Nearly 10 storm troopers from the 501st Legion descended upon the Bayport-Blue Point Library on Saturday, May 6, for fans of the “Star Wars” franchise.

Julie Pernice, a children’s librarian, organizes the event for the “Star Wars” local and afar community.

“While, of course May 4[May the Force] is the big date celebrated by ‘Star Wars’ fans, the 501st Legion is so popular, we decided to host our event on the following Saturday to allow more people to come and enjoy the ‘Star Wars’ celebration,” said Pernice.

Over 250 people were logged in coming to the event. “Every time I looked I was like there’s more people! Oh my God, they keep coming,” said Pernice.

Aside from the visit of Stormtroopers (one of which was a Blue Point native), there were craft activities for all ages.

Another librarian, described by Per- nice by a “hardcore” “Star Wars” fan, created a trivia contest for families based on different movies in the franchise and spinoff series.

“Families could choose ‘The Clone Wars’ or ‘The Empire Strikes Back,’” said Pernice.

One member of the 501st Legionlamented that an activity packet given out by the library only showcased the “good guys.”

During a screening of one of the “Star Wars” episodes, the Stormtroopers screamed out a collective “no!” when the Death Star was blown up.

The 501st Legion is an international fan-based organization dedicated to the construction and wearing of screen-ac- curate replicas of Imperial Stormtroop- er armor, Sith Lords, Clone Troop- ers, bounty hunters, and other villains from the “Star Wars” universe. The 501st

Legion, called by its nickname Vader’s Fist, is made up entirely of volunteers.

The organization, which now boasts over 14,000 active members, was founded in 1997.

With a presence on six continents, the local units known as “Garrisons” and “Outposts” can be found in over 60 coun- tries.

Legion members make appearances at casual, promotional, and charitable events, often at the request of Lucasfilm’s Fan Events department.

Although not officially affiliated with

the Walt Disney Company or Lucasfilm LLC., the 501st members were featured as extras in the official series “The Man- dalorian.”

The program started last year and has grown as an event for the whole family with bingo and a “Republic credit” given to the first 50 attendants to redeem “Star Wars”-themed confectionary creations at the library’s café. Mademoiselle’s offered cupcakes in the likeness of “Star Wars” icons like C3PO and Yoda.

“Seeing the wonder in children’s faces made it all worth it,” said Pernice.