Celebration Chicago: Guest list gets even longer with Mayhew, Eckstein

Since we last checked in with Celebration Chicago, they’ve added even more guests, including OG Chewbacca Peter Mayhew, The Clone Wars/Rebels and Her Universe head Ashley Eckstein, and lots and lots of others. From the films, there’s Temuera Morrison, Daniel Logan, Ken Leung, John Ratzenberger and Katy Kartwheel. Animation guests Donald Faison, Jason Isaacs, Vanessa Marshall, Myrna Velasco, Tom Kane, Catherine Taber and Dee Bradley Baker.

→ We’ve also got the full list for the Podcast Stage, which seems longer this year. Did any of your faves make it?

→ Some tips from Jennifer Landa on perfecting your costume for the con.

→ And on that note, tickets for the big fan club party (The 501st, Rebel Legion, Mandalorian Mercs, the Dark Empire, Droid Builders, Saber Guild and Galactic Academy are all involved) are now on sale to the public at SWBash.com.

Wear Star Wars Every Day: Week 47 & Cyber Monday bonus!

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Celebrating Thanksgiving is what #WearStarWarsEveryDay is all about for Week 47! But more importantly, we have a special offer in our Thanks-for-giving prize drawing! If you donate to Collateral Repair Project via GoFundMe today, Cyber Monday, or tomorrow, Giving Tuesday, I will double your chances of winning a prize in the prize drawing! We have seven different prize packages to give away, including a set of four Topps Star Wars trading card series books, some of which are signed, a copy of Ahsoka signed by both the author E.K. Johnston and audiobook narrator Ashley Eckstein, and an advance uncorrected proof of Maul: Lockdown by Joe Schreiber. Just chip in $20 or more, and you’ll be entered into the prize drawings with double odds! Not even a Corellian gambler can give up those chances to win! (Especially since so few donations have been made, you’re practically guaranteed to win something!) All persons making donations through the end of November will be eligible for the different prize drawings, but your chances are doubled if you donate on 11/28 or 11/29!

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Back to week 47: I wear a variety of shirts, including an Adidas soccer jersey, and a Disney Cast Member exclusive stormtrooper helmet schematic tee. For this stretch of my fundraising campaign for Collateral Repair Project, we give thanks for a bunch of fine folks who lent me some wear this week, including Dani, Lori, Russell, and Trina. Plus a shirt I bought as a fundraiser for Make-A-Wish through the 501st Legion, so now it’s doing double duty! But sadly no donations in this time frame – makes for a sad turkey!

Every day I wear a new and different Star Wars apparel item, my daily pledge makers will chip in $4.65 to Collateral Repair Project! This review for Week 47 covers November 18 to November 24 of my wearathon, and an update on fundraising for and the latest happenings at Collateral Repair Project, a non-profit organization that provides emergency assistance, education, and community support to urban refugees.

Get more info on what Wear Star Wars Every Day is all about, or make a donation via GoFundMe or a per-day pledge.

Wear Star Wars Every Day: Weeks 43 & 44

Wear Star Wars Every Day Weeks 43 and 44

#WearStarWarsEveryDay has rolled past its 300th day and Halloween and into November, and we’ve got the photos to prove it! For weeks 43 and 44, I wear an assortment of clothing at an assortment of places, and we pick up two donations for Collateral Repair Project from some of our per-day pledge makers, so thanks Jennifer and Roland! We also show off a few really cool donated Star Wars apparel items, including two custom shirts using custom fabric from Holly of Fauxthentic History podcast and a pair of socks from Tony! Also thanks to everyone who lent me some Star Wars clothing for this week: James, Todd, Tyler, and a slew of Jaders: Dunc, Fen, Yav, Susan. Also thanks to Disney Vault Talk: Rebel Yell podcast for having me on as a guest recently to talk Rebels: ‘The Last Battle’ and share about Wear Star Wars Every Day.

Every day I wear a new and different Star Wars apparel item, my daily pledge makers will chip in $4.65 to Collateral Repair Project! In this review, we’ve got stuff covering me from head to toe: Vader socks, Vader fleece pants, a Vader wrist sweatband, a vintage Darth Vader mask for Halloween, a custom shirt with the vintage Greedo action figure fabric, some Star Wars Celebration Europe wear, a shirt featuring the beauty of Alderaan, and We Are Jedi (2011 Japanese quake & tsunami relief fundraiser from the 501st Legion’s Japanese Garrison), and a shirt from the second JadeCon in 1996. This review for Week 43 & Week 44 covers October 21 to November 3 of my wearathon, and an update on fundraising for Collateral Repair Project, a non-profit organization that provides emergency assistance, education, and community support to urban refugees.

