Star Wars Celebration returned to Orlando this weekend for only the third time in its 18-year history. I was amazed at how much it seemed to have ballooned since 2012. This makes sense, though, since the last con was seven years after Episode III and three years before Episode VII, whereas this time it was almost guaranteed that they were going to release the trailer for The Last Jedi during its eponymous panel.
Knowing there were going to be scads of people, we arrived at the Orange County Convention Center at 9 a.m. Friday morning. When we got through the line to get into the building, we then waited in one of the many lines for security screening. Now that we were actually inside the convention, were then given the option to get in line for wristbands. The lovely volunteer explained that every panel that you want to see requires a wristband, and you can only get two, so choose wisely. I found the front of the queue and met Guillermo from Jacksonville, He told me that he had been in line since 12:30 p.m. Thursday, and it was by now 10:03 a.m. Friday.
As we were speaking, he was released from his self-imposed 22 hour hold to choose a seat in the theater where he, and the hundreds of fellow campers behind him, hoped they would be among the first to see the trailer for the next installment in the Star Wars series. I was happy to see the trailer on one of the many live screening stages that were set up in the exhibition hall, getting goosebumps each of the three times they showed it for the crowd. Get your own goosebumps here
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There was a whole other world of lines. Saturday morning I met Jeffrey from Orlando; he'd been in line for the exhibition hall since 8 p.m. Friday, hoping to get a Hasbro Celebration exclusive Luke Skywalker figure. For those who weren’t interested in an 11 a.m. panel, or any panel at all (they were all live streamed and will be in the internet for infinity, or until the government cancels it), you were instead ushered into the "Exhibit Hall Chute", which released attendees into the main exhibition hall when it opened at 10 a.m.
Once Jeffrey and his fellow shoppers were inside, they had the option to wait in even more lines for Hasbro, the Star Wars Celebration store, the Disney Star Wars store, Hallmark, Funko, ThinkGeek, Lego, and dozens of other smaller vendors that had anything from pins to prints that would only be available in limited numbers during the event. I'm sure it will not come as a shock to you when I say I saw grown men running and vaulting over tables and chairs for these shopportunities.
Not big on waiting in line? No problem, because no matter what kind of Star Wars nerd you are, or even if you aren’t one at all, there was constantly something for attendees to do. A huge underlying theme of all Star Wars Celebrations is patches and pins, and now also buttons are a pretty big deal. In fact, there was a whole series of panels on collecting which offered a different collectible for each panel you attended. Starception?
Fans could also choose from lots of really great classes on building your own armor and other ways to bring your cosplay dreams to life. My favorite was Down and Dirty Mandalorian armor, presented by the Mandalorian Mercs Costume Club. To show that it’s totally possible to build your own kit, they put together 3 basic sets of Mandalorian armor in the hour that the class was going on, starting with just some sheets of Sintra, heat guns, Exact-o knives, and duct tape. I’m sure I’m not the only one who left the class inspired to give it a try.
In the exhibition hall, there was not only every possible way to empty your bank account on such things as a three-foot stuffed Chewbacca ($400) or a T.I.E. Fighter gas grill ($499), but you could also spend your money on something more permanent, like a Star Wars tattoo. Dozens of fantastic artists were chosen to do tattoos on site, and the rest of us could walk through while it was happening and see the magic happening.
Like most modern conventions, Celebration is very family-friendly and had a huge family area set up. There was an area for lightsaber battles and librarians who read to the eager padawans. There were also cool interactive classes, like Star Wars Origami with Chris Alexander, where fans of all ages could create origami lightsabers and Boba Fett helmets, just a couple of the cool crafts from his latest book.
Of course, no convention is complete without cosplay, and the fans at Celebration truly outdid themselves. There were clever mashups with lots of Disney movies, gender bending character swaps, and incredible movie-accurate reproductions. As I’d hoped, there were also lots of characters getting their Easter bunny on when Sunday rolled around.
While not actually held at the Convention Center, I would be remiss not to mention the 501st Legion’s Bash Saturday night. Held at the Hyatt Regency across the street, these “bad guys doing good” are a charitable organization whose members are best known for their authentic looking costumes that portray characters from the dark side of the Force. This year’s event “Showdown at The Cantina”, sold out the allotted 3000 tickets, likely due to the scheduled appearance by honorary 501st member “Weird Al” Yankovic. The party itself was incredible, with immaculate decorations and ambiance and some of the nicest event and bar staff I’ve ever encountered, but Weird Al’s hour long performance totally sealed it. During the pauseless encore for his self-proclaimed first and last tour date of 2017, the crowd loudly sang along to Star Wars-themed covers “The Saga Begins” and “Yoda”. We got a great collectible cup for every drink we bought, and got to see even more fantastic cosplay.
The next Star Wars Celebration has not been announced yet, as far as I know (please comment if you hear otherwise!), but the odds are good it won’t be in Orlando again for a while, so hopefully you were among the lucky many who got to experience this weekend with us. Check out some more photos from the weekend below.
This article appears in Apr 20-27, 2017.