This is the blog each day and pictures from the Celebration III event in Indianapolis, IN that took place from April 21-24, 2005.

Pre-Convention: Apr 20, 2005 - Registration and Signing In - Here are the initial pictures from showing up to sign in and pre-registration. We met Steven Brannan (in the Black Imperial Sign shirt), who was a huge help, and a bunch of people he knows from previous conventions. There are also pictures of them setting up the convention center and the room we are staying in at the Best Western (aka West Bespin). More tomorrow...

Day 1: Apr 21, 2005 - Celebration Store & Exhibit Booths - The first day (which was also only a partial day) brought expected long lines to get in the convention center. We got there around 8:30 a.m. and got in around 12:45 p.m., Tom (who we meet in the line) took the picture of us and you can see not only the huge sea of people waiting on top of the RCA Dome's plateau, but also many of the great costumes we saw around us while waiting and the area where kids were sparring. When the line finally started moving after the doors opened (12:00 p.m.) there are pictures from going down the stairs and around into the convention center. The first thing you see when walking in the Fan Club entrance is the Cingular sign with the main characters from "Revenge of the Sith". Next we met the Gangsta-Fett while waiting to get into the Celebration Store. Once inside the line moved very slowly because of what may have been problems with some of the registers. While waiting in line for almost 4 hours - we met Chris and Alyce who helped keep us company along with Cliff and Donnie (whom we met yesterday) before finally making it to a register to purchase the items in the last picture. Once we finally made it out of the shop, we were able to wander the exhibit hall very briefly before they closed at 7. You can see photos from the LEGO booth (which has a huge Republic Star Destroyer model), Dark Horse, and the Cingular Darth Viper car that's part of their giveaway along with other great costumes along the way. Tomorrow will be an early morning with the breakfast at 6am, then into the convention and the Fan Force party afterwards, more tomorrow...

Day 2: Apr 22, 2005 - Breakfast, EPIII Spectacular, Archives & 501st Fan Party - The day started off early with the Fan Club breakfast with celebrity host Jay Laga'aia. It was a great breakfast and Jay was very entertaining telling of tales of his current venture - playing the role of Mufasa in the Musical Lion King, and having to voice the character in James Earl Jones' shadow. Also at the breakfast was Mary Franklin (the coordinator of the Celebration III event as well as other events Lucasfilm participates in such as Comic-Con). We got to see Tom again at the breakfast and meet Isaac and his mother Min who were in line with us and sat at our table. Isaac was able to score an original Trilogy CD set in the raffle and everyone got to get autographs and photos with Jay himself - thanks Jay for being such a great host! After that, we were originally going to see the Hayden's interview live from Italy, but it was postponed due to the pretty nasty weather the night before which continued through most of the day. Instead, I went to see the exclusive footage at the Episode III Spectacular event hosted by Lucas' right-hand man, Rick McCallum. The footage was awesome - believe me, this movie is going to be incredible! Rick was also the same character he normally is - joking and having a great time in the Q & A session after the footage. After that, it was on to lunch and wandering though more of the Exhibit Hall with Chris and Alyce. In a stroke of luck, we ran in to Steve Sansweet in the hall, got his picture and also were able to score the RebelScum.com "Star Wars is Forever" pin from him! Next we got to go though the LucasFilm Archive exhibit which contained many pieces from the "Revenge of the Sith" movie as well as other items from all the other movies in the saga. After watching the incredibly funny and well done "Star Wars in 30 minutes" (everyone should see this if you have the chance!), we went to the 501st Fan Force party. It was a great time and for a great cause (all proceeds go to the ForKatie.org cause) and of course showed even more wonderful costumes. Tomorrow, there's a slim chance but we'll see if we can see George Lucas himself, here's to hoping - 'till tomorrow...