Get more info on what Wear Star Wars Every Day is all about, or make a donation via GoFundMe or a per-day pledge.

Wear Star Wars Every Day: Week 36


Week 36 of #WearStarWarsEveryDay finishes up Salt Lake Comic Con and hits the milestone of Day 250! Big thanks to Karen, S, and J, for their donations in the past week, pushing us up to over $2,600 raised for Collateral Repair Project. Plus a fairly random assortment of Star Wars clothes – Thanks to everyone who has lent me apparel seen this week: Bryan, Paul, Donna, and Tyler!

Remember, every day I wear a new and different Star Wars apparel item, my daily pledgemakers will chip in $4.65! This week, we’ve got a Celebration V crew shirt, a Star Wars baseball mashup, 501st Legion and Rebel Legion shirts, a Fauxthentic History podcast shirt, and a women’s racerback tank top from Course of the Force. This review for Week 36 covers September 2 to September 8 of my wearathon, and an update on fundraising for Collateral Repair Project, a non-profit organization that provides emergency assistance, education, and community support to urban refugees.

Get more info on what Wear Star Wars Every Day is all about, or make a donation via GoFundMe or a per-day pledge. While each day I continue my project, another $4.65 is donated by our pledge makers, but I’d love to get that total up to $5.00 even (or higher!) for the last quarter of 2016.

Wear Star Wars Every Day: Week 27


Kicking off the second half of the year with a random batch of shirts for #WearStarWarsEveryDay! But in better news, with three donations this past week, we have now raised more than $2,000 total for Collateral Repair Project, about $1,600 via the GoFundMe and the rest via check, cash, and employee match. Also, I met Greg Grunberg at a book signing and he approved of the campaign so much that he signed by shirt on the spot! Two shirts this week are mine, and thanks to Paul, Mike, Darren, and Margaret for lending me the rest! We’ve got some original art, plus Coffee with Kenobi and Skywalking Through Neverland podcasts, the 501st Legion, and the NY Line. This review for Week 27 covers July 1 to July 7 of my wearathon, and an update on fundraising for Collateral Repair Project, a non-profit organization that provides emergency assistance, education, and community support to urban refugees.

Going to a convention this month? So am I! I’ll be at Star Wars Celebration Europe in London and San Diego Comic-Con, so if you have an article of clothing that you’d like to lend me or just donate, contact me and we can arrange a meetup!

Thanks to everyone who has supported Wear Star Wars Every Day so far, both our one-time donors and our per-day pledgemakers. Each day I continue my project is another $4.65 donated by our pledge makers. I’d love to get that total up to $5.00 even (or higher!) for the second half of 2016. If you’d like to chip in at a dime a day or a quarter per day (or more), make your pledge at the per-day pledge form and you can choose whether to support the project for the entire year, or just start at the beginning of July. Or you can just make a one-time or monthly donation at GoFundMe.com/WearStarWars2016.

Get more info on what Wear Star Wars Every Day is all about, or make a donation or a per-day pledge!

Video: Star Wars Story Talk: ABC-3PO, LEGO Star Wars Days, The Freemaker Adventures

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The hunt for a new name for my video series is over! Since we mostly focus on the latest in new Star Wars storytelling in TV, films, books, comics, and events, Unboxing Star Wars is now Star Wars Story Talk! Yowie the skunk, Baby Jawa, and I review the latest book for the kid set: Star Wars: ABC-3PO, by Calliope Glass and Caitlin Kennedy, with illustrations by Katie Cook. We also flash back to LEGO Star Wars Days held earlier this month at LEGOLAND California and discuss the new LEGO Star Wars TV series, The Freemaker Adventures. For more details on the LEGOLAND event, check out my article on starwars.com: LEGO Star Wars Days. Plus random fun with a Jawa buddy, and then some Baby Jawa fun time!


Quick reviews
Star Wars: ABC-3PO – Two thumbs up! Love the Katie Cook illustrations and fun rhymes by Calliope Glass and Caitlin Kennedy. Great for fans whether kids or parents! (For ages 3-5)
→ LEGOLAND California: LEGO Star Wars Days 2016 – A lot of fun! In a year without any new permanent Star Wars additions to Miniland, the park still knows how to make a great Star Wars event with plenty of unique activities including photo ops with costumers from the 501st Legion, Rebel Legion, and Mandalorian Mercs; the really awesome Fan Gallery, showcasing amazing Star Wars-themed builds from LEGO fans; family build, trivia and costume contests; and a bunch of scavenger hunts. Plus sneak preview screenings of the first episode of LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures.
→ LEGO Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures. Thumbs up! If you’re a fan of the previous LEGO Star Wars series, this new show on Disney XD will delight! Maybe a little more kid-focused than some of the previous series, it still contains the great mix of Star Wars stories with LEGO humor, and introduces a new set of heroes!

