Star Wars with occasional sarcasm
Reed has posted the floor plan for Celebration VI – the highlight of which is probably the exhibit hall. It looks somewhat similar to the plan for Celebration V – but they have definitely juggled a few things – like moving the store closer to the main entrance. Also handy, for our purposes – the Del Rey booth and Her Universe are in the same aisle.
Rancho Obi-Wan has announced more details on what will be on display and for sale at the Rancho Obi-Wan Experience, a mini-museum of rare Star Wars items on the Exhibition Floor at Star Wars Celebration VI. They’ve increased their floor space, and will have such unique items as a prototype 1978 Boba Fett blaster, a piñata of Luke riding a tauntaun, and more – about 300 pieces of Steve Sansweet’s collection will be shown at Celebration.
When asked if something with a Club Jade connection will be coming to Orlando, Steve responded:
“We’re going to take my “Amidala and Handmaidens Go Vegas” dolls to C VI for the Rancho Obi-Wan Experience—made by Club Jade members and auctioned off for a Kids Reading cause. I was in a fierce bidding contest with Lisa Stevens, onetime owner of the company that ran the Official Fan Club and Insider!”
In addition to selling memberships to the non-profit organization (with exclusive Celebration membership swag, like the Yoda patch, above), members will have a chance to win a bronze bust of Darth Vader, while everyone can share in giveaways of postcards, bookplates, and stickers. Additionally, Rancho Obi-Wan souvenirs will be available for purchase, including shirts, caps, patches, and of course, copies of Steve’s books. Also, The ROW Experience will serve as headquarters for the Curto Burns Collectors’ Cast, a monthly podcast about Star Wars collecting.
Jaders have a lot of con experience, but one thing we haven’t had much to do with over the years has been the autograph area. So we asked Celebration vet Justin LaSalata, the U.S. News Editor for JediNews.co.uk, to give our readers the rundown. Updated 3/20/15 for Celebration Anaheim.
Temuera Morrison signs at Celebration V. (Jenny Elwick / Official Star Wars Blog)One of the main highlights of a Celebration is the opportunity to meet the actors/actresses from the Star Wars saga, and once again Official Pix will be heading up the Autograph Hall for Celebration VI. For fans who have never had the chance to experience a Celebration, or are just getting into Celebration autograph collecting now, here is a brief overview of what to expect from the Autograph Hall at Celebration Anaheim.
Continue reading “Celebration tip: Navigating the autograph hall”
You may be tempted to show off a great Star Wars phone case, but this may be the best time to switch it up – unless you made it yourself, you probably won’t be the only one using it. Same goes for ringtones!Unless you’re a professional, or otherwise used to hauling around a large camera, take one that’s portable and small. I’m sure a lot of folks will be using cell phone cameras, which are usually both!
If you are planning on using your cell phone to take pictures, and you use an iPhone or Android device, it might be worth looking into Instagram. It’s a nifty little social photo app that you can either take pictures through or use to post existing photos taken by the default camera setup. Yes, it’s best known for the faux-retro filters, but you don’t have to use them – and you can link it to your Twitter account.
For old-school photographers, or those who don’t want to share on the go, I remain, always and forever, partial to Flickr. It may be losing ground to Instagram these days (and with good reason – there’s a mobile app, but it’s awful) but it still remains the best photo archive/browsing site out there.
Anyway, a few more practical tips:
Luci: “Take a Sharpie and masking tape and put your name and address (or cell phone number if it’s not your cell phone) on the camera. You will be surprised by how many get returned to you. At DragonCon people are always turning those things and iPhones in because they are honest but by the end of the con, no owner shows up.”
Erika: “Remember to pack some extra batteries in your backpack/bag within easy reach.” And a spare charger, cell phone users! In fact, bring two, and leave the one you use overnight at the hotel – that way you have a spare if the other one gets lost. You might also want to look into a battery case or something similar.
And don’t forget to keep an eye on your camera batteries. True story from James: “Thursday night at Comic-Con, I plugged my camera into the laptop to download the pictures, and left the camera on all night (the batteries use a separate wall charger.) When I went to take a pic on Friday, it was dead.”
“Tip 1: remember to charge your camera batteries at night and Tip 2: remember to grab the batteries in the morning when you grab the camera – if you need to, leave your camera battery door open to remind you that there’s no battery in it, since usually outlets are not in obvious places in the hotel. Having a spare battery pack is smart!”
The official app was updated today with a portion of the schedule. No app? You can see the panels on Celebration’s mobile site in your ordinary web browser.
