This is the first of many posts where I will attempt to catch up my poor little neglected blog.
So...
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| The endless churning sea of Star Wars fans at SWCA2015. |
To say that Star Wars Celebration 2015 Anaheim was a phenomenal experience would be a severe understatement. Over the course of four days, I was inundated with Star Wars for every waking hour... and I was totally fine with that.
Everywhere I turned was Star Wars. Every exhibitor, vendor, and attendee was Star Wars. The atmosphere was invigorating, and I knew going in that there was NO WAY I was going to have enough cash to get all the cool stuff. I got a few nifty things, a plethora of pictures, and a multitude of cool stories.
Being a part of the Rebel Legion, I've grown accustomed to being with people in costumes that are as passionate about Star Wars as I am... but not on this scale. The number of amazing costumes was absolutely astounding. The time and effort that people put into their costumes was easily evident; I was practically giddy as I took photos of these walking works of art... and posed for a number of photos myself. :-) These costumers were happy to chat about the work that went into their costume, and you see the pride and gratification on their faces at the recognition and praise for their hard work. There were Jedi, Sith, Wookiees, Jawas, droids, Stormtroopers, Rebel soldiers, X-Wing pilots, TIE pilots, and a multitude of creatures from the Star Wars universe. It was truly a sight to behold.
Both the Rebel Legion and The 501st Legion had very large presences, as well as The Mandalorian Mercs and a number of other Star Wars costuming groups. Legion members from around the globe descended upon Anaheim for this event, and it was great to finally meet the people behind the names I've only seen in the online forums. We often didn't know each other by our "real" names only my our character or forum names; it got to where I answered to "Qen Varith" or "Master Jedi" as often as my real name. And it was strange... I had gotten to where I only knew people by the costumes they wore, so I almost didn't recognize them when they changed costumes or were only wearing normal street clothes. nice to meet the individuals behind the costumes.
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The Rebel Legion group photo,
in front of the Anaheim Convention Center. |
And... one of the biggest highlights of the trip: the reveal of the new trailer for "The Force Awakens". People from around the world clogged the internet to see the trailer the moment it was posted... but to see it in a room full of costumed, hard-core Star Wars fans was absolutely electrifying. There was a main stage where the the live emcee and celebrities were, and that was simulcast into four or five other auditoriums. There were short interviews with some of the stars, talk of what we could expect at the convention, and teasers of some of the Star Wars content to come. At the end, when they asked if we were ready to see the trailer, the room erupted in hoots and cheers... but you could have heard a pin drop when the lights went down and the first sound came from the speakers. Throughout the trailer, you could hear quiet gasps of "oh my god" and "so awesome"... and then came the voice of Han Solo: "Chewie... we're home." The roar of cheers was deafening. The lights came up, and I looked around to see multitudes of people wiping tears from their eyes... myself included. Then the emcee said, "f**k it, ya wanna see it again?" There was a resounding "YEAH!", and the lights went down again. There were a number of people that were trying to beat the crowd out the doors after the first showing, so when the room went dark, there was sunlight blasting through the open doorway. People were screaming, "CLOSE THE BLAST DOORS!" until the trailer started again. After we left the auditoriums, the trailer was posted online for all to see, and all my roommates and I quickly downloaded it to our phones. I probably watched that trailer 8-10 times a day for the entire trip.
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Waiting for a Corellian Ale at the cantina;
you can see the sabacc cards on the bar. |
In a corner of the main exhibition hall, there was a very impressive Mos Eisley canitna set, but it was roped off with only a few people at the cantina "bar". I wandered by, wondering what was going on, craning my neck to look around the gathered crowd and see into the cantina. The man standing guard looked me up and down in my X-Wing pilot outfit, and said, "you want in?" I stammered, "sure!" and he stepped aside to allow me inside. I walked to the bar and asked what this was all about, and was told that
StarWars.com was broadcasting live throughout the event, and this cantina was a backdrop to their broadcast. I chatted with others at the bar, and answered a couple of trivia questions from the bartender, which got me a limited edition Celebration t-shirt and sabacc card deck. I talked to a few other bar patrons, and even explained the rules of sabacc to a very cute Padme. They then announced "5 minutes to masks on", and everyone got ready for the broadcast to start. Then to my surprise, the person that walked out on the stage was none other than Weird Al Yankovic. It was a "right place at the right time" moment!
This was my first time at a convention like this, but it certainly will not be my last. This was one of the coolest moments in my life of geekdom!