Get more info on Wear Star Wars Every Day or make a donation at GoFundMe or sign up to make a per-day pledge.

Note: Disney-Lucasfilm Press provided a copy of Star Wars: ABC-3PO for review.

Wear Star Wars Every Day: Weeks 24 & 25


Time for a super-sized review of #WearStarWarsEveryDay for the start of summer! Since I was off at JadeCon last weekend, I didn’t get a chance to wrap up that week, so here’s Weeks 24 and 25. Big thanks to Russ of Empire City Garrison for my first donation of a 501st Legion shirt. Also, thanks to Fen, PG, Shannon, Todd, Margaret, Tony, Paul, and Mediocre Jedi for all their lending of different items of clothing I show off this week. Plenty of shirts – but also a Her Universe skirt! We cover a wide range of Star Wars interests from ILM to podcasts to a Fan Force chapter. This review for Week 24 and 25 covers June 10 to June 23 of my wearathon, and an update on fundraising for Collateral Repair Project, a non-profit organization that provides emergency assistance, education, and community support to urban refugees.

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I’ve very excited to be closing in on finishing the first half of 2016 with my project – that’s over 180 days of wearing a different Star Wars article of clothing each day – no repeats! And each day I continue my project is another $4.65 donated by our pledge makers. I’d love to get that total up to $5.00 even (or higher!) for the second half of 2016. If you’d like to chip in at a dime a day or a quarter per day (or more), make your pledge at the per-day pledge form. Or you can just make a one-time or monthly donation at GoFundMe.com/WearStarWars2016.

Get more info on what Wear Star Wars Every Day is all about, or make a donation or a per-day pledge!

Wear Star Wars Every Day: Week 23


Week 23 of #WearStarWarsEveryDay gets us in a summer mood! Thanks to Todd, James, Anastasia, Paul, Margaret, and Mediocre Jedi for all the different tops I show off this week. Which looks best as a summer fashion? Some Jedi armor from The Old Republic? a nice Pacific Sun aloha shirt at LEGOLAND? a cute women’s rayon Rey raglan? or some cool 501st Legion threads? This review for Week 23 covers June 3 to June 9 of my wearathon, and an update on fundraising for Collateral Repair Project, a non-profit organization that provides emergency assistance, education, and community support to urban refugees.

What’s the news on fundraising? Nothing this week, but overall, thanks to everyone’s support, I can account for more than $1,800 being donated to Collateral Repair Project, with over $1,200 donated via GoFundMe. Can you help me reach $2,000 by the end of the month? Why not chip in $20 to get me to the milestone of 6 months completed! Just $50 is enough to provide a family of four with food for a month!

Get more info on what Wear Star Wars Every Day is all about, or make a donation or a per-day pledge!

Wear Star Wars Every Day: Week 22


#WearStarWarsEveryDay hits Day 150 and crosses over into June with Week 22! Thanks to Tony, Christian, Paul, Shannon, Caitlin, and Mike for all the shirts I showcase this week: Wookiees, stormtroopers, and R2-D2, including some representing the Inland Empire Squad of the 501st Legion and the podcast Coffee with Kenobi. Plus I might reveal too much about my special Day 150 strategically placed sock! This review for Week 22 covers May 27 to June 2 of my wearathon, and an update on fundraising for Collateral Repair Project, a non-profit organization that provides emergency assistance, education, and community support to urban refugees.

But the big news is that some of you answered the call to boost donations! Big thanks to Beth and Ian for their one-time donations to Collateral Repair Project. Let’s keep that streak going as I aim to complete six months by the end of June! Why not chip in $20 to celebrate this milestone. $20 is enough to provide a mattress to a refugee.

Get more info on what Wear Star Wars Every Day is all about, or make a donation or a per-day pledge!

Wear Star Wars Every Day: Week 20


This week, #WearStarWarsEveryDay goes to the dark side! The whole week is a showcase of clothing from the 501st Legion, lent by Darth Paul of Imperial Sands Garrison. We’ve got the usual shirts, but also a happi coat from the Japanese Garrison. But no donations to Collateral Repair Project in this week – maybe you can do something about it for next week! This review for Week 20 covers May 13 to May 19 of my wearathon, and an update on fundraising for Collateral Repair Project, a non-profit organization that provides emergency assistance, education, and community support to urban refugees.

Get more info on what Wear Star Wars Every Day is all about, or make a donation or a per-day pledge!