On chilly platform
Waving Boba Underoos -
My collecting talk.
- Celebration I Haiku by Pamela Green
It was a totally surreal, out of body, experience. And it almost didn't happen. Ten days before Celebration was to start, the Columbine tragedy happened only a few miles away. The day after the shootings there were some people at Lucasfilm who felt the convention should be canceled. It was an agonizing day for me and Dan Madsen, head of the Official Fan Club in Denver, who were putting on the event. Dan marshaled his forces, got letters faxed from politicians and even had the mayor of Denver on the phone, all pleading that Celebration go on to try to help people move beyond Columbine.
- Steve Sansweet, Lucasfilm Head of Fan Relations
Denver was experiencing its biggest rain storm in almost 22 years! The location was part outside, part inside. Well most of it was outside in tents. I remember standing outside in line for the store which was no bigger then a small classroom in an elementary school. Now imagine a few thousand people waiting to buy exclusive goodies at one time in the rain. Crazy. I could complain for days about the rain and mud, but in the end it was an experience I'll never forget, and not in a negative way.
- Tom Hodges, Star Wars artist
I remember it being cold and wet and muddy and cold! We jokingly referred it as "Hellebration," but we were all very, very happy to be there. We told ourselves they were recreating Dagobah. It was a lot of fun and it was exciting to meet people I had only corresponded with online. As miserable as the weather was, it was still one big happy family reunion for Star Wars geeks. It was kind of like surviving Vietnam or another major disaster. You develop a bond with your fellow survivors.
- Scott Chitwood, Co-Publisher Red 5 Comics
Celebration I was crazy. I remember pulling up to the hangar and seeing a huge line -- and I mean huge -- standing out there in the rain, just waiting, and hoping, to get inside and away from the nasty weather. I had a vendor badge, so I got to cut right through and get in before it opened. As I walked to our booth I almost smashed right into Ray Park. That was a good start to the event!
- Ben Harper, DC Comics Editor
Back in 1999, giant life-size props were practically unheard of unless you worked for George Lucas. So my favorite memory was life-size Jabba throne display! It was amazing to get a photo on a replica set of Star Wars. Not just any set, it was the throne with a freakin' life size Jabba the Hutt!
- Jon "Blasty" Leopold, Great Lakes 501st Garrison PR Officer
We saw someone walking through the crowd and one of our TheForce.net guys said, "Was that Alice Cooper?" And sure enough, it was. He was there with his son who was a big Star Wars fan.
- Scott Chitwood, Co-Publisher Red 5 Comics
Ray Park doing his martial arts demonstration on the main stage was my favorite event at Celebration. The whole crowd was in awe as he jumped and spun through the air with real metal swords. The anticipation of Darth Maul doing that on the screen was, well, "exciting" is hardly the word I would use.
- Jon "Blasty" Leopold, Great Lakes 501st Garrison PR Officer
My funniest memory was seeing a guy in the lobby of my hotel who sat behind a fold-out card table next to a sign that read, "Meet the Jawa who shot R2-D2." No one wanted to meet him.
- Ben Harper, DC Comics Editor
Anthony Daniels was the Master of Ceremonies in the main tent and fittingly wore a gold jacket. My funniest memory is when he entered and the fans gave Goldenrod the appropriate greeting ala acting like Ewoks by bowing for him and chanting, "Ooohhh mmmm, ooohhh mmmm."
- Jon "Blasty" Leopold, Great Lakes 501st Garrison PR Officer
Shaking hands with David Prowse in the vendor tent was my favorite moment of Celebration. I still remember him sitting an a booth, and it was cold and wet. I was walking by and there he was, just sitting there saying hello to people. I walked up and said hello, we chatted briefly, and I took a picture of him. I have made it a point to get a picture with him at the rest of the Celebrations; so four total!
- Scott Magerfleisch (TK-4149) Mountain Garrison 501st Garrison
