It's going to be too hot! It'll cost too much money! It's too far away! All of these are excuses you will hear why certain people will NOT be attending Star Wars Celebration V this August 12th-15th at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida. Our answer here at GalacticBinder to those comments... phooey!

Star Wars Celebration V will be the epicenter of all things Star Wars in 2010. Not only will we be there, but we wouldn't miss it for the world! So you've gotta be there too! Why? Well... here's 20 good reasons why!

So after we convince you (wink), head over to the official Star Wars Celebration website, grab your tickets, book your flight (or warm up the car) and get that hotel room locked in... because August will be here before you know it!

#20
Amazing Giveaways

Hit List: Star Wars Celebrations have featured some jaw-dropping giveaways in the past, and we'd be shocked if Celebration V didn't follow suit. At Celebration IV in Los Angeles, fan Doug Kline (pictured below) won this original Obi-Wan Kenobi sculpture from legendary artist, Lawrence Noble (pictured below, far right). Now that's one heck of a "wow" moment!

 
(Via Bonnie Burton - Official Star Wars Blog)

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#19
The City of Orlando

Hit List: Orlando is one of the most popular summer vacation destinations in the country. With Disney World, Universal Studios Florida and SeaWorld all close to the convention center... there's a lot to like about taking the family on an amazing getaway they'll remember forever.

 

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#18
Celebration Badges

Hit List: One of the coolest things at each Star Wars Celebration is the badges that are issued. The badge set from the original Celebration was a huge hit with collectors, and each successive badge set has been just as popular. Tracking down "one of each" from every set has become a mission for some. At Star Wars Celebration IV, artist JAKe had his artwork featured on the badges... and fans fell in love! JAKe signed thousands of them at his booth in Artists Alley.



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#17
Room Sales

Hit List: Room sales have become a time honored tradition at Star Wars Celebration events. What's a room sale? It's when a bunch of Star Wars collectors gather in a hotel room and buy, sell and trade their wares. Vintage action figure collectors are especially fond of room sales because they're always hoping that one scarce item they've always wanted might turn up! The picture below is from the first Star Wars Celebration in Denver and depicts Star Wars super-collector Gus Lopez (center) at a room sale.

(Via the Star Wars Collectors Archive)

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#16
Steve Sansweet's Crazy Outfits

Hit List: Lucasfilm's head of fan relations, Steve Sansweet, loves Star Wars Celebration events like fish love water. As the unofficial/official host of these things, Steve is like every fan's Star Wars dad. But the best thing is Steve's also a great showman and delights in playing to the crowd with crazy/fun outfits and costumes. Check him out below at Celebration IV with the Honorable Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa of Los Angeles and wearing an amazing Star Wars Yukata at Star Wars Celebration Japan!

 

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#15
Star Wars Kids and Kid Activities

Hit List: Okay, is there anything cuter than a Star Wars kid? Uhm... no! Bringing the kids to a Star Wars Celebration is a great idea. There's always lots of planned, special activities for them such as origami, crafts and ligthsaber training. Check out the Star Wars kid art below from Star Wars Celebration Japan.

 
(Via Bonnie Burton - Official Star Wars Blog)

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#14
Star Wars Parties

Hit List: Strike up the cantina band and get ready to party with a few thousand of your closest Star Wars pals! I mean how often do you follow an X-Wing Pilot into a party?

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#13
Droid Builder's Room

Hit List: Visiting the Droid Builder's Room is always one of the coolest things to do at any Celebration. Chock full of Astromechs, including plenty of lovable R2 units, fans young and old just revel in seeing their favorite droids on display and in action.

 

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#12
Displays and Exhibits

Hit List: There's something awesome to look at seemingly everywhere you turn at a Star Wars Celebration event. Lucasfilm always has some amazing props exhibited and some cool life-size (or near life size) displays to dazzle your senses.

(Via Bonnie Burton - Official Star Wars Blog)

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#11
Autographs

Hit List: There's always a plethora of autograph opportunities at a Star Wars Celebration. The folks at Official Pix do a great job of setting up and organizing the autograph area, and fans can go crazy getting signed photos and the like. Check out this Carrie Fisher signature from Celebration IV!

