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Valerie Starkey still has a copy of the speeding ticket her dad gave C-3PO.

Starkey’s father and other California Highway Patrol officers were assigned to provide security on the film set of “Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi”. Though she’s not a huge fan of the franchise, she says she’s excited about her family’s brush with pop culture history.

“(Anthony Daniels said) ‘Do you know who I am?’ And my dad says, ‘No,’ Starkey told the Wild Rivers Outpost. “He said ‘I’m C-3PO.’ My dad said, ‘Well, I’m Officer Ernie Knowlton and you’re in Del Norte County and you’re speeding.’”

Daniels autographed the ticket, Starkey said, handed it back to her father with a photo of him as C-3PO and wrote, “May your children forgive you.”

Now, 40 years later, Starkey is working with her colleagues on the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors, the Crescent City-Del Norte County Chamber of Commerce, the Humboldt-Del Norte Film Commission and Crescent City celebrate the region’s pop culture legacy as Endor.

The Forest Moon Festival is a two-day two-county celebration that Film Commissioner Cassandra Hesseltine initially thought of as a dress rehearsal. Last year, the film commission partnered with the City of Eureka and the Sequoia Park Zoo Foundation to hold a mini festival, but the idea was always to celebrate both counties, she said.

“We went, wow, that was a lot of work, how are we going to do two counties and really spread the love so it’s happening everywhere?” Hesseltine said, referring to the May The 4th Be With You event in 2022. “It’s more like we’re creating a holiday. If you think of the Fourth of July, everybody knows on that day you wear your t-shirt with your flag. You dress in red, white and blue or your version of it and maybe have some barbecues. Then there are city events and county events you could do. There might be some businesses and restaurants that participate and have special Fourth of July food. That’s what we’re asking people to do for this.”

The film commission already has buy-in from the Del Norte County Board of Supervisors, who on Tuesday unanimously approved using Florence Keller Park for a June 2 screening of Return of the Jedi. On Monday, Crescent City staff will ask counselors to support the creation of a Jedi Training Academy obstacle course at Beachfront Park for the festival on June 3.

Local chambers of commerce are promoting the festival to local businesses. Hesseltine said she hopes to have the beginnings of a schedule of activities available to the public in the next few days, but needs to hear from local businesses and organizations who plan to participate.

“There will be some tiers. The main tier will have the Jedi screenings and any activities specifically for that event. If, for instance, Crescent City does a Jedi training course, that’ll go on the main schedule,” Hesseltine said. “Any businesses that theme out, dress up in costume or make a drink look like a short little green man with ears, that’ll go in the second tier and that’ll be participating businesses who are contributing that way. Any other activities that are happening that weekend want to be listed as another event tourists might want to check out, fill out a packet and we’ll put you in the (third) tier. We really want to promote all businesses and events that are happening in both counties ‘cause, again, this is for the counties."


According to Hesseltine, organizing the festival happened quickly. Lucasfilm granted intellectual property rights to the film commission in January. The organization began meeting with representatives of local hotels as well as visitor bureaus, cities, counties and businesses in February and March.

Hesseltine said they felt the first weekend in June would be a good weekend to hold the festival since it’s in the summer, but there’s a lull in visitors at that time.

It was Starkey who proposed using Florence Keller as an outdoor movie theater. But the 26-acre park may not have the capacity to hold the number of people expressing interest in the event, she said.

“My location is ideal. It’s right in the redwoods,” she said. “But we want to accommodate as many people as possible.”

Starkey, who represents Del Norte County on the Crescent City-Del Norte County Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau, said she and Lynnette Braillard, the agent of record for the chamber, have been coming up with other ideas for the Forest Moon Festival. This could include having cardboard cutouts of Star Wars characters and creating a scavenger hunt or urging people to take selfies with them.

At Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, Starkey said an estimated 750 people could attend the screening of Return of the Jedi in Del Norte County. But Hesseltine said that’s the number of people who attended a previous screening of the movie in Eureka a few years ago.

“We were really thrown with that number and that was without a festival,” she said. “Where ever we show (the movie) we have to be ready and attaching a festival to it, (we’ve seen) how big this could get.”

Meanwhile, on Monday, the Crescent City Council will be asked to consider a budget request of $2,500 to cover expenses for a Jedi Training obstacle course. Those dollars will be used to create the obstacle course and provide materials for youngsters to make their own lightsabers, said Ashley Taylor, the city’s director of economic development and recreation.

“We’re hoping to have costumed folks there in different Star Wars attire and also some activities where kids can make a lightsaber or other types of Star Wars themed activities,” Taylor told the Outpost. “Star Wars obviously is a pretty huge deal and the festival itself has gotten picked up by several publications that are statewide. The reason why the city is wanting to do something is because we want something for people to participate in so they can continue to patronize other businesses in the community.”

Articles on the Forest Moon Festival have appeared in local media, the Press Democrat in Santa Rosa, SF Gate and the New York Times.

Hesseltine said she’ll have a better idea of what the schedule of events will be for the festival in the next week or so. At that point people will be turning in vendor packets and the Film Commission will be updating the web page devoted to the festival, she said.

The overall goal is for the Forest Moon Festival to be an annual event, Hesseltine said. She’s optimistic that this first festival will “hit it out of the park,” but added that the following year may see a lull in attendance. Still, she’s confident that the festival will grow over time.

“It is a passion project for us and we really are grateful that everyone is helping collaborate and work together,” she said. “This is just a reminder to everybody to be safe. It’s supposed to be a positive experience for all ages.”

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