Star Wars Celebration

Star Wars Celebration IV Report 2007

This great convention was being held at the LA convention centers from May 24-28, 2007. May 24 was a special members only day for the fan club members. I had never been to a one themed convention before. I have been to general themed conventions like Comics, SciFi or Anime, but they were not for one single book or show. It turned out to be wonderful! I have never seen so many devoted fans of one genre & one series. The large convention took up most of both buildings, upstairs & down. The main entry way was used for lots of photo ops. Costumes were everywhere! 1/4 of the attendees wore full costumes from head to toe, like Vader, various Jedi, Sith or Troopers. My favorite group in full costume, were the animated Clone Wars characters: 2 Anakin, 1 Padme & 1 Obi-Wan. Another 1/2 wore some kind of Star Wars related t-shirt or a partial outfit. I saw a very pretty semi-princess Leia. She was wearing her hair in a single ponytail with 2 large intricate hairpieces and a loose blouse & belt. The effect was fabulous without all the bother of a full costume. There were lots of kids at this show and most seem to have a Lightsaber. Most amusing (to me) was a tall thin black man dressed as a Sith Lord who would stare down all the little kids dressed as Jedi. It was hilarious to watch. The kids would always start it and then he would stop and stare back. Most of the kids were around 5-8 years old and carrying Lightsabers. Somehow the kid would always find it necessary to turn it on. The parents usually had the biggest smirk on their faces trying not to laugh openly.

There were about 25 rooms with programming going on. There was Laser tag, Stormtrooper Olympics, a Droid building and lots of company/guest panels. We saw a panel on collecting that was like the Antiques Road Show. People brought odd SW items and the panelists managed to figure out what the items were and if it was licensed. The biggest stumper of the day were some off sized figured that turned out to be from Hallmark. I had to run out near the end to check on Mr. M at the Gaming tables and feed him. Gamers don't eat real food unless they smell it in front of their noses. Then I rushed back to see a 2nd panel on Hilarious SW Collectibles. The room was full and they were not going to let me in (which I TOTALLY understand) but I called Ned's cell phone & had him stand up and wave me in. Once again, more people think Ned & I are married hahaha. Believe me, that gets funnier each time it happens!

Having SW in both LA Convention Centers was confusing at first. Eventually we got used to hauling ourselves from one end of the universe to the other. The 3 times I had to deal with Staff directly were good. They were efficient and told me what I needed to know. Unfortunately the convention law still prevails, "Never ask a security guard" they are most likely a day worker who has no idea what you are asking about past the name of the convention and the city you are in.

There were several rooms with items on display, like an X-Wing. More chances for photo ops. LFL (Lucas Film Limited) saw a good idea and ran with it all the way to the bank...again. There were gaming companies in different halls and all Star Wars games were represented. Video, Board & Card games were all there including the newest ones. Retailers sold a ton of Action Figures, Busts, Cards & Art. One company only sold Pins. They were so detailed that some came framed as a set to hang on the wall. I should have gotten their name and I hope to see them at CCI. Mimobot.com had these great little character toys that happen to be USB drives. They gave away 5 stickers of each character available once you sign up on the email list.

Onto the Swag: The Swag was good & bad. The quality of the swag was good, but there was not a lot of it. Most items were for sale. Lego had a huge booth but did not give out a promo. Minimates could have done something, but didn't. My biggest disappointment was the Vivid Vision booth. They make wonderful 3D lenticular cards and posters. But for some reason they ran out of promo cards on Friday. That is day 2 of a 5-day convention! It makes the company look foolish when they don't bring enough product for the run of a show. At the very least set a day limit so each days Attendees have a chance at getting the item. I collect lenticulars so that really annoyed me. For the quick view click on Group Shot For the full Index of 19 SWC30 pictures click on Full Index