Annual "Star Wars" day 'May The Fourth' was celebrated over the weekend with a charity garage sale and party for all!

The epic saga that is "Star Wars" may have been created by George Lucas back in the 70's, but nearly 5 decades later, the mammoth legacy the space opera franchise had formed manages to live on not only through Special Editions, DVD, Blu-ray and more recently the 3D cinematic re-releases, but also through dedicated fans who embrace the intergalactic sub-culture as much as they do with The Force.

Adi aka. Carlos, the President of SWMFC who organised the shindig with the club.

With the recent international "Star Wars" day, 'May The Fourth'; derived from the franchise's most popular line "May The Force Be With You" that took place last weekend, local fans didn't falter short of the celebrations as well. The official Star Wars Malaysia Fan Club (SWMFC) held a gathering at a fellow member's residence in Petaling Jaya, that saw to the busy hustle and bustle of a charity garage sale and party that not only catered for fans, but for the general public as well.

Some of the merchandise on sale.

Graced by a giant blow-up Darth Vader at the entrance to greet visitors to the festivities, vendors at the event entailed toy dealers such as Toy Rebels who were present with merchandise from "Star Wars" as well as the current reigning blockbuster "Marvel's The Avengers", and not missing out of course were the enthusiasts who were eager to part with their vast collection; an effort spawning years of interest.

President of the Star Wars Malaysia Fan Club, Adi, or Carlos as his friends lovingly address him, revealed that the event marked the club's first foray for a 'May The Fourth' garage sale celebration and party, with proceeds donated to various orphanage homes, as it aims to cater more than just for the fanbase.

"This is the first time that we're doing something like this to mark 'May The Fourth' at the front yard of a member's residence, and hopefully we can start expanding and make this an annual affair." Adding that the 2-metre tall Darth Vader placed at the house entrance for 2 days prior to the event, garnered a lot of curious minds to wander and query the nature of the event.

The bustling activity despite the scorching weather.

Kavin has been collecting "Star Wars" memorabilia since 2000.

Kavin Ch'ng, who holds a day job as a headhunter at a private firm, is also one of the prominent vendor-collector that was willing to part with his beloved collection ranging from figurines to model replicas. Starting his collection at the break of the millennium; year 2000 onwards, Kavin is an avid fan who takes joy by introducing the saga to his 6-year-old daughter. "I was glad when the movies were converted and re-released in 3D. This way I could bring my daughter to watch it and enjoy it on the big screen. Especially the 3D enhanced pod-racing scene in "The Phantom Menace", it was my favourite."

Even the scorching hot afternoon didn't keep visitors from walking in and out of the premises, especially Haron, a member of the Star Wars Malaysia Fan club who offered his front yard as the bustling activity grounds.

The posters of the first ever "Iron Man" and "Captain America" comics.

Possessing a collection that even George Lucas himself would be proud of, describing Haron's personal "Star Wars" memorabilia collection as simply; massive, would be a poor understatement. As he points out his favourites amongst the many on display as well as his interest in the movies that has been cultivating since the 80's, Haron doesn't let his managerial duties in an oil and gas company get in the way of his passion.

Merc from "Avengers" was available too apart from "Star Wars".

With glass cabinets across a wall packed with his collections as well, timeless books, graphic novels, magazines and posters, Haron hesitantly picks out his most adored piece, "My favourite is the AT-AT model that I have wanting since my younger days in University, but I finally managed to save up for it after and got it."

For what could be worth a sizable sum today, Haron describes the evolution from the vintage model figurines to its preceding decade-after models, which see the transformation of craftsmanship that initially presented a more cartoon-ish quality than that of the precise sculpted replica as seen in the films.

Haron in his dedicated room safely housing his "Star Wars" collection.

Haron with some of his favourites; a "Star Wars" pop-up book (left) and the AT-AT model (right).

Does he ever plan to sell his collection? "Well no, not at the moment. But someday, if I have to I would rather auction it all off than to part with it one-by-one," answers Haron after a hesitant moment's thought (or a possible failed memory swiping Jedi mind trick to the question).

Star Wars Malaysia Fan Club is officially registered with the Registrar of Societies of Malaysia and is run by fans of the franchise for fellow fans with all its related indicias authorised with permission. It aims to celebrate everything and anything related to the "Star Wars" franchise and for those interested to participate can do so at their website, swmfc.com.my.