Despite what they say about stormtroopers, the 501st Legion Empire City Garrison scored a direct hit with its Star Wars con on Sunday at Levittown Hall in Hicksville.
Built around a fandom older than most, not all, but most, of those who attended the con, Troopercon has been gaining traction year after year. The gathering feels more like a labor of love in the vein of the fan-run, old-school sci-fi cons rather than a slick comic con kind of event, and that’s a good thing. Because as we know, all rebellions start with one thing: hope.
Although Justin Weiss, the CO of the 501st Legion Empire City Garrison, would rather not talk about rebellions. He pointed out in the middle of Troopercon that, except for the times when they were aiming at the main characters, stormtroopers have better marksmanship than U.S. Marines. Sounds like Imperial propaganda to us!
Regardless, 2026 Troopercon was a packed event with cosplayers representing just about every film in the franchise, along with some that bent genres a bit. Did anyone happen to see that fabulous blinged-out Jawa on stage?
The hours of effort put into the stagecraft, backdrops, costumes and fundraising for Cohen’s Children’s Hospital shone through like the light side of the Force. Bad guys doing good, indeed!
More than 30 members of the 501st Legion Empire City Garrison suited up for the event, according to Weiss, with Darth Vader, the Mandalorian, Jawas, TIE pilots, clones and even a Bith musician among the characters roaming Troopercon.
Echo Base Rebel Legion, Saber Guild’s Endor Temple and the Mando Mercs Costume Club were also in attendance, in addition to the Galactic Academy Denon School of New York, the local chapter of the Star Wars costuming club for kids and teens. Other fans joined the fun dressed as Jedi, stormtroopers and Ahsoka.
But what Troopercon seems to be becoming may be more interesting than the size of the crowd.
After the event, Weiss described the countless hours of planning, two days of setup and breakdown, multiple truck and trailer trips, and plenty of “muscle and sweat” that went into pulling it all off. But was it worth it?
“Totally, yes!” Weiss wrote. “The second Trooper Con by far trumped the first. With this event we have started to learn more of what this is. What it is and should become. It’s not a convention like others. It’s about Star Wars. But most importantly, it’s about us.”
And that old-school convention spirit was hard to miss Sunday. Troopercon isn’t trying to be everything to everybody. It’s Star Wars fans, costumers, families and clubs building something of their own.
“We started something here,” Weiss wrote the morning after the con.
And apparently, the Empire is already planning its next move because Trooper Con will return in 2027.
For more upcoming 2026 pop culture and comic conventions on Long Island, click here.
