When it comes to geek "cons" I can honestly say I'm somewhat of an expert in this area. In the last 4 years I've attended 6-8 cons a year. And that's taking into account I'm not an exhibitor nor an industry professional. This year's 50th anniversary of San Diego Comicon will be my 16th consecutive one I'll be attending. So when I say the Starwars Celebration is my single favorite con that I've attended over the years is saying a lot. The best way to quantify this would be at SDCC, there's total sensory overload, of which I'm interested in about 30-40%. At Starwars Celebration, there's also sensory overload, of which I'm interested in about 80-90%. Being a huge Starwars fan at such a singularly focused event could be potentially seizure inducing. But when everyone is of the same mindset, it really makes for an incredible experience. Everyone there just "gets it". Some of the most meta cosplays that would be completely overlooked at any other con take center stage at Celebration. Case in point, at this past Celebration, someone dressed up as sand, yes, sand, (because Anakin hates sand) and that was one of the cosplays that became the talk of the con!

Starwars Celebration took place from April 11-15 in Chicago this year. This is the third Starwars Celebration that I’ve attended (including Anahiem 2015, and Orlando 2017) and it was the first Celebration to take place in Chicago, at McCormick Place. This proved to make it an interesting experience. In the 6 days that I was there, I basically experienced all four seasons, and being from California, that was a unique experience for me. On Sunday during the con, it literally snowed, hard. Chunks of snow were falling from the sides of the hotels and smashing against the pavement. It was basically like being on Hoth for a day (and yes, we got some pictures in the snow in costume).

This year's highlights included the 20th anniversary of Phantom Menace, the preview for the release of Galaxy's Edge (aka Starwars Land) at Disneyland, and the reveal of the trailer and final title of Episode 9, the Rise of Skywalker. I watched the panel on the live stream but still was as excited when they revealed the trailer. We were all screaming at the screen! (I'm usually not a big panel guy because I don't like waiting in line. Haha) The best part was Emperor Palpatine's laugh at the end of the trailer only to have the room go dark, and then lit up again with an ominous red spotlight revealing Ian McDiarmid who speaks into the mic in Palpatine's voice, "Play it again." This was definitely the moneyshot and the whole panel room went nuts. You can still catch that panel on YouTube on the Starwars channel along with the other major panels that happened there:

Episode IX Panel - Celebration Chicago 2019

Galaxy’s Edge Panel - Celebration Chicago 2019

Phantom Menace 20th Anniversary Panel - Celebration Chicago 2019

The best part of Celebration (or any con) for me usually is the exhibit floor and the surrounding meetups. My friends and I usually are in cosplay so it's fun to just walk around and take in all the other cosplays and see the excitement of people who appreciate our own cosplays. This year we did a group cosplay from Solo: A Starwars Story, and we also did our usual Guardians of the Whills, Chirrut and Baze which we debuted in 2017. We've literally had people run (yes, run) up to us and ask for a picture while gasping for air! It's one of the most gratifying feelings to have someone else appreciate and fan out like that. These are the best memories of Celebration. As well as walking around we also went to a couple of cosplay meetups for Solo, and Rogue One. It's fantastic being able to meet others who have the same love of the characters and movies within the Starwars universe! Going to multiple Celebrations now, it was really great seeing friends I've made from past Celebrations. Many of these friends I keep in touch with even between these cons! This really makes Celebration feel like a family event for than just a random con. You can get a glimpse of my Celebration experience in the album below! I hope you like the pictures. I'll be posting about some of the food and drinking experiences I also had in Chicago, so stay tuned for those! May the Force be with you!

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