“May the 4th Be With You” on Star Wars Day

‘Star Wars – A New Hope’ debuted in theaters in 1977, and the first promotional event for it was called, ‘May the 4th Be With You’ a play on the common phrase throughout the star wars franchise, ‘may the force be with you’.

Since then, Star Wars has grown beyond just a sci-fi movie franchise, and become an ongoing cultural phenomenon.

“There’s really somebody to connect to all the time, whether it’s someone who you’re actually like or someone who you want to be like, which is neat,” said Wendi Schoville, Manager of Bob’s Bullpen.

Not only has the franchise been popular for 46 years, it’s been passed down from generation to generation, and new star wars stories are still being told to this day.

“They were like, ‘hey, you should come check this out, May the 4th be with you, that’s when it’s coming out’, so for it to have started that soon after the first movies came out, to all of the books, all of the comic books, all of the video games, and references through every other type of media, even into rap music, it’s a way of life for people now,” said Schoville.

At Bob’s Bullpen in Alpena, May the 4th is a day of celebration. They often have customers come in looking for the newest Star Wars comic or figurine, sometimes even in full costume.

“It’s super fun,” said Schoville. “I love seeing people’s tattoos, their gear that they have like shirts, hats – I wish I would have worn my hat today – people have like, bags and come in full costume sometimes, so that’s always really, really fun.”

Whether you’re a Jedi or a Sith Lord or somewhere in between, anyone can celebrate May the 4th.