Books and comics. For the Expanded Universe newshounds (that would be us) things start out Thursday with Dark Horse Comics Looks Ahead: 2013. Also Thursday is the Timothy Zahn Retrospective. Friday starts off with What’s Coming From Del Rey and later, A Tribute to Brian Daley with James Luceno and Pablo Hidalgo. Sunday brings The New Star Wars Comic Series at Dark Horse and THE Essential Panel with Jason Fry and Pablo.
There are also a number of writing workshops by Dave Filoni, James Luceno, Aaron Allston, Troy Denning and Timothy Zahn, along with a comic writer roundtable.
Celebs. Ian McDiarmid makes his stateside Celebration debut Thursday at 5, while Mark Hamill caps Friday evening. Saturday evening, James Arnold Taylor shares a double bill with Carrie Fisher.
Announcements. Expect some on Friday’s Super-Secret Star Wars Panel with Todd Grimes, Seth Green & Matt Senreich, an “exclusive first look at their top secret animated Star Wars project.”
Also of note: A first look at Attack of the Clones 3D; Bullied – What Every Parent, Teacher, and Kid Needs to Know, led by Ashley Eckstein (who wrote about it last week) and Carrie Goldman, the mother of Katie the Star Wars girl, as well as a panel on Planning Your Star Wars Wedding.
There’s plenty more in the app, including film screenings – these are only my picks for highlights. What catches your eye?
We’re familiar with some of these – badges started arriving last week, with people sharing theirs according – but now the Star Wars Blog has revealed the full set. I do so love being a Palpy.
Today’s tip is from Nancy: “Go to panels and events that are outside your usual Star Wars interests.”
“One thing about being a volunteer is that I’ve staffed panels that didn’t excite me in advance. I’m nearly always surprised, because the panel is waaaay more interesting than I’d expected. The little people actors who played Ewoks? Were hilarious. Dave and Lou Elsey? Were engaging and smart and enthusiastic and just generally adorable. I could go on and on, but the main point is to be open to new experiences. Celebration is a really terrific chance to try out new-to-you parts of the fandom.”
This is totally true. I ended up at a couple of Clone Wars panels at CV, and they were incredibly fun, despite the fact that I could count on one hand the number of episodes I’d actually watched at that point. And after seeing this video, I really wish I’d gone to the voice actors one!
And yes, while a lot of the high-profile events will have lines and fill up fast, there are often plenty of seats left at others.
Bryan Young’s signature panel returns to Celebration, and in a bigger venue. “Why We Love the Prequels” will take over the Behind the Scenes Stage on Sunday at 10:30, enlisting the help of Pablo Hidalgo. The rest of the panel lineup is mostly the same as the original, with Young, Kyle Newman, Tom Hodges and Eric Geller. Joining them will be Jesse Hildreth, Senior Lighter on The Clone Wars.
Special guests The 501st is bringing a rancor to Orlando. Built out of foam by Pizzazz Scenic Contractors, Roxy the Rancor will be avaliable for folks to take pictures with. (Not, alas, wrestling.)
Panels. Still waiting on the schedule, but here’s something new and different: Historian Cole Horton and illustrators Chris Reiff and Chris Trevas will present From World War to Star Wars. The panel, held in the University Room (also new!) will “give fans a rare look into the in-universe parallels and real-world connections between the Second World War and the Star Wars Universe.” This is definitely more of the type of panel I was hoping to see, so it bodes well for the rest of the schedule, I think.
Merchandise. Jedi News’ Justin LaSalata shared the CVI Store’s merchandise order form. Of note for us: The 6″ Mara Jade statue will be available on Thursday for $85.
Also, be sure to vote in our latest sidebar poll!
Today’s tip is a short one from Paula: “Remember that the vast majority of people staffing the rooms are volunteering. They don’t always know what’s going on, but will help as best they can if you ask nicely. So be nice.”
As someone who’s volunteered in the past… We do want to help you, but sometimes we can’t – when I was stationed on the dealer room floor at CV, I felt awful every time someone asked me where something was and I didn’t know! Alas, a side effect of volunteering is that sometimes you’re not quite familiar with anything outside of your immediate area, particularly for the first few days – I could direct people to the store, the bathrooms, the autograph hall, the artists, tattoo area and certain booths, but one of that day’s half-dozen Clone Wars panels? Forget it.
More related advice in the comments! Anyone who’s volunteered at a Celebration or any such con, feel free to chime in – on-topic!