More than 100 people stake out a plot of land at Pulaski Park in Northampton on this crisp Wednesday night for an outdoor screening of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. At the event kicking off this year’s Northampton Film Festival, people dress as Luke, Leia, Han, Chewy, and the rest while kids from preschool to pre-teen do battle with light sabers and pose with a “real-life” Stormtrooper. As the trumpet flourish that begins the SW theme song signals the start of the movie, people settle down on the lawn and nestle under their blankets, while the littlest ones drift off to a galaxy far, far away …
— Peter Vancini, pvancini@valleyadvocate.com
