Club Jade

The president of Lucasfilm, Kathleen Kennedy, will be heading to Germany for her first Celebration in July, Reed revealed today.

“When I joined Lucasfilm, I immediately saw the true passion shared by Star Wars fans around the world,” Kennedy says. “I’m thrilled to attend my first Star Wars Celebration and see in person that energy that makes the Star Wars experience so special.”

Kennedy is executive producing Episode VII, so there’s a chance we might actually get some movie information…

Reed announced today that Anthony Daniels (C-3PO) will be among the stars at Celebration Europe.

He also did an interview with Digital Spy, where he sidestepped sequel talk:

“Look, it’s all very early days and I don’t want to wear anybody out by speculating or letting you waste your energy by saying ‘What do you think?’

“I’m certainly not sitting by the phone, but it’s always nice when it rings. Do you know what I mean?”

Still, he can certainly afford to be vague: C-3PO is one of the characters that few expect to be totally absent from the new movies.

Sure, it’s a little fuzzy, but you get the idea… And there’s a distinct Return of the Jedi vibe, fitting with this year being the movie’s 30th. We’ll get a closer look when the new ornaments go live on Hallmark’s site. And as for the event exclusive for SDCC and NYCC? It’s the rancor!

Thanks to Rach for the picture, and we’ll let you know when Hallmark takes it all up for public viewing.

Course of the Force, the lightsaber relay to raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, is coming back for its second year, and this time it’s going to be even bigger! Announced by Chris Hardwick of The Nerdist on Jimmy Fallon’s show, this year’s Course of the Force will start all the way at Skywalker Ranch on July 9, north of San Francisco and wind its way down to Comic Con San Diego on July 16.

Registration is now open, with participants carrying the Course of the Force lightsaber (often in costume) for a quarter mile. This year’s fee is $150, which is much lower than last year’s inaugural race fee, but 100% of the proceeds go to several California chapters of the Make-A-Wish Foundation: Bay Area, Greater Los Angeles, Orange County and the Inland Empire, and San Diego. In addition to the leg of the relay for that day, Course of the Force hosts a public ‘Conival’ in the afternoon and evening, with cool bands, giveaways, and more.

I ran in Course of the Force last year, which was like an Olympic torch dream and Star Wars dream mashed together to come true. It really was a fun experience that helped a good cause and brought fans of all kinds together. Last year, Her Universe’s Ashley Eckstein was a co-host of the event, providing daily video recaps after each day’s leg with Chris Hardwick from the Sail Barge, and Peter Mayhew was also a guest. So who knows who might show up this year!

If you can, come join the fun – either by being a relay runner/walker, coming to a Conival, or simply helping raise funds for Make-A-Wish through Course of the Force! The relay is sponsored by Nerdist Industries, Lucasfilm and Octagon Events. For more info, just visit CourseOfTheForce.Starwars.com.

Reed and StarWars.com today revealed that Carrie Fisher will appear at Celebration Europe. Fisher has appeared at several domestic Celebrations, but this’ll be her first CE.

Fisher will hold court with Warwick Davis on the Celebration Stage.

Guests Today’s addition to the guest list is the Emperor himself, Ian McDiarmid. It’ll be his third Celebration; His first was the original Celebration Europe in 2007.

Attractions. Steve Sansweet, is another high profile guest, and he’s bringing the Rancho Obi-Wan Experience to Germany. The Experience was extremely popular at Celebration VI; We hope they get a bigger space at CE!

Panels. And, naturally, the collecting track is back!

It’s been a while since we checked in with progress on Celebration Europe, so here’s what’s been happening.

Warwick Davis will be the con’s Celebrity Host, overseeing the “the show’s biggest events” and guests. Thus far only Dave Filoni has been confirmed, but there’s sure to be more big names on the way.

And on that note, Pablo Hidalgo continues his wildly successful run as host of the Behind-The-Scenes Stage.

They’ve also announced the art show lineup, which includes Joe Corroney, Hugh Fleming, Tsuneo Sanda, Chris Trevas and many more.

And if you’re wondering, yes, it looks like there are still VIP tickets available.

Tickets for Celebration Europe will be going on sale Thursday at 6pm in Germany, 12pm in New York, and 9am in San Francisco, according to an email Reed sent out this afternoon.

Regular pre-sale ticket prices range from €95 to €25, while a Jedi Master VIP pass will cost you €500.

Looks like we’re in Celebration mode again… Reed and Lucasfilm today released a few key bits of information today.

The con’s first announced guest is The Clone Wars’ Supervising Director Dave Filoni, favorite of children everywhere.

Secondly? The ticket pricing rates. Buying a 3-day pass before the show will set you back €95 (adult) and €45 (kid,) along with a “facilitation fee,” with prices going up to €105/€55 on-site.

What’s really interesting is that Reed seems to have done away with the Jedi Knight VIP level and will only be offering Jedi Master packages. They’re limited to 225 and will set you back €500 a pop (plus fees.)

The second Celebration Europe is being held in Essen, Germany July 26-28th.

Start planning your vacation time, now. Disney has announced the dates for Star Wars Weekends 2013.

Each weekend from May 17th through June 9th in Orlando, Florida, you’ll get to meet a rotating array of Star Wars guests and enjoy other Star Wars shows and events at Disney Hollywood Studios. And you can usually count on The 501st and The Rebel Legion to be making appearances, as well.

Returning as hosts will be James Arnold Taylor (Obi-Wan) and Ashley Eckstein (Ahsoka) from The Clone Wars. Both will be continuing the shows they hosted last year. And both are the perfect fit to blend Star Wars and Disney, as both have professed their love of the two franchises. (Which are now one franchise. Maybe?)

Guest announcements and schedules will probably start going out in early 2013 so you can start planning which weekend you’d like to attend.

Start stocking up on your sunscreen!