Mission Debrief: Ghat Kyr’bes Clan, Montreal

The second mission of the year took me to Montreal, Quebec, where we spent three days trooping with members of Ghat Kyr’bes Clan, Falco Clan, and the Maritimes Stronghold.

I’ll preface this mission debrief with a bit of travel advice:  When checking in your armor at the ticket counter, make sure the agent puts the right luggage tag on your armor bin.

This mission started off a bit rocky, as our flight was around half an hour late taking off from Greensboro, NC. Our lay-over at NYC LaGuardia was only scheduled for 50 minutes, and by the time we had collected our carry-on bags the clock was down to 30 minutes. It also didn’t help that our plane arrived on one end of the terminal, and the plan we were flying back out on was at the complete opposite end of the terminal. So we did the best thing we could, and RAN FOR IT! We made it to the plane right as the terminal door was closing, and were the last two people to board.

After a brief stop to change planes again in Toronto, we flew into the beautiful city of Montreal. For those of you who have never been to Montreal, it’s literally a city built on an island in the middle of the St. Lawrence river. It’s a CITY ON AN ISLAND!!! How cool is that?!

By the time we picked up our baggage, arrived at the hotel and got settled in, it was just after 5pm. Elisha and I decided to grab a bite to eat and relax, so we met up with Trish and Dresdon from the Maritimes Stronghold (Canada) for soup dumpling in China Town. In China, the Soup dumping is called “Xiaolongbao”, and let me explain exactly what it is. First, they bring out a slightly steaming wooden cask and set it in front of you, but the fun really begins when they take the lid of the cask off. The cloud of steam that hit my face made me feel like I’d just walked into a sauna, it was that hot and thick. Using the included chopsticks and spoon, the idea is to pick the soup dumping up with chopsticks, place it into the spoon, and then eat it. A quick word of caution here; let your soup dumpling cool in the spoon before taking a bite. Otherwise, you’ll end up with a mouth of liquid hot magma!

Early on Friday, we headed over to the convention center early so that we could get get kitted up and help work the Ghat Kyr’bes members. One thing that never ceases to amaze me, is the creativity of MMCC members and how helpful they are to each other. This is a constant I’ve seen in every Clan I’ve visited over the past 11 years, and it’s encouraging to experience. Ghat Kyr’bes is the largest Clan in Canada, with over 40 official members and many recruits on the way.

One of THE MOST IMPORTANT things I can do as Mandalore, is work and troop alongside my Mandos. These missions are a chance to do that, and show members that I’m in the trenches along-side them…and always will be as long as I can wear the armor. I think my favorite part of any troop is simply standing back and watching how the members interact with the public, and how excited the public is to see and interact with them. Things like this rarely (if ever) existed for me as a child, so watching it happen for these kids is somewhat cathartic.

Quebec is also another example of how Star Wars costume and fan organizations should cohabitate and work together. The reception I received from the local 501st Garrison Forterese Imperiale was humbling. Seeing such a great relationship between groups brings so much hope for the future, and it creates such an awesome picture for Star Wars fans to aspire to. In a fandom that’s become so divided, it really is our duty to try and bring it back together through what we do.

It was an awesome weekend of fun, festivities, and fireworks! I look forward to all the great things in store for Ghat Kyr’bes Clan, as they carry the banner of Mandalore throughout Quebec.

OYA!