From
StarWars.com:
"It's hard to believe, but it has been 10 years since the first
Star Wars Celebration, held on April 30 through May 2 in 1999 in Denver, Colorado. The reason for this first party was obvious -- the impending release of
Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace. But in retrospect, that first Celebration has come to embody more than a single film's release.
It was the start of a resurgence of
Star Wars fandom, a perfect storm of passionate fans and burgeoning technology that allowed
Star Wars enthusiasts worldwide to connect and share in celebrating the saga.
Because it took place in 1999, during the Jurassic-era of the Internet, the first
Star Wars Celebration remains the least documented of the official Lucasfilm conventions (at least, as far as online coverage goes). Many fans were still lugging around film cameras to events rather than digital ones, and no one was podcasting or live-blogging the festivities.
Rather than let the first Celebration be forgotten, StarWars.com will be dedicating this week to coverage on this party: from reprinted archival articles to newly discovered media of the event..."
Check out the above link for a 1999 StarWars.com article on Celebration, and check
here for coverage from
The Star Wars Insider, and
here for an audioclip from the event with Steve Sansweet and creature effects supervisor Nick Dudmann.
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