So you have a great costume and are thinking to yourself, "When am I going to wear this other than Celebration?" Well have no fear we're here to help! Fan of TheForce.net Craig B. has sent in another nice write up about his own costuming experiences. Check it out below! -Dustin

We all know that costumes are a lot of fun during convention season. Costumers are a big part of creating the atmosphere at any convention and have become as much a part of the show as any panel or special guest. As Jimmy Mac of the ForceCast so perfectly said to a member of the 501st during CV this past August, just as John Williams? music is the oxygen of the Star Wars universe, so too are costumers the oxygen of any Star Wars convention.

But what about the rest of the year, though? Creating a quality costume can take a substantial amount of time and money. What?s the point of going to all that trouble if you?re only going to get to use it a couple of times a year? What exactly do all those costuming groups do the rest of the time?

The truth is that there are usually more opportunities for you to don your costume outside of conventions than in them. You may occasionally hear about a charity event or two that a costuming organization participates in or sponsors, but in reality there are a wide variety of events going on all the time. Take my local squad of the 501st Legion for example. I?m a member of the Arkansas Crimson Nova Squad and yes, Arkansas is indeed very much like Tatooine in being quite far from the bright center of the universe.

Here are just some of the events and opportunities that having quality costumes have opened up to our group in the past few months (literally just 4 months out of the year):

- Star Wars night at the Arkansas Travelers minor-league baseball team?s stadium
-A literacy promotion event at a local library where the kids were read Star Wars books
-Make-a-Wish shopping spree for a little boy who loves all things Star Wars
-Downtown family fun festival at a local town promoting businesses and attractions
-Star Wars Build-a-Bear release promotions at a number of stores
-Verizon Wireless? special edition R2-D2 Droid 2 phone release event
-Arkansas Walk for Autism Speaks charity fundraiser
-Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II release party at GameStop
-Boo at the Zoo Halloween event at the Little Rock Zoo
-Jerry?s Kids Muscular Dystrophy Association charity fundraiser

As you can plainly see, there a plenty of opportunities for use for a good costume that cover a wide variety of interests. From charity events to Star Wars related promotions to just plain old fun, costuming has so much to offer. And as previously mentioned, Arkansas isn?t exactly Coruscant. If there are that many opportunities here then there are opportunities anywhere! Even if you still aren?t interested in creating your own costume Star Wars costuming organizations almost always welcome folks to help them out at events. If being a part of some of these events sounds like something you would enjoy, then contact one of the groups close to you to find out about the numerous opportunities that are out there for fans of all types.

Arguably the best part of any convention is getting to meet and hang out with so many other Star Wars fans who "get it." Costuming provides that same experience all throughout the year through events such as those listed above, along with many, many others. Just as there is often more to being a Star Wars fan than just watching a few movies, there's more to costuming than just conventions. Costuming is a great way to broaden and deepen your fandom all year long.