Membership in the Intergalactic Krewe of Chewbacchus is, by long-standing constitutional principle, open to everyone. The Krewe does not vet recruits for genre purity, sci-fi credentials, or the ability to recite the Wookiee howl from memory; it merely asks that members arrive in some recognisable state of fandom and refrain from setting anything on fire.
For the cosmological context — who the Krewe is, what it parades for, and the precise reasons the Sacred Drunken Wookiee occupies its iconographic position — the relevant entry is About IKoC. What follows here is the procedural part: where to sign up, which subkrewe to join, what dues cost, how to behave once inside.
Before any of the procedural detail makes sense, a brief introduction to where it all happens. Krewebacchus — krewebacchus.org — is the Krewe’s purpose-built membership portal and central database. Account creation, dues payment, child memberships, subkrewe affiliation, Chewbacchanal VIP add-ons, contraption parking: all of it routes through the platform.
Everything described below assumes Krewebacchus is, eventually, where the reader will end up. For the platform’s account model, email rules, lifetime member handling, and subkrewe admission policies, see the dedicated Krewebacchus entry.
The Krewe organises itself into subkrewes — self-contained units sitting somewhere between a guild, a scout troop, and a rolling theatre company. Each one is a self-organised pocket of fandom rolling under its own banner: some devoted to specific franchises, some to specific contraption disciplines, some to a particular aesthetic, and at least one whose members simply enjoy each other’s company too much to disband.
Every dues-paying member is required to affiliate with one. The full catalogue — including the admission policy each subkrewe follows — lives at Subkrewes. New subkrewes may apply for recognition through Krewebacchus; the Overlords approve them in batches, between revelry-related obligations.
Annual dues for the Intergalactic Krewe of Chewbacchus are $100. The Krewe is, however, in the habit of rewarding the punctual: members willing to enlist early are issued one of three early-bird discounts, which narrow as enrollment fills out. The discount is a courtesy, not an entitlement; the standing rate is, and remains, $100. The Dues Tier Status page reports, in something approximating real time, which discount is currently in effect and how close it is to expiring.
The discounts, in order of disappearance: $42 (the deepest on offer; also, of course, the answer to the Ultimate Question to Life, the Universe, and Everything — whether this is intentional, the Krewe declines to confirm), then $62, then $82, then the standing $100. The Overlords additionally reserve the right to nudge the standing rate upward on parade day itself, on the well-tested theory that anyone enlisting at the gate has already decided to pay whatever it is.
Younglings (ages 4–17) follow the same schedule at reduced rates — $21, $41, $61, and a standing $81. Lifetime members do not pay annual dues; their case is documented in the Krewebacchus entry. Annual dues run through parade weekend of the membership year and are non-refundable.
Paid membership is the standard route, but the Krewe also runs the Red Shirt Rebellion — its volunteer parade-escort corps — on a dues-free basis. Red Shirts march at no cost in exchange for keeping the perimeter intact, herding contraptions away from spectators, and otherwise holding the parade together while it happens. Recruitment runs year-round; the role, perks, and sign-up flow are documented in the dedicated entry.
The Krewe’s internal compact is short, well-tested, and exists chiefly because the alternative is enumerating each individual prohibition by name — a project the Overlords would rather not undertake. Compliance is not optional. The Code applies to all members, dues-paying or otherwise, and to every event the Krewe holds, attends, or accidentally creates.
It is, as the Guide has observed elsewhere and at some length, not wise to upset a Wookiee.
For all of the above — purchase, profile, subkrewe, add-ons — the next step is krewebacchus.org. Bandoliers, patches, and the envy of one’s peers arrive in due course. The Sacred Drunken Wookiee is, broadly speaking, pleased.