Day 3: Apr 23, 2005 - George Lucas, Jake Lloyd & the CIII Party - Sometimes, words cannot do justice to describe a situation - and this morning was a perfect example! This morning was a very early one, starting with getting up early enough to get into the Anakin costume for the first time during the convention and then heading out into the weather at 5:30 a.m. Yesterday's thunderstorms gave way to miserable 40 degree temperatures (sans wind chill) with drizzle and high wind conditions, which we stood out in for almost two hours until members of the 501st legion moved us out of the nasty weather and indoors to wait for the ability to attend one of the three performances. After a short wait, staff members passed though our queue line passing out green bracelets which meant we were guaranteed to attend the second show. Another wait passes and the line beings to move as - we believe - the first show is staring, at 8:45 a.m. We moved upstairs to towards the ballroom Lucas was going to be in, and to our surprise kept going until they stopped about 5 people in front of us. After about a minute, they announce they can take another 30 people and we are whisked into the ballroom and seated in the third row to see the first show! Lucas' show was amazing; he talked openly about the future of Star Wars, among other things during the show. Afterwards, we wandered the exhibitions hall to catch all the booths, participated in the 501st's Droid Hunt, got a picture of myself as a figure at the Hasbro booth, then left to head to the Fan Club Lounge to see Jake Lloyd (Anakin in "Episode I: The Phantom Menace"). Jake was a trooper and with the help of Gen-Con reps, hung around and took photos with everyone in the lounge who wanted one - thanks Jake! Lastly, the day ended by attending the Celebration at Celebration Party - where even more great costumes could be found - including the 1st place winning General Grievous costume. Tomorrow is the last day, but Chris and Alyce will be on their back to Mississippi so be careful on your way, more tomorrow...

Day 4: Apr 24, 2005 - Nick Gilliard, Final Day Pictures - The last day of the convention was a bittersweet day. The day started with jovial exchanges with a Stormtrooper from the 501st while waiting inline to see Nick Gilliard – it’s great when everyone is in character and has fun with the situation. Jay then introduced Nick who talked about his experiences in developing the Jedi fighting style that he has created during the filming of the three prequels in a very casual exchange with many light-hearted moments, the crew working the slides even got in on the action showing some famous non-Star Wars characters holding lightsabers. On our way to the Fan Club Lounge, we ran into Amy (whom is one of the reasons we got to see Lucas yesterday) and she insisted on an autograph – I’m almost famous! In the Lounge, we grabbed some lunch where we meet and were asked by John to participate in a "podcast" about our experiences at Celebration III, the movies and Star Wars in general – when I get the link to the broadcast, I’ll post it here. After that, we went back to the exhibit hall for another pass though just to see if anyone had some sales and to make sure we didn’t miss any booths. On the way though, the people at the Wizard of the Coast exhibit had completed their TCG card landscape which was very impressive. The entire landscape was created over the four-day period with only TCG cards and no glue (good thing no one sneezed over there)! Once we completed out pass though the Hall, we went to listen to the Collectors Panel talk about their thoughts about the future of Star Wars collecting after the release of the movie and beyond. It should be interesting to see how collecting and collectors are affected by an on-going TV series. After the Panel was over, we stopped in to watch some of the live "Fan Films" going on in the adjacent hall. Another place we re-visited was the Fan Hall which had many of the different Fan Force groups from around the country. Each day, they had a new "life-size" origami item – the last was a Jabba the Hutt. Also on display in the Hall were numerous custom-made dioramas all of which were very detailed and well-done. On the way out of the convention, we got a picture of Vader and The Emperor, and one of me under the sign seen when entering the main entrance. The next-to last picture is one we saw on the way back from eating after the convention ended, it had an "er" post-it note to make the skywalk map officially the "Skywalker map". Lastly, a solemn moment as the convention comes to an end and the wind whips by on the way back to the hotel. Tomorrow, we return home...

Day 5: Apr 25, 2005 - Post Convention Pictures - Well, we're now on our way back home. Not many pictures, but you can see use leaving the hotel and getting in the taxi. Next, the gates we were at in Indianapolis and Houston. Lastly, the plane we were on from Houston to Baton Rouge. My mother came to pick us up from the Baton Rouge airport. We made it back around 1pm, then began unpacking. It was a great trip and an awesome convention and we met alot of wonderful people, thanks to everyone who made it possible - most importantly my wife.