Live music, themed merch and free light swords highlight action-packed Star Wars Night slate
PAWTUCKET, R.I. (May 1, 2026) – Rhode Island FC is gearing up for an inter-galactic battle during its first-ever Star Wars Night! In an action-packed night full of Star Wars-themed food, live music, interactive characters and entertainment, the Ocean State club will look to keep its four-game unbeaten streak against USL Championship competition alive vs. Birmingham Legion FC on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Ahead of the fun-filled night for fans across the galaxy, RIFC announced today its full lineup of fan activities for Saturday’s game.
Following its first-ever live pregame performance on April 4’s 401 Night, RIFC will welcome a Providence-based Star Wars-themed band to Centreville Bank Stadium on Saturday, who will perform a full setlist of Star Wars classics in the Beer Garden before kickoff. Fans are encouraged to get to the game early to catch the performance and take advantage of the third gate giveaway of the season – a free light sword for the first 2,000 fans! The first RIFC in-game costume contest of the season will also take place: fans are invited to dress up in their favorite Star Wars attire and upload their submissions through FanCam in the Rhode Island FC app for a chance to win an RIFC prize pack!
In addition to the light sword giveaway, fans hungry for more Star Wars-themed merchandise can get a ticket to Saturday’s game with a limited-edition Star Wars scarf, complete with all of the series’ classic characters, for as low as $39! Fans interested in the limited-time deal can purchase the Star Wars Night ticket & merch pack here. Additionally, throughout the night, RIFC fans will be able to interact and take pictures with their favorite Star Wars characters on the concourse!
For Star Wars Night, Centreville Bank Stadium’s concessions menu will be revamped across the board to offer exclusive Star Wars-inspired items. Highlights include “May the Force be With You” Churros, decorated to resemble the famous lightsaber, and “The Hutt’s” Supreme Pizza! Specialty drinks will also be available – a Jack Daniels-based “Blue Milk” drink and the “Drink Me, You Will” Jack Apple drink highlight an exciting menu of themed beverages.
The Rhode Island FC Team Store, powered by Capelli Sport, will feature several new merch items on Saturday! The newly-released 2026 goalkeeper kit, featuring a topographic map of Rhode Island with the crest over Pawtucket, will be available in-store only for the first time. Fans at the game will have the first chance to access the highly-anticipated jersey, with personal customization options available on the goalkeeper kits for the first time! Additionally, the third installment of RIFC’s 2026 Gameday Poster Series, designed in honor of Star Wars Night, will be available. Be sure to stop by the Team Store to get these exclusive items while they last!
Before the game, fans should be sure to visit RIFC’s free Fan Fest along the Riverwalk! RIFC partners California Taco Shop, Chick-fil-A Attleboro, Del’s Lemonade, Green Line Apothecary and Saugy Hot Dogs will round out a delicious lineup of local food trucks along the Seekonk River. The free Fan Fest, which begins when gates open and runs through halftime, will be bustling with its usual family-friendly activities, including face painting and balloon artists, courtesy of Centreville Bank. A hair-braiding table will also be open to all fans alongside RIFC-themed foosball and subsoccer tables.
In addition to RIFC’s Star Wars costume contest, fans will have several more chances to win prizes all night long! Fans will want to be in their seats prior to kickoff to catch Rhode Island’s favorite mascot, Chip the Harbor Seal! Hyping up the crowd with the infamous Breeze Chip Shot in his all-new jedi robe, Chip and his team will fire exclusive Breeze Chip Shot tees into the crowd with his airplane-shaped t-shirt launcher. One lucky winner will find round-trip airline tickets, courtesy of Breeze Airways, wrapped in their prize catch. Another winning family, selected at random, will also get the chance to upgrade to RIFC’s all-inclusive Breeze Airways Loge Box, courtesy of the Breeze Airways Seat Upgrade! Elsewhere in the stadium, one row at random will be selected as Saugy’s Lucky Row, and the entire row will get free Saugy Hot Dogs to enjoy during action.
