They're toasting the event in style. Beginning Monday, a tent city will be erected in the parking lot of the Regal Hollywood 24 in Chamblee where "Star Wars" fans will camp out and celebrate all things connected to The Force before the midnight Wednesday premiere.

"For us, this is our big shining moment to do something," said Jimmy Burns of Morrow, second in command of a group of local "Star Wars" fans. "It is kind of the key moment."

The appeal is obvious. Action, special effects, fantasy and fun. But what inspires this consuming connection to a film series that began almost 30 years ago?

"Nothing resonates as personally and emotionally as 'Star Wars,' " said Carl Cunningham of Canton, who runs the Web site StarwarsFan.org. "It's the hero's journey, the oldest story ever told. What makes it different is it's tapped into pop culture and wrapped with all kinds of cool."

And think twice before stereotyping. These are corporate trainers, Internet executives, lawyers. Men and women --- yes, women ---who love nothing more than to dress up as Boba Fett and toast the "Star Wars" glory.

"We have teachers, government workers, police officers, public relations people, physicians," said Rosenberg, a public health adviser for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's bioterrorism program. "We're all over the spectrum, and that's what makes it fun."

DARTH VADER AND THE STORMTROOPER

In 1977, a small, skinny 15-year-old from Jonesboro found a role model in the face of evil.

Darth Vader. Tall, powerful, commanding. He couldn't shake this image.

"The armor and mystery surrounding him," said Robert Bean, now 42. "He was the bad guy. No one had control over him."

He crudely fashioned an outfit out of cardboard boxes, electrical tape and vacuum cleaner parts. Twenty-eight years later, Bean stands 6-foot-2, brawny in polished black armor and leather. And the likeness has evolved from coarse to uncanny.

"He's by far the best Vader around," said Carl Cunningham of Canton, leader of the local fan group Grand Army of the Republic.

Bean is one of the premier Darth Vader costumers in the United States. He even sells his own custom armor worldwide --- www.vaderpainter.com ---for others eager to suit up as the fallen Jedi.

And this upcoming week promises to be chaotic with appearances at computer stores, restaurants and movie theaters. And on his arm will be his other half, whose fervor is nearly equal to his.

Kristen Caron, 26, began costuming to release "the creative energy I needed to get out" in Alberta, Canada, she said.

In 1999, she found inspiration in another Darth --- Darth Maul, the villainous figure in "The Phantom Menace," her first official costume.

Posting on a "Star Wars" Internet message board five years ago, she met Bean. A mutual respect developed, and the two came face to face at the 2000 Atlanta Dragon Con science-fiction expo.

They married in 2001.

Bean's finally found a soul mate. His first wife, he said, despised his hobby.

"You don't know how many people get divorced over 'Star Wars,' " Caron said.

The couple were recently invited to costume at a convention in Puerto Rico, all expenses paid.

So even though the movies are ending with "Sith," Bean anticipates an endless life behind the mask.

"It's hard to explain the feeling you get while you are in it," he said. "I don't see much of an end."

FORCEFUL FANS
Robert Bean and Kristen Caron
42, 26, Stockbridge
Costumed characters
Him: Darth Vader
Her: Darth Maul, female stormtrooper and several other guises
Why?
Him: "I just fell in love with the character."
Her: "It's really hard to pull off a stormtrooper at my height. It's easier to do the female thing. Darth Maul is just cool."
Cost: Vader ensemble has a cumulative cost of $6,000, female stormtrooper is around $1,000