Don't come underdressed to Space Dive 313 Star Wars party in Detroit
Kimberly P. Mitchell, Detroit Free Press
Updated ·2 min read
Christian Knox, 6, of Ypsilanti, attended Space Dive, a party set on the planet of Tatooine in the "Star Wars" galaxy six months after the Death Star is destroyed, dressed as Darth Maul at Tangent Gallery in Detroit on Saturday, May 4, 2024.
A new chapter searching the depths of human exploration is being forged deep within the mantle of Detroit: In a breathtaking display of human ingenuity and boundless imagination, the members of Space Dive 313 have built a Star Wars world in which Jedi, Tusken Raiders, stormtroopers and Jawa can coexist on the desert planet Tatooine, six months after the destruction of the Death Star by hometown hero Luke Skywalker.
This is the setting for Space Dive 313, a parallel quantum universe party at an Imperial base, taken over by rebels at the Tangent Gallery on the outer rim of Detroit.
The build crew from Space Dive 313 works in Brett Carson’s backyard constructing custom interiors for the upcoming party, while he and co-creator John Dunivant look over blueprints for the build on Sunday, April 14, 2024.
LEFT: Build crew member Joe Grignano stands on a ladder and works with fellow crew member James Schultz, 41, of Detroit, and Kendall Willits, 36, of Ann Arbor, to reassemble a moisture vaporator, while co-founder Daniel Land, 41, of Detroit, right, walks toward the storage container where props are stored at the Detroit House of Music, in preparation for the upcoming Space Dive 313 party in Detroit, on April 14, 2024. The evaporators were custom-built and resemble the farming tools from the desert planet Tatooine in the "Star Wars" universe. RIGHT: Darin Quintero fabricates the lights and screen inside of the Death Star control panel console for the upcoming Space Dive 313 party at Tangent Gallery in Detroit, on May 1, 2024. Quintero says his everyday job is boring, but he has experience using a CNC machine to build structures with Camp Syncytium from the festival Burning Man.
Co-creator John Dunivant, co-creator Daniel Land and Brett Carson look over renderings, blueprints and plans for the upcoming Space Dive 313, during the build at Carson’s home in Birmingham, April 14, 2024. Dunivant is an illustrator/artist with a background in architecture, painting, sculpture and world building, while Land is a special effects filmmaker.
Like two rebels thrust together to save the galaxy, longtime friends John Dunivant and Daniel Land discovered the love they share for "Star Wars," while working together on Theatre Bizarre, an annual Halloween masquerade staged at the Detroit Masonic Temple.
“All this started when I was 6,” Dunivant said, “I knew then that it was going to change my life.” As he got older, the world "Star Wars" presented to him blew his mind. “It felt so fully realized and authentic that I wanted to be in that world, and then ... I learned of the magicians that make film and the artists that design it.”
Mackerel Smith, 17, is a student at Detroit School of Arts and leads a game of sabacc, the "Star Wars" galaxy's most popular card game, with an IG-13 assassin droid bouncer keeping guard over the tent, during Space Dive, a party set on the planet of Tatooine, at Tangent Gallery in Detroit, on Saturday, May 4, 2024. The Millennium Falcon changed hands in a famous sabacc game between Han Solo and Lando Calrissian.
Mackerel Smith, 17, a student at Detroit School of Arts, leads a game of sabacc, the Star Wars galaxy's most popular card game, with an IG-13 assassin droid bouncer keeping guard over the tent, during Space Dive, a party set on the planet of Tatooine, at Tangent Gallery in Detroit, on Saturday, May 4, 2024. The Millennium Falcon changed hands in a famous sabacc game between characters Han Solo and Lando Calrissian. RIGHT: A player holds cards as they participate in the game sabacc.
How many parties allow adults to play dress-up and embrace their inner child? For these self-professed opinionated nerds, not only is everyone invited to the party, guests must come fully dressed as someone from the "Star Wars" universe.
Everything from speeder bikes to the Imperial Base interiors to the fully realized Mos Eisley Cantina was built from the ground up for authenticity by the build crew and designed by Dunivant.
"Star Wars" enthusiasts walk around the Imperial Base that has been taken over by rebels on the planet Tatooine in the "Star Wars" galaxy, six months after the Death Star is destroyed by hometown hero Luke Skywalker, during the Space Dive 313 party at Tangent Gallery in Detroit on Saturday, May 4, 2024.
Anna Lewandowski, 32, of Grosse Pointe, attends Space Dive 313, a party set on the planet of Tatooine in the "Star Wars" galaxy six months after the Death Star is destroyed at Tangent Gallery in Detroit on Saturday, May 4, 2024.
Kids run through the alleyways of Tatooine planet shooting nerf guns at rogues and smugglers, during family day at the Space Dive 313 party at Tangent Gallery in Detroit on Saturday, May 4, 2024. Tatooine is a harsh desert world orbiting twin suns in the galaxy’s Outer Rim. In the days of the Empire and the Republic, many settlers scratched out a living on moisture farms, while spaceport cities such as Mos Eisley and Mos Espa served as home base for smugglers, criminals and other rogues. Anakin Skywalker and Luke Skywalker both once called Tatooine home, although across the stars it was more widely known as a hive of scum and villainy ruled by the crime boss Jabba the Hutt, according to starwars.com
On May 4 at Tangent, the skies were lit with blasts from flamethrowers atop of cargo containers lining the boundaries of Tangent Gallery, as throngs of people dressed in their best Star Wars regalia mingled with aliens, danced to sonic tunes, drank Blue Milk and enjoyed skewered Bantha meat under the open sky. Just hours earlier, families enjoyed the sunshine, as kids climbed the speeder bike for selfies and chased each other through the market shooting one another with "Star Wars" modified nerf guns. If you missed the parties May 3 and 4, don’t worry, because the best party in the galaxy continues May 10 and 11.
“To build something that is bigger than all of us is pretty satisfying,” Dunivant said.
Crowds gather around one of the stages where droids perform during the Space Dive 313 party, set on the planet of Tatooine in the "Star Wars" galaxy, six months after the Death Star is destroyed at Tangent Gallery in Detroit on Saturday, May 4, 2024.
"Star Wars" enthusiasts, some dressed as stormtroopers, walk around the Imperial Base that has been taken over by rebels on the planet Tatooine in the "Star Wars" galaxy, six months after the Death Star is destroyed by hometown hero Luke Skywalker, during the Space Dive 313 party at Tangent Gallery in Detroit on Saturday, May 4, 2024.
Detroit has long been a place where artists can thrive and build worlds like Space Dive. There is no other place in the world they could have built something like this or Theatre Bizarre, Dunivant said. Co-creator Land said there is an undercurrent to the party, just like the films, that is important to them.
“'Star Wars' has always been political,” Land said.
“We don’t shy away from that dimension of it. It’s a party, it’s fun." “We are constantly recruiting rebels to fight the fascists, ” Dunivant added.
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