Star Wars Celebration Chicago has officially ended. We have all returned home to the boring world of jobs and everyday life, no more Stormtroopers and Jedi roaming the halls, discussion panels or celebrity sightings. Like most Celebrations, this was an exhausting but fun weekend reconnecting with my Star Wars family.
We arrived in Chicago a few days before the convention, in order to prepare for the event and spend some time playing tourist in the city. Chicago is a beautiful city and we could have easily spent a few more days or weeks exploring all the city. We spent our first day seeing some of the sights including the Art Institute of Chicago. The museum had an incredible collection of art, sculpture, furniture, and even a medieval armor exhibit. We could have easily spent twice as long in the museum as we did, but we weren’t here to see paintings, we were here for Star Wars.
Leading up to the event, there had been some apprehension and trepidation. Star Wars fandom has had some troublemakers and problems in the last few years. There was a concern that this would spread from online circles to reality. However, once we arrived at the convention center, it quickly became apparent that this would not be the case. Throughout the entire weekend, there was an overwhelming sense of positivity and excitement. We were here to truly celebrate Star Wars in every form from the teaser for The Rise of Skywalker to the 20th anniversary of The Phantom Menace to Rebels, Resistance and beyond, all aspects of the saga were on display.
This time around, Lucasfilm and ReedPop, were trying a few new things to help improve the Celebration experience. While not everything was ready when the convention opened, by the end of the weekend there were several noticeable improvements over previous Celebrations. First and foremost was the inclusion of the Celebration app. The app was to help with lines by offering reservations for panels and eventually the Celebration store, a sort of FastPass option for the convention. There were some noticeable delays and problems with the app leading up to and for the first day of the event. However, a quick update rectified many issues. I only wish that they had been able to put out a notice via the official channels instead of having news of the update spread through word of mouth and social media by fans. The change was noticeable pretty quickly as the wait for the Celebration store went from hours to minutes.
The other big change was the implementation of panel lotteries and reservations instead of having people line up in a first come, first serve option. Giving people the option to attend the bigger panels, like the Episode IX panel, while still letting them enjoy the convention and not have to stay in overnight lines is a huge change for the better. The only real complaint about the reservation system was the lack of clear direction or signage about where to line up if you had a reservation or not. Our first panel of the weekend we had a reservation for but didn’t know if we still had to wait in a line or could just walk straight in. The convention staff were helpful and tried their best to direct people. I definitely prefer these methods and hope that they continue to refine the process for next time. With the reservation and lottery systems, and the live stream, Celebration should be the model for many other large scale conventions to follow.
While we didn’t get into the Episode IX panel, having to watch the live stream in our hotel room instead, we did make it into several panels that we wanted. The Music of The Phantom Menace panel hosted by David Collins was probably the highlight of the weekend for me. Collins did a great job presenting the material in an easy to understand method while also making music theory fun and entertaining.
One of my main goals was to make it into the animation panels and we were able to see all three. Rebels Remembered was a fond look back at the show, while no new information was revealed it was great to see the cast and crew able to talk about the show from beginning to end. The Clone Wars and Resistance sneak peeks have me extremely excited for the upcoming seasons. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much finished footage from Clone Wars to show us, but what we did see looked to be a very satisfying and emotional end to the series. They did screen the Resistance season 2 premiere for us and that show continues to get better with each episode. The tone remained consistent with what we saw in the first season, but much like the First Order spreading in the galaxy there is a looming darkness building. If you haven’t caught up with the show, I highly recommend it leading up to the broadcast premiere later this year.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend the Episode 1 anniversary panel, but there was a lot of love on the floor for The Phantom Menace and the prequel trilogy. I think I saw more Padme costumes this year than I have at any previous Celebration.
Panels and teasers are great, but the real reason I always go to Celebration is the people. It’s where I go to reconnect to my Star Wars family, meeting new friends and old. While I wasn’t able to see everyone that I wanted to, I saw as many as I could over the busy weekend. Walking the con floor I saw so many great costumes and happy smiling faces. It’s as if the entire fandom agreed to come together and cast out the darkness that had plagued us for so long. Even the snow wasn’t enough to dampen our spirits.
I may still be riding the high of the convention, but Chicago is definitely one of my favorite Celebrations I’ve attended. It truly is the fans that made it so. ReedPop and Lucasfilm did their best and set up a very good event. But, it’s the people and their exuberance and attitude that really made this event shine. This truly was a celebration of Star Wars, our love for the franchise, and how Star Wars brings out the best in us. I can’t wait to do it all again next year in Anaheim.
Author: Paul Depaola
Born in the desert, raised on the beach and now residing in the mountains. An obsessive, compulsive geek with a tendency to bring everything back to Star Wars. In his spare time he is TK-5990, a proud member of the 501st Legion. Paul is also the host of his own podcast, Fanboys Talking.