JediNews.co.uk and Star Wars Celebration Europe are delighted to announce Caravan of the Force in association with Toys ‘R’ Us. Caravan of the Force is a two vehicle convoy with six people on-board, all with the common goal of raising money for Make-A-Wish Foundation®. The Caravan will be travelling from the UK to France, Belgium, Holland and Germany arriving in time for Star Wars Celebration Europe that takes place 26-28th July in Messe Essen, and then all the way back to London again! As we reach each country we’ll be welcomed by the local 501st Garrison in order to raise awareness of our trip and raise funds for Make-A-Wish.

The trip has been organized and will be led by James Burns and Mark Newbold who co-own/run Jedi News, the UK’s #1 Star Wars fan site and the largest English speaking Star Wars fan site in Europe. James and Mark also write for the Official Star Wars magazine, Star Wars Insider, as well as the Official Star Wars Blog at StarWars.com where you’ll be able to track their progress with daily updates. Lucasfilm worked with James and Mark to put the Caravan together and help turn their wacky idea into reality.

Joining James and Mark is fan favorite actor Jeremy Bulloch, who played Boba Fett in the original Star Wars films as well as a cameo part in Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. In addition to his Star Wars roles he’s acted in several other films including Summer Holiday and the James Bond film Octopussy, which like Return on the Jedi also celebrates its 30th anniversary this year as well as numerous roles for television too. Jeremy’s wife Maureen is also coming along to keep us all in check!

The final two people joining the Caravan are Jedi News team members Matt Booker (Automattic Comics) and Dave Tree (All the Cool Stuff and Palitoy Archive) who bring their driving skills and almost eighty years of combined Star Wars knowledge on-board.

A journey like this is a great way to spread the word, explain what Make-A-Wish do and raise money for them, at the same time continuing to promote the great charitable efforts the Star Wars community provides worldwide each and every day. Our aim is to raise a total of £5,000 for Make-A-Wish to help make a difference to children who won't necessarily ever get the chance to travel on exciting journeys like this or enjoy the magic of Star Wars at a Celebration event. We invite friends, family, strangers and Star Wars fans alike to dig deep and contribute to the Caravan of the Force at JustGiving.co.uk (http://www.justgiving.com/caravan-of-the-force) which accepts all major currencies. It doesn't matter how big or little the contribution, it all goes to Make-A-Wish and hopefully together we can help bring smiles to the faces of many terminally ill children by turning their wishes and dreams into reality.

The Caravan would not be possible without our generous sponsors that include Toys ‘R’ Us, Holiday Inn that supplied our accommodation in the UK, Hyundai who supplied our vehicles, P&O Ferries that enabled us to cross the channel and Vodafone that are powering our communications across the whole trip.

You can join in the fun too at one of our first stops on July 19th when we’ll be visiting Toys ‘R’ Us in Brent Cross, London for the launch of Hasbro’s new Star Wars series of 3.75” and 6” figures called The Black Series. The event will start at 7:30pm and Jeremy Bulloch will be signing autographs on a special Black Series backing card and you’ll have the first opportunity in Europe to buy the figures too. The 501st UK Garrison, Rebel Legion and R2 Builders Club will be on hand to keep the crowds under control and have the opportunity to pose for fun photos.

There will be more chances to catch up with the Caravan of the Force at various locations across the UK, France, Belgium and Germany – more details to follow.
Monitor the progress of the Caravan of the Force at StarWars.com, JediNews.co.uk, Facebook ‘Caravan of the Force’ and on Twitter #CaravanOfTheForce.