah Taylor, a library assistant and the organizer of Sunday’s “Star Wars” party. “We wanted to make sure the library got to celebrate.”
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” opened Thursday, the first film in the series to debut in 10 years. By Sunday the film had broken U.S. opening weekend records with $238 million in ticket sales, according to Forbes.
“It was great,” said Heidi Allen, 51, of Waterville, who attended Sunday’s party with her grandson, Jax Allen, 4. “I enjoyed that (the new movie) kept true to the original series.”
Allen and her son, who she said is a “Star Wars” fan, went to see the movie Friday after winning tickets in a library raffle last week.
“It was awesome,” said Eve Sotiriou, also of Waterville, a friend of Allen’s who also saw the movie Friday and was at Sunday’s party. “It’s just a lot of fun. Obviously there is a lot of action, but there’s also comic relief.”
One of the best parts of seeing the film opening weekend was the camaraderie of the movie-going crowd, said Sotiriou, 55.
“The theater was packed. There were kids dressed up, and everyone was talking about the movie. You got the feeling everybody there was enjoying it,” she said.
Sunday’s party also drew some “Star Wars” enthusiasts who have yet to see the new movie, including Sean Duffy, of Bangor, who was dressed in a costume that combined the Star Wars Sith Lord and an anime figure called the Kyubey.
Duffy, who described himself as a “big fan” of the series, said he planned to see the movie Sunday night.
In addition to Sunday’s party, the library also has a lot of “Star Wars” themed books and movies in its collections, Taylor said.
“It’s a big event that a lot of people care about,” she said of the new movie.
Rachel Ohm — 612-2368
Twitter: @rachel_ohm
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