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#10
Artists Alley and Exclusive Prints

Hit List: For some people, the first stop at any Star Wars Celebration is Artists Alley to meet and greet their favorite artists (like Cat Staggs below) and have a chance to nab one of their exclusive Celebration prints. Extremely limited in nature, many of these prints are among the rarest Star Wars art collectibles out there. Adam Hughes' art nouveau Leia and Dave Dorman's 501st Legion prints from Celebration IV command some serious coin on the secondary market, if you can find them at all!

 


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#9
Sneak Peeks

Hit List: Lucasfilm knows that fans love to be first when it comes to anything from their favorite galaxy far, far away. To that end, they reward fans who attend Star Wars Celebrations with plenty of sneak peeks of everything from never-before-seen trailers to reveals of the newest Star Wars stamps.



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#8
Collecting Panels

Hit List: Star Wars super-collector Gus Lopez is determined to reach the Star Wars collector in all of us. Gus organizes the collecting panels and programming at Star Wars Celebration events, and he does an amazing job putting together days of entertainment and education on topics ranging from poster collecting to the weirdest Star Wars collectibles from all over the world. As a bonus, Gus randomly distributes collectibles during some of the sessions. At Celebration IV and Celebration Europe, Star Wars medallions were fan favorites!

 


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#7
Exclusive Celebration Swag

Hit List: Ask the fans eagerly awaiting the doors to open before any Celebration, and many of them will tell you they're looking forward to hitting the Celebration store first and foremost. At Celebration IV in Los Angeles, the Celebration store was open around the clock and had over sixty exclusive items. As well as the store and the exclusive art prints in Artists Alley, many of the exhibitors also offer their own exclusives... such as the Boba Fett maquette and Jorg Sacul figures seen below. And on top of it all, at Celebration IV collectors had a chance to purchase items directly from the Lucasfilm archives!

 


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#6
Grand Entrances and Opening Ceremonies

Hit List: The opening ceremonies at Celebration events are always wild parties unto themselves. With special guests, cast members and Star Wars luminaries galore... you never know who will show up! And check out the video below to see the grand entrance Boba Fett made at Star Wars Celebration IV!!!

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#5
Programming and Guest Panels

Hit List: Lucasfilm and the event organizers do a tremendous job planning programming for Celebration events. In fact, there's usually so much programming that fans often have trouble deciding what they want to attend the most! From fun performances such as Charles Ross's "One Man Star Wars Show" (below, left) or Slave Leia belly dancing classes... to question and answer sessions with producers and special effects masters... to sitting with the creators of the latest Star Wars video game such as "The Force Unleashed" (below, right), Celebration fans are assured to be in Star Wars heaven!

 
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#4
Costumes

Hit List: Celebrations are a Star Wars costume lover's dream come true! From the 501st Legion to the Rebel Legion and all points in between... cosplay fun reaches its peak whenever the words "Star Wars" and "Celebration" come togehter.

 

(Via Bonnie Burton - Official Star Wars Blog)

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#3
Exhibit Hall and Showroom Floor

Hit List: Most fans at Celebrations will spend a fair amount of time in the exhibit hall on the showroom floor and for good reason. Quite simply, it's the "place to be" when it comes to browsing, buying and people watching. With exhibitors pulling out all the stops to catch fans' attention, some booths are memorable displays in their own right.

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#2
Celebrities and VIPs

Hit List: How often do you bump into George Lucas?

 


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#1
Star Wars Love and Memories

Hit List: Not to sound too corny here... but quite simply the best part about any Star Wars Celebration is having fun and enjoying Star Wars with so many other fans. This type of shared experience is something to be treasured. In the years to come, you can pull out the picture album and recount with family and friends your tales of the show - how you got so-and-so's autograph or how much fun the programming was or how you finally found that Kenner 12-back action figure you needed to complete your collection!



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If you enjoyed the Top 10 Star Wars Santa Crossovers please see Galacticbinder's additional Star Wars Top 10 Lists.