In the lead up to Celebration 2022 this weekend, we’re taking a look back at some of our favourite Star Wars Celebration memories – both of us have had the honor of being able to present official panels as part of the Collecting Track.

On the first day of the Star Wars Celebration Chicago convention in 2019, I presented my panel, ‘Collecting Star Wars Fashion’. Here is the full description, as presented in the convention program –

As apparel forms an essential part of human existence, Star Wars fashion is often a ‘gateway’ collecting hobby. This panel examines the concept of Star Wars clothing and related collectibles as both a form of self expression and as a collecting focus, particularly those aspects of the hobby that are unique when compared to other pursuits. Presented by Kristy Glasgow, writer for the Star Wars fashion blog The Kessel Runway.

Check out the video below for the full presentation slideshow with narration, or visit my Star Wars fashion blog The Kessel Runway for the full transcript with the accompanying slide images.

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One of my Star Wars Celebration Chicago highlights was being able to attend the SWTOR Chicago Cantina event.

This year the cantina was held in a hotel that was connected to the convention centre, so it was an easy walk (and a short taxi ride back to my own hotel afterwards). I unfortunately missed the previous Celebration Orlando cantina event in 2017, so I was determined not to miss this one. I got there nice and early, and it was fun to chat with other SWTOR players in line and check out the awesome costumes fans had made.

On top of the exciting presentation from Bioware staff, attendees were given two tokens – one for a free drink, and one for a swag bag. Add in the great assortment of free food and snacks available, and it was a fantastic way for Bioware to say thank you to the loyal fans who attended.

First off, the swag bag itself. A simple item some may have just been thrown away by some, but I kept mine. I am excited to find any official SWTOR merchandise, and while this isn’t as exciting as the items it contained, I was happy to see that the swag bag was printed rather than plain. Just a little extra touch that Bioware didn’t have to do, and I appreciate that. The bag measures approximately 33.3cm x 22.5cm.

On to the swag bag contents – first up, a full colour print of the new SWTOR in-game loading screen. Each new game expansion features unique loading screen artwork – you see it every time you enter the game, so it’s really memorable for fans. This print showcases the new Ossus/Dantooine story line, with Darth Malgus right in the center with the Jedi and Sith factions on either side. This print measures approximately 21.5cm by 12.5cm.

As well as the print, the swag bag also included a poster. This poster features original artwork of two of the central characters in the current game story line – Darth Malgus and Jedi Knight Tau Idair. I love collecting Star Wars posters, and I was lucky enough to snag a full size SWTOR poster from a local store when the game first launched – but I always wanted more SWTOR artwork for my walls, and now I do! This poster measures approximately 43cm by 28cm.

My personal favourite item from the swag bag was the free t-shirt. In the past I have hunted down SWTOR promotional t-shirts on eBay, but now I finally have a free one of my very own. They had lots of stock available – it was so great to able to choose my size. Honestly, I wish a Star Wars apparel brand would make SWTOR t-shirts for fans to buy, I need more!

The unisex t-shirt features the classic SWTOR Galactic Republic and Sith Empire split logo symbol printed in blue and red on the front, while the back features the SWTOR Onslaught expansion logo in white, and the left sleeve features the Bioware logo.

Last but not least – SWTOR pins! The swag bag contained not one, but three enamel pins. The first features the classic black and yellow version of the SWTOR split faction logo, while the other two feature the lightsabers of Darth Malgus and newcomer Jedi Knight Tau Idair.

I also stopped by the SWTOR fan community tables at Celebration Chicago – it was great to see that these booths were always busy with fans and costumers hanging out. Of course I also grabbed some of the free fan-made swag available to add to our SWTOR collection. I love the pins and postcards, and I entered the giveaway – I even won a free in-game item!

It made me so happy to see a great SWTOR presence at Celebration Chicago this year – from fan tables, to costumes, swag and of course the cantina event. SWTOR is a big part of my Star Wars fandom, and I love to celebrate it with others.

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During Star Wars Celebration Chicago in April 2019, Bioware held a community cantina fan event for Star Wars The Old Republic. As I was attending Celebration Chicago, I was excited to also attend a fan event for my favourite Star Wars game.

To coincide with the Star Wars Celebration event happening from April 11-15th 2019 in Chicago, there will be a Cantina event. This is your chance to join the Star Wars: The Old Republic community for a Q&A with the development team, complimentary drinks, giveaways, and more. Attendees will also receive Cantina exclusive swag!

Space is limited, so be sure to come early. If you’re in the area and would like to hang out, be sure to stop by and meet everyone!

Venue: Marriot Marquis Chicago in the Grand Ballroom
Address: 2121 S Prairie Ave, Chicago IL 60616
Date: Saturday, April 13th 2019
Time: 7:00 – 11:00PM CST

I have attended a SWTOR community cantina before, back at Star Wars Celebration Anaheim in 2015. It was a great event, and I definitely was looking forward to attending another. Thankfully this year’s cantina was held within walking distance from the Celebration convention, which was great!

The event was hosted by SWTOR team members Eric Musco, Charles Boyd, and Keith Kanneg, with many other team members in attendance as well. It was a great chance for fans to be able to meet them in person, and thank the people that help create a game we love and enjoy playing so much.

The slideshow presentation revealed lots of upcoming new content – first up, Dantooine with a new daily area/event. This has been released now, and I love the event – and there’s even alternate quests to do when the event isn’t running (I love patting the kath hounds). Still need to hunt down the food items for the achievement, that will take a while.

The rest of the new content that was revealed during the slideshow hasn’t been released yet – I’ve had a little look at Onderon on the public test server, and it looks amazing! I can’t wait for the full release soon.

• New Planet – Onderon
• New Planet – Mek-sha
• New Flashpoint – Corellia
• New Operation – Dxun

One reveal that got me really excited straight away – Nautolan as a new playable species! It’s true I already have a lot of characters, but I can’t help it, I want to try out all the different advance classes/skill trees. I’ve been waiting for a new species to add a bit of variety to my line-up, so I’m really looking forward to getting a better look at all the customisation options.

Another great reveal – the level cap will be increased to 75, along with new abilities. The slideshow presentation also went into a bit more detail about the whole new gearing and set bonus systems that are coming. Sounds like it will be quite a change compared to the current gear system, but I’m keen to explore the variety and options.

The swag bag for attendees was fantastic – a postcard with two in-game flair codes, a poster, unisex t-shirt, and three enamel pins! I was so happy to see that they had heaps of t-shirts, so fans could choose their size. Stay tuned for a separate post taking a closer look at these cool SWTOR collectibles.

After the main presentation, the SWTOR team invited fans to assemble for a big group costume photo. There were so many incredible costumes – Darth Revan, Darth Malgus, Arcann and Thexan, Kira, Lana Beniko, Theron Shan, Satele Shan, Dread Masters and more!

The night ended with the SWTOR game trailers playing on the big screen, as fans mingled with the SWTOR team, picked up their swag, and chatted with fellow fans.

This was just a fantastic event – I had a great time celebrating my favourite game with fellow players and fans. The SWTOR team shared some really exciting upcoming content – I can’t wait for the Onslaught expansion coming soon!

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A new arrival, thanks to a great sale – the Funko Pop! Vinyl 2019 Galactic Convention Exclusive Princess Leia ‘Gold Chrome’ figure. This sculpt depicts Princess Leia in her white dress from A New Hope, with her dress hood up.

The gold chrome finish is quite neat – like a mini Leia award statue. I’m not a completist Funko collector, but I’m trying to fill some gaps in my Leia collