Celebration V

Well as you may or may not know, I spent Wed-Sat at Star Wars Celebration V in Orlando. Wednesday was sign-in day for the crew, and setup day. I got to meet my fellow workers and watched them finish assembly on the AT-AT in one of the main halls....which dwarfed it.
Let me give you a taste of some of my favorite images while I talk to ya. ;)

The Rebels didn't QUITE make it to the bunker

Me and one of the Slave Leias at Friday Night's Mixer


These are the droids you're looking for.

This could be the last thing you see if you got this close.

Thursday was muggy as all hell, and the first official day of Celebration. I got in early and started firing off some shots of the exhibts on display before the crowds started showing up, including a bunch of photos of the full-scale TIE interceptor.

After wandering for about half an hour, I headed over to my job for the day, working the Official Pix booth.

R2-MK, Jedi Mickey and Darth Goofy with Yoda and General Obi-Wan Kenobi

TIE Interceptor

Jabba's Palace display

Millennium Falcon game table and hall section with R2-D2

After my shift thursday I wandered some more, taking in the Gentle Giant, Hasbro, and many other booths, as well as getting my photo taken with some Slave Leias. I grabbed a beer at the Hoth Ice Bar and just relaxed there for a bit. After realizing I was tired, I headed out, but ended up going out to hang with Messer.

Lightsaber battles broke out all over.

501st Clones

Chewbacca, Darth Maul.....

The Clone Wars Statues

Friday morning I again arrived early, and did some fill-in shooting to cover things I hadn't gotten on Thursday. Then I reported for my shift. I was to be a floater, a kind of jack of all trades.

First thing I did was get assigned to crowd control for Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker). That only lasted about 10-15 minutes before they realized they didn't have anyone working exit Security for Ray Park (Darth Maul/Toad/Snakeeyes), so I got to spend the day hanging out with him. THAT, I can tell you, was pretty cool.

After my shift, I headed over and got Carrie Fischer's (Princess Leia Organa) autograph before heading out to grab some dinner. It was cheaper to hit Subway than to buy anything inside.

C-3PO and R2-D2 recreate the missing scene from Empire Strikes Back

After eating my dinner, I headed back to th convention center for the Friday Night Mixer, where I ended up dancing with Mandalorians, sparring with lightsabers, and generally having a great time.

One of the cooler (and best looking) Mandalorians I met

A Scout Trooper takes on Darth Maul

Fetts, from Young Boba, two Bobas, Jango....and Zam Wesell

AT-AT getting it's finishing touches

Saturday I started off the day by watching Ray Park get his left arm tattoo filled in. I then reported to Anne at 9 for my shift, where I was supposed to be the escort for Gary Kurtz all day. Knowing how I had handled the line for Ray Park the day before, they switched me over to Mark Hamill's line to do crowd control. My break was supposed to come when Mark (and Carrie Fisher) went to the Lucas/Stewart panel, but they needed my "talents" over for Ray again. So, five minutes before Mark and Carrie were supposed to get back I was allowed to run on break. I grabbed my camera and dashed over to the Gentle Giant booth, where they were having a Slave Leia photoshoot, including, as seen below, Adrianne Curry.

Dashing back to Mark's table was like fighting my way through a Mosh pit at a Metallica concert, as there were hundreds of drooling men trying to get closer to the Leias. I finally made it back and took up position, where I stayed until 8pm, which is when Hamill left after the last person in line got their autograph. He was supposed to leave almost three hours earlier, but wanted to make sure every fan that wanted it was able to get his autograph. I had a lot of fun with him, and watching he and Carrie play off each other all day was a memory that won't fade soon.

My Leia buddy from the mixer picks up a saber and starts to kick some ass.

Gentlemen, start your drooling!