My Star Wars Celebration Wrap-up

The first Star Wars Celebration in three years just wrapped up in Anaheim, and I was lucky enough to be a part. I didn’t update much on Disney Over 50 because of lousy internet, but I was able to post often on Facebook and Instagram. Thank you for following along.

I’m not going to recap the news and announcements. You can find the important information on StarWars.com. Instead, I’d like to share a couple of the highlights.

Seeing the legendary John Williams is always amazing. I’ve seen him conduct at least a dozen times, and it always blows me away. Harrison Ford came out at the end of the Raiders of the Lost Ark theme, and that was the best surprise. John Williams turned 90 in February, but you would never guess. The man is a national treasure.

We attended the premier for the first two episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi, complete with red carpet and the stars in attendance. There was an electric excitement in the air that I hadn’t experienced since The Empire Strikes Back came out. I’m glad I was able to be a part of it.

Most of Star Wars Celebration this time focused on Disney+, which isn’t a complaint. That said, it made the 20th Anniversary of Attack of the Clones panel even more important. Temuera Morrison is hilarious, and his father/son bond with Daniel Logan is apparent. The panel with Anthony Daniels, as well as the one with Ian McDiarmid, were also fun. I enjoyed those because we were able to go more old school.

I loved the cosplay. There were people dressed up as characters that were close enough that they could be mistaken for the actor. There were people dressed up as characters who looked nothing like them, but were still having a blast. There were also plenty of fun mash-ups, and creativity around every corner.

My favorite part of Star Wars Celebration, though, was spending four days with other Star Wars fans. It didn’t matter if someone was like me and saw the original back in 1977, or if someone became a fan recently because of an animated series. There is plenty of Star Wars to go around, and everyone has their own Star Wars story.

The fans really make things special. Sometimes it was just striking up a conversation with someone in a line. Other times, real friendships formed. At this Star Wars Celebration my daughter and I made a new friend the first day, and we spent all four days with her. We’re already planning to meet up with her again when we go back to California for the D23 Expo in September. I also finally met in person someone who has been an online friend for years. That’s always so special.

The next Star Wars Celebration will take place April 7-10 in London. I won’t be there. I probably wouldn’t be going if it was in the United States, because that’s Easter Weekend. Since I’ll miss the next one, I’m even more thankful that I was a part this year. It was an exhausting four days, but worth the lack of sleep.

Now it’s time to start thinking about the D23 Expo in September…