We sense something ... a presence we have not felt since the premiere of Return of the Jedi in 1983. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Star Wars sequel featuring the moon of Endor, filmed locally in Del Norte and Humboldt counties, the Humboldt-Del Norte Film Commission is putting on its inaugural Forest Moon Festival June 2-3. The (new) hope is to make it an annual tradition.
A long time ago in a Humboldt's Cheatham Grove, Lucasfilm's crew shot the redwood forest backdrop for the iconic speeder chase for ROTJ, and the Ewok village in an undisclosed (and since milled) private location in Del Norte County, as well as Jedediah Smith State Park. Film Commissioner Cassandra Hesseltine says  the two-day festival with events around the two counties is a chance “to celebrate our community. It’s a sweet movie — it’s Endor.” She laughs, adding, “It could be Twilight!”

The date is fast approaching but now that the commission has legal permission to from the Star Wars folks to carry out the festival, the scrappy band of rebels is assembling an alliance of participants and finalizing plans. “We for sure will be screening Return of the Jedi in a handful of places between both counties.” That includes a screening at Sequoia Park, which the film commission has hosted before. “The zoo and city of Eureka are coming up with some great ideas,” she says, including a possible reprisal of the kids' Jedi training course from the May the Fourth celebration last year held in collaboration between the film commission, Sequoia Park Zoo Foundation and City of Eureka. She adds the commission is also talking with the Humboldt Crabs, a skate rink and other organizations and businesses about costume nights, as well as inviting existing events to join in on the theme.
Hesseltine says the HDNFC is also working with four groups of cosplayers for a parade. “It looks like we’ll have everything from rebels to stormtroopers.” She's optimistic about bringing visitors to town, noting the broad appeal of the Star Wars franchise. “It’s giving us something fun to celebrate along with infusing our area with temporary dollars.” That weekend, she notes, is between holidays, when tourism could use a boost and hotels won't be overbooked.

“Coming out of the pandemic, it gives people something fun to do and most of it is outside," says Hesseltine. Businesses, organizations and vendors interested in participating can check out forestmoonfestival.org to get in touch, and attendees can start refreshing the page to watch as events and participants are approved and added to the roster. Yub nub, Humboldt.