This season, Rhode Island FC fans have enjoyed plenty of free chicken, courtesy of the fan-favorite Chick-fil-A Attleboro Korner Kick! Every time the homeside scores from a Chick-fil-A Attleboro Korner Kick on Saturday, every fan in attendance scores a free Chick-fil-A sandwich by showing their ticket the following weekday at Chick-fil-A Attleboro! In its first three home games this season, RIFC scored three Chick-fil-A Attleboro Korner Kicks, giving thousands of fans three free chicken sandwiches just for being at the game!
Rhode Island FC’s halftime will feature an exciting performance from professional street twirler Ohiole Dibua, who will kick off his summer tour of performances at Centreville Bank Stadium. Also at halftime, RIFC’s usual lineup of engaging promotions will give fans the chance to win various prizes – one lucky fan will have the opportunity to take home up to $1,000!
The Centreville Bank Crossbar Challenge has returned in 2026, headlining the halftime slate and giving one lucky fan the opportunity to win $500 courtesy of Centreville Bank. In back-to-back games during RIFC’s 2025 season, two young fans struck the crossbar on their first attempt, walking away with a hefty cash prize in front of a roaring crowd. Additionally, the Drippy’s Drop Shot by Santoro Oil, which challenges contestants to pass the ball from the top of the penalty area and hit the midfield line, will give another fan a chance to win $1,000!
This season, the all new Breeze Runway joined the halftime lineup – a third fan will have the opportunity to win 40,000 Breeze Points, courtesy of Breeze Airways, if they can kick the ball from the center circle into a mini-goal target on the goal line. That’s equivalent to a $400 value! During RIFC’s 4-0 win vs. Charleston Battery on April 22, every fan in attendance received an exclusive, 24-hour discount code for 50 percent off all Breeze flights out of Providence, courtesy of Breeze Airways! The special discount code was the first of many special in-stadium promotions that Breeze will provide during the season, giving fans plenty of reason to be excited!
After the final whistle, be sure to stick around for Autograph Alley on the south goal line. Young fans will have a chance to meet, take pictures with and get autographs from their favorite RIFC players!
After getting off to a slow start to the season, Birmingham Legion FC has begun to find its form, and is unbeaten in its last four games across all competitions. It recently collected its first win of the season in resilient fashion, fighting to a 1-0 shutout win at home against defending USL Championship title-winners Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC on April 12. It followed up its first regular-season win with a 2-2 tie vs. Indy Eleven on April 19, before hitting the road in a cross-conference matchup at San Antonio FC to open its 2026 Prinx Tires USL Cup campaign. There, the Legion picked up a valuable point after holding San Antonio to a scoreless tie, but later fell in a penalty shootout that gave San Antonio an extra point in the Group 3 standings. Despite the shootout loss, the Legion will come to Pawtucket riding its best run of form of the season, and will look to make it five-straight results with its first-ever win vs. Rhode Island FC.
Rhode Island FC is unbeaten in four games against USL Championship opposition, including an exciting stretch of back-to-back wins in its last two regular-season games where the club has out-scored its opponents 7-1. In its last two games, a 3-1 win at Lexington SC and its second-largest shutout win in club history, a 4-0 win vs. Charleston Battery, on April 22, five different players found the back of the net for the Ocean State club. JJ Williams led the charge with his first brace of the season vs. Charleston, scoring multiple goals in a game for the sixth time in his RIFC career and bringing his team-leading total to four goals in ten games across all competitions. Jojea Kwizera, who scored in both of RIFC’s last two league games, is the club’s regular-season leader with three goals, scoring in back-to-back regular season games for the second time in his RIFC career and matching his career-high goal total for the Ocean State club just six games into the regular season. Elsewhere, Dwyane Atkinson (3), Logan Dorsey (1), Aldair Sanchez (2), Leo Afonso (1), Nick Scardina (1), CJ Williams (1) and Dani Rovira (1) have all contributed to RIFC’s 17-goal attack through 10 games across all competitions.
For Rhode Island FC news and updates, visit rhodeislandfc.com, subscribe to RIFC’s monthly newsletter, follow the club on Instagram, Facebook, Tik Tok, X and LinkedIn, and download the official team app.
