The Great Lakes Garrison is the Michigan chapter of the 501st Legion, the premier Star Wars costuming club dedicated to creating movie-accurate costumes based on the "villains" of the Star Wars universe. Our motto is "Bad Guys Doing Good" and we use our love of costuming to support nonprofit, charity, and community organizations across the state.
The Great Lakes Garrison provides a community for Star Wars fans to meet and network with each other, all centered around the hobby of building costumes and props. All our costumes are "fan-made" through a variety of methods such as vacuum-formed armor kits to 3d printing to sewing.
We are committed to bringing the love of Star Wars to our local communities and we can often be found at local charity events, fundraisers, and social functions. Our members volunteer their time and, while there is no cost for our services, we encourage donations to charity on our behalf.
We also work closely with our sister organizations including the Great Lakes Base of the Rebel Legion, the Tra'cor Clan of the Mandalorian Mercs Costume Club, the Asharl Cove Spire of The Dark Empire, and the Droid Builders. Many of our members are also members of one or more of our sister clubs.
In January of 2024, we welcomed our first squad to the Great Lakes Garrison. The members of the Upper Peninsula worked hard to build their local numbers and created the Iron Range Squad.
Michigan was originally part of the Midwest Garrison, which was founded in 1999. The other states included Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Indiana formed the Bloodfin Garrison in 2002, and Ohio followed the same path and formed the Ohio Garrison a year later. The Midwest Garrison continued to grow and by 2005, reached over 200 members across the three remaining states. In 2007, members in Wisconsin formally organized the Wisconsin Squad, which became the Wisconsin Garrison in 2010.
The Michigan Squad, formed in 2003, continued to grow in size and eventually became the Great Lakes Garrison in December of 2007. Since then, the GLG has contributed significantly to the greater 501st Legion and Star Wars communities. Many of our members have served in various command and administrative roles at the Legion Level, either with the 501st or one of the sister clubs.