'Star Wars'-themed event busted by Detroit fire officials, fans vow 'more powerful' return
At about 10 p.m. Saturday, four hours before a three-day "Star Wars"-themed annual cosplay celebration was set to end, organizers of Space Dive in Detroit said there was little they could do to turn away city fire officials, who filed in the building like Imperial stormtroopers.
The rest of Space Dive — as C3PO, the movie's golden droid, said in the film's opening scene — was "doomed."
There would be "no escape for the princess" — or any of the 500 or so eventgoers who had purchased $35 tickets, dressed in elaborate "Star Wars" character costumes and gathered together at the Tangent Gallery to relive the memories of their childhood. Fire officials shut the event down.
Since then, a clash between a rag-tag, fun-loving group of self-described sci-fi nerds and Detroit Fire Department officials intent on keeping the public safe has played out. One side claimed, mostly in jest, that they were victims of "the evil empire." The other side, more seriously, says they likely prevented a tragedy.
"The thing about the fire marshals, when they go out, they're not looking to close anything down or ruin an event," Detroit Fire Chief James Harris told the Free Press on Wednesday. "Our goal is to save lives. That's our No. 1 priority. That's it."
Wait, who are the good guys?
Harris, who was not at the event, said that fire officials weren't concerned about how epic and true-to-the-film the set-up at 715 E Milwaukee St. was. Nor were they concerned whether "Exit" signs clashed with the Hollywood sci-fi fantasy world organizers were trying to create.
What fire officials cared about, Harris said, was that the converted warehouse where the event was held didn't have a fire-alarm system, sprinkler system or properly marked exits.
On top of that, event organizers also didn't have a permit, which, the fire chief said, was required.
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Harris said there were several safety hazards, including open fire pits with hot embers wafting through the air, drapes that didn't appear fire-resistant and blocked egresses. It was, as he had told the Metro Times alternative weekly earlier this week, "a nightmare in progress."
If one of those embers landed on one of those drapes, Harris said, the whole building could have burnt down, much like the Station nightclub fire in West Warwick, Rhode Island, in 2003. There, a pyrotechnic display ignited acoustic foam and in minutes, the place was engulfed in flames, killing 100 people and injuring 230.
That disaster wasn't a Hollywood movie, it was reality.
Harris said until the fire department's safety concerns are addressed, the Tangent Gallery is closed.
A fictional world in a real one
Still, organizers of the elaborate event said they are disappointed and unhappy with the fire department's decision, and they are, in their own way, fighting back — on social media.
Event co-founder John Dunivant, 52, of Lathrup Village, said he and Daniel Land, 40, came up with the idea for the annual gathering. They called it "Space Dive" as word play, with a space dive being a jump to Earth from space, and a sleezy bar in space.
The venue design was based on the fictional "Star Wars" cantina, Dunivant said. MLive even billed the event "an actual 'Star Wars' Mos Eisley Cantina," in a news article.
Dunivant, a multimedia artist, said he saw "Star Wars: A New Hope" when it came out in 1977. He was just a boy and it changed his life. It was an adventure story, he said, that had cool spaceships and laser blasters, but it also introduced him to literary concepts about myths and a hero's journey.
He said it filled his mind with art and design ideas and how fictional worlds can help make sense of the real one.
As an adult, Dunivant added, he just wanted to create that experience for others.
Space Dive and a new hope
Dunivant said this year's Space Dive drew visitors from as far away as California and generated buzz for Detroit.
But some eventgoers said the fire department's actions would turn a "May the 4th be with you" party into a "Revenge of the 5th" ordeal.
"They didn’t give us an opportunity to fix anything," Land told the Metro Times. "It was very minor stuff. Hundreds of people were kicked out on the street. They created a more dangerous situation by kicking everyone out in a rush."
Moreover, the organizers pointed out they do not own the gallery.
Still, Space Dive reported the news on Facebook under a headline, "SHUT DOWN BY THE EMPIRE," and apologized "to everyone who came out," adding that organizers "are incredibly grateful for the response to the event this year."
And despite the event's abrupt end, many still praised it.
"It was fun while we were there. Wish we could have experienced more," one attendee wrote. "I can't believe they didn't check it out before opening or the two nights prior that went fine. It's a Star Wars-themed experience one time a year. Did they not think it was going to bring a large crowd with potential issues along the way?"
Another event fan posted a meme: A photo of Star Wars hero Obi-Wan Kenobi parodying his movie line: "I was there before the dark times ... before the fire marshal."
Dunivant said he, Land and others worked into the early morning hours Wednesday taking photos and videos to document what was there, in case they needed them to challenge any of the city's claims. They aim to hold the event again.
And the Metro Times quoted Land, paraphrasing a Kenobi line from the movie when he accepts his fate just before he is killed off in a lightsaber duel by the movie's villain, Darth Vader: "If they strike us down, we will become more powerful."
Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit 'Star Wars' party shut down by fire marshals
