(3 May 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Petaluma, California – 1 May 2025
1. Curtain opens to the entrance at Rancho Obi-Wan, a nonprofit museum that has the world’s largest collection of “Star Wars” memorabilia
2. Woman uses "The Force" to trick stormtrooper guard into letting us enter
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Anne Neumann, President & CEO, Rancho Obi-Wan:
"So we are at Rancho Obi-Wan, home of the world’s largest Star Wars collection as certified by Guinness World Records in 2014."
4. Rancho Obi-Wan sign
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Anne Neumann, President & CEO, Rancho Obi-Wan:
"There’s 120,000 pieces in my database now, but it’s possible that it’s 300 to 500,000 pieces."
6. Various Star Wars memorabilia
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Anne Neumann, President & CEO, Rancho Obi-Wan:
"May the fourth be with you. May the force be with. You know, it’s a grassroots, fan-grown holiday. It’s Star Wars Day."
8. Various "May the 4th Be With You" posters
9. Various "May the Force Be With You" signs
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Anne Neumann, President & CEO, Rancho Obi-Wan:
"Every year it’s almost exponential because it’s just super fun. One place will have a May the 4th gathering and then the next year another place and so it just grows and grows and grows and grows. I think anywhere you live in the world you could probably find a place to go to celebrate May the fourth."
11. Various toys that use "the power of The Force"
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Anne Neumann, President & CEO, Rancho Obi-Wan:
"I would say it’s about community and the things that bind you to friends, to family, to other people you don’t know, strangers you meet in line watching Star Wars. I think that’s the force."
13. Various Star Wars games
STORYLINE:
It’s not from a galaxy far, far away, but every year on May 4th, the Star Wars universe takes over Earth in a big way.
Fans, businesses, and even cities get in on what’s become known as Star Wars Day.
So what’s behind the celebration?
It started as a clever pun: May the Fourth be with you.
And over time, May 4th has transformed into Star Wars Day, a fan-made holiday honoring one of pop culture’s most beloved franchises.
You won’t find it on any official calendar, but its influence is galactic.
Even President Biden got in on the fun last year, meeting with Star Wars legend Mark Hamill at the White House.
The phrase popped up as early as 1979, used in a British ad celebrating Margaret Thatcher’s election win.
Since then, it’s grown, fueled by social media, movie marathons, and fans who couldn’t resist a good pun.
While some purists argue May 25th, the original film’s release date, is the real Star Wars Day, May 4th has gone mainstream.
Businesses from Nissan to Jameson have jumped aboard, and since acquiring Lucasfilm in 2012, Disney’s taken it to hyperdrive with merch, streaming specials, and live events.
This year, Disney+ is dropping a brand-new series, Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld, with more excitement ahead as a new standalone film starring Ryan Gosling is set for 2027.
From themed cookies at bakeries to Star Wars concerts and even baseball games, like the San Francisco Giants’ “Obi-Webb Kenobi” bobblehead, May the Fourth is impossible to miss.
In New Hope, Pennsylvania. named just like the original film’s subtitle, it’s a town-wide celebration, complete with costumed characters and “YodaRitas” on the menu.
Whether you’re wielding a lightsaber or just watching from the sidelines, May the Fourth has become a global salute to the Force, and the fans who keep it alive.
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