Tuesday - 5-22-2007

Celebration IV Week Begins

We left Monday evening for Pennsylvania to meet up with Joe K.  After hanging out at his house till about 2:30AM Tuesday morning, we headed into Philly to catch our flight to California.

The trip got on my nerves a little after a slight goof on directions, I didn't think we were going to make our flight.  As it turned out we only waited about 5 minutes at the gate before boarding.

Everything worked out, though, and our flight left right on time.  We arrived in LAX about 10:30AM their time and our vacation was finally underway.

Two words for you; Super Shuttle.  We were able to score a Supper Shuttle van to take us to the Holiday Inn on Figeroa and it only cost $15 per person, much better than a taxi or limo.

We dropped our stuff off at the desk and headed straight to the convention center to get some Will Call things taken care of.  After checking out the hall for a little while we headed to the hotel for some lunch.

Luckily we were able to get in our room early and took a nap before Mike and Tom arrived around midnight.

Wednesday - 5-23-2007

Wednesday really started the ball rolling.  We were all in LA and many other convention goers were rolling in as well.  Some deals with exhibitors were even had on Wednesday as was the first shopping trip to the CIV store.

Most of the day was spent in the movie marathon, however.  I managed to sit through The Phantom Menace all the way to The Empire Strikes Back.  I missed a few minutes of some of the films but hung in there as much as possible.  I was beat and left before Jedi played but it still made for a fun day.  

Seeing the films on the big screen, in digital, with a huge sound system was incredible.  When the Death Star blew at the end of Star Wars the entire building was shaking.  Hanging out with several hundred other fans for that made for a great day.

Thursday - 5-24-2007

Thursday finally arrived and was the first official day of the convention.  I started it off waiting in line to register for my press badge which took place at 11:00.  After that it was off to the exhibit hall for the opening at 12:00 noon.

Shopping

First stop was the Kotobukiya booth to pick up the R2-D2 Kiriko glass which was limited to 200 pieces and eventually sold out on Thursday.

Next up was the Ralph McQuarrie booth where I bought both of the exclusive prints and the new "Art of Ralph McQuarrie" book.  I was lucky to get there when I did as they limited the number of prints that they sold each day.  Each was limited to 125 pieces and they did hold enough back that they had some available each day of the convention.

After dropping my stuff off at the PSWCS booth in the Fan Fair hall I headed to the Celebration IV store for my Fast Path time.  There was no line and the wait to enter was maybe 5 minutes as they waited for the people already in the store to start to head for the registers.

Everything was available when I was there except for the CIV patch which, apparently, wasn't unloaded yet.  Word is they sold them later on and they did eventually sell out.

I picked up my allotment of 5 R2-D2 and C-3PO sets, John Alvin's "A Bright Center" poster, dog tag, CIV pin, R2, Chewy and Yoda magnets and the very cool AT-AT Driver Track Jacket.  They were even handing out a free set of History Channel trading cards as you left the store.

Checkout was a breeze as they had cash only lanes mixed in with their 40 or 50 registers.  I was headed out of the store and back to the hotel to stash my haul by 1:00PM.  Overall it was a successful shopping sprint.

Licensees

All of the major Star Wars license holders were in attendance with the exception of Master Replicas. 

Hasbro

Hasbro had the largest booth, taking up the entire center of the exhibitor hall, with display cases of toys, life-sized displays, a booth where a sculptor was working and even TV sets showing vintage toy commercials.

The were handing out 30th Anniversary coins with the Celebration IV logo on them all weekend.  They also had unused cardbacks that they gave away, Darth Vader on Friday, Luke Skywalker on Saturday and a Stormtrooper on Sunday.

Sideshow

Sideshow also had a decent sized booth where they were showing off many of their 1:6th and Premium Format figures.  They were handing out gift cards that have a value between $5 and $50.  A couple of surprises at their booth were the 1:6th Obi-Wan and the PF Scout Trooper on Speeder Bike.

Gentle Giant

Completing the trifecta of big license holders, GG's booth held a life-sized Jabba the Hutt and several display cases of new and currently available items. 

New are busts of Admiral Ackbar and a Tusken Raider while we saw new statues of Darth Maul with speeder and R2-D2.  There were new Bust-Ups and Kustomz items, maquettes and even a possible accessory set for your existing Clone Trooper busts that would allow you to turn one into an AT-TE Driver.

Lego

Although I didn't spot anything overly new in the Lego booth they were doing raffles for gold and silver C-3PO minifigures.  They also offered an exclusive set of minifigures which was highly sought after.

Acme Archives

One of the best groups out there is the Acme Archives gang!  They were showing off several very cool art pieces while selling their newest Character Key, Grand Moff Tarkin.  On Friday they also debuted their new Sketchplate which turned out to be McQuarrie's version of R2-D2.

Kotobukiya

Koto had a nice booth with a lot of their existing Star Wars statues displayed.  They were showing off a new Obi-Wan and Grievous set along with an X-Wing environment.

Available at their booth was the Kiriko R2-D2 glass I mentioned above along with a light-up statue of Yoda from The Empire Strikes Back.  It's a very cool statue that even has several lines of dialog from the film.

Fans Galore

After my run through the various booths on the exhibitor floor I spent time snapping photos of fans in costume and some of the booths in the Fan Fair hall.

Not only did the USPS have a booth to ship from but they also had a very cool Lansdpeeder on display.  Friday would be the first day that the new Star Wars stamps would be available and there were several collectibles that were being offered by the Post Office including stamp sheets, first day of issue cancelled digital prints and various other items.

Several fans had their Star Wars themed cars on display while the 501st Legion had a huge booth towards the back of the hall.

A huge area was set aside for the Endor diorama that was going to be built over the weekend while Game Zone and Wizards of the Coast both had areas set up for people to play games.

The Jedi Training stage was at the front of the hall and was a big hit with the younger kids all weekend.  An X-Wing fighter also provided many photo opportunities for fans as they walked through the Fan Fair hall.

I wrapped up the first day of the convention by attending the Collector's Social Hour which was held in the room where the Collector Panels would be given during the weekend.

That was one of the highlights of the weekend as I was able to meet several collectors that I've only seen post on-line in some of the forums around the net.  There were plenty of interesting collectibles being displayed in the room and it was a blast!

Friday - 5-25-2007

30th Anniversary

Friday was the official 30th Anniversary of the release of Star Wars: A New Hope to theaters.  The convention kicked off in the morning with The Rocketman flying in as Boba Fett and greeting Lord Vader.

The 30th Anniversary also saw the official release of the Post Office's new Star Wars stamps along with several First Day of Issue items and cancellation marks.

Around the Convention

I kicked off the day with some fellow PSWCS members in line for Carrie Fisher's autograph.  I went on to meet and get autos with several other actors who appeared in the Original Trilogy movies.  There were quite a few people there that portrayed Imperial Officers and Troopers and it was fun to hear their stories and spend a few minutes with each of them.

Acme Archives debuted their new Sketchplate line at 1:00pm in their booth in the exhibitor hall.  Made of aircraft aluminum, the art on the debut piece shows R2-D2 as he appeared in Ralph McQuarrie's concept art.

Hasbro had their Question and Answer panel where they had even more surprises for us.  Along with the new toys they also let us know that they, along with Lucasfilm, had donated $100,000 to Make-a-Wish in the name of Katie Johnson.  They're also debuting a pink Astromech droid, R2-KT, in her honor at San Diego Comic-Con.

Fanboys

I was able to get into my first panel when I attended the Fanboys movie preview with Kyle Newman and other cast and crew.  My highlight, Kristen Bell, in all her beautiful glory, was in attendance.  They treated us to nearly 40 minutes of clips from the film and I have to tell you, honestly, this is going to be a hilarious movie.  Expect to see it in theaters sometime early 2008.

Opening Ceremonies

Friday is the traditional night for Opening Ceremonies and they were held about 7:00PM despite a bomb scare over an abandoned duffle bag. 

The Post Office had representatives at the ceremony to talk about the new stamps and their work with Lucasfilm.  Also in attendance was the LA mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa, and Steve Sansweet.  Cake was served to celebrate the birthday of Star Wars.

Room Sales

Or, more accurately, "Cantina Sales."  The Wilshire Grand was the hotel of choice for several of the vintage collectors and Friday was a chance for them to sell and trade some very cool items.  We stopped by and after finding out that security was shutting down the room sales, waited in the lobby for a solution.

That solution was invading a bar on the first floor which was closed for the evening.  There were plenty of vintage figures, bootlegs and modern pre-production items to be had if you were interested and had the budget.

Successful Day

Overall it was a very successful day for me including a 4:30 - 7:00 stint at the PSWCS booth.  I was able to see many cool costumes wander by, watch the Endor forest take shape and meet some interesting people as they stopped by to find out what the club is all about.

Saturday - 5-26-2007

More Autographs

The first stop of the day was the autograph line for Anthony Daniels.  I had two items I was getting signed for a friend and took care of that before the lines got overly long.

Archives

The Lucasfilm Archives made an appearance at the show with many cool items including several incarnations of Darth Vader's belts and helmet. 

Outfits for Padme, Leia and Luke were on display as well as Han's Hoth coat from The Empire Strikes Back.  The brown vs blue argument was finally put to rest as it was obviously brown but, if you still weren't sure, there was a ballot box that let you cast a brown or blue vote!

There were a few pieces of original McQuarrie art and three pre-production models that eventually became items seen on screen in our favorite films.  The answer key was posted on a table as you left the exhibit and it was a surprise to see what a couple of them turned out to be.

Star Wars in 30 Minutes

If you've never had the opportunity to see "Star Wars in 30 Minutes" then you are missing out.  The troupe of actors and actresses zip through the Original Trilogy, playing all the major parts and scenes, with a minimum of set pieces. 

I was able to see this at Celebration II and made a point of catching it again.  If they attend a convention or theater near you, make time in your schedule to see them!

Collector Panels

I was finally able to make a panel on Saturday, catching Collecting in the Large.  I wasn't 100% sure what it was about as I hadn't read the description, but it was an entertaining talk by Dunkin Jenkins, Anne Neumann and Gus Lopez about large collections.  Dunkin and Gus are well known "completists" and Anne is currently cataloging Steve Sansweet's collection.

Their talk was very informative, covering everything from cataloging a collection to ways to display, store and preserve a collection as large as the ones they deal with.  I even received my first medallion in that talk, the Death Squad Commander.

More Fanboys

At 2:00 on the Concourse Stage with Jay Laga'aia was a question and answer panel with the creator and crew of Fanboys.  I was only able to attend for about a half hour as I was due in the Fan Fair hall for a shift on the PSWCS booth.  The panel started about 20 minutes late so I missed most of it but I did get another glimpse of Kristin Bell before I had to speed off!

PSWCS

Although it was a long shift, 4.5 hours, I had fun meeting even more fans as they came through the hall.  There were a lot more costumes to see even though I didn't take a lot of photos.  I handed out over 20 of the exclusive PSWCS Celebration IV patches to people that came by, even making a few answer some trivia questions.

The Endor forest grew even larger and the Jedi Training music became ingrained in my head.  I'm still whistling the Star Wars music!

Quiet Evening

It was good to have an evening to wind down a little and I spent a couple hours in the hotel bar sucking back cold Coronas.  I hear the Carrie Fisher talk was fun but watching all the 501st guys at the bar was just as entertaining.

Sunday - 5-27-2007

Anthony Daniels

My last big stop in the autograph hall was to get my poster signed by Anthony Daniels.  After a short, but entertaining, wait in line I finally got his signature and a photo to remember it by!  He was fun to see and seemed a real gentleman.

R2-D2 Builders' Room

If you love droids as much as I do then the Droid Builders' Room was the place for you!  R2-D2, R5-D4, C-3PO and even a Mustafarian Lava Droid were all present over the weekend.  Mouse Droids were running about and even a Jawa or two could be seen tinkering with an Astromech.

The Droid Builders have been to all three of the Celebrations that I've attended and they are always a highlight of the weekend.  I missed the droid parade but several of the droids could be found wandering the halls over the five days we were in Los Angeles.

Don't ask for a Gonk droid to help you recharge your camera batteries, though, apparently their power supply is incompatible with US outlets!

Collector Panels

With my PSWCS volunteering over for the weekend I had the opportunity to sit through several panels on Sunday.

Star Wars Collecting Clubs

Bill Cable (PSWCS), Mike Kurtz (DCSWCC), Deanna Bock (SARLACC) and Dustin Roberts (OSWCC) put on an informative Star Wars Collecting Clubs panel.  They gave info on how their clubs got started, ways that people can start their own and even spent a few minutes talking about what activities their clubs participate in.

Women's Collecting Panel

Hosted by Marjorie Carvalho, Deanna Bock, Amy Sjoberg, Cathy Kendrick, Lauren Kebely, Helen Howerton, Josefina Galvez and Anne Neumann.

The ladies on this panel talked about their collections, the passion for Star Wars and their various experiences with collecting.  Photos in their presentation pointed out some of their favorite pieces in their collections. 

The Sand Person medallion was handed out during the panel.

Star Wars Food Collectibles

Dunkin Jenkins, Gus Lopez and Eimei Takeda spoke about various food items that have been available around the world with Star Wars promotions on the packaging.  Even some of the food items themselves have been Star Wars themed.

We also received a medallion during this panel, Stormtrooper.

Star Wars Coins

The final panel I sat through was on coins.  The panel was hosted by James Gallo, Michael Mensinger and Mark Salotti.

Although they covered medallions, minted coins, doubloons and even the modern TAC pieces, the focus was on vintage Power of the Force coins.  This included new categories for the coins and how some had changed places using the new rules.  The original guide created by Gus Lopez has been an incredible resource for many years but the new guide will help a lot of new collectors going forward.

Dinner

We wrapped up the day with dinner at the Holiday Inn.  Most of the PSWCS members that were in LA for the convention got together and talked over the convention and how things were going.  And, the food was pretty good also!

Monday - 5-28-2007

The Last Day

For good or bad, Monday was the final day at Celebration IV.  I have to admit, when I woke up I was kind of ready to be going home.  But, I stuck it out, it was Celebration after all!

One Last Autograph

I stopped by to see Michonne Bourriague for a second and have my Phantom Menace visual guide signed by her.  Since her character, Aurra Sing, is on the first page of the book it was only fitting that I have her sign it.  She's always lovely to meet in person and if you get a chance to see her at a convention, take it.

The Darth Vader Project

One of the interesting things at CIV was the Darth Vader Project.  It was so busy all weekend that it took me till Monday to get in and see it.

Artists were given Master Replicas 1:1 Darth Vader helmets and allowed to create works of art with them.  Some painted Star Wars designs while others turned the helmets into rusted and riveted pieces of industrial art while one even made the helmet into a likeness of the Statue of Liberty.

My favorite was by Suckadelic who turned his helmet into a recreation of Luke's home on Tatooine.

USPS

I finally had a few minutes to stop by the USPS store and pick up a couple of items.  I bought a sheet of the 15 stamps and a cachet with the Yoda stamp and First Day of Issue cancellation mark.

Collecting stamps and other postal items is almost as expensive as shipping with them!  Which, I also did that, sending home three large boxes including my poster which I'd had autographed over the weekend.

Teardown

Right up till the last minute they were adding to the Endor forest diorama in the Fan Fair hall but, at 3:00, they also started to take it down.  It was an impressive dio with all the major Endor scenes represented from the Imperial Bunker to the capture of Han, Luke and Chewy to a Speeder Bike chase through the trees.

Even the final celebration took place high up in a stand of trees at one end.  It's amazing what a lot of fans and good planning can accomplish in a weekend.

We also started tearing down the PSWCS booth about 3:00 on Monday.  We gave out all of our patches, had several hundred raffle tickets filled out and met a lot of awesome fans over the five days of Celebration.  Hopefully everyone that stopped by had as much fun talking with us.

Dinner

We had one last dinner at the Holiday Inn before Mike and Tom left for the airport.

Tuesday - 5-29-2007

It was a long time coming but at 5:00AM Joe and I headed for the airport to go home.  We met up with a few other collectors at the airport and were all on the same flight to Philly.

We hit the ground about 5:00PM and headed up the road.  After dropping Joe off and driving back to NY it was almost 11:30PM when I pulled into my apartment complex.

After being away for almost 9 days it was great to sleep in my own bed, but I wouldn't have traded it for the world.  Celebration IV was a blast even though it was in California.

A huge thanks to the fellas I stayed with and everyone that I met at CIV.  The panels, exhibits and productions were all fun, the fans in costume were brilliant and if you wanted to spend money on toys and collectibles, someone would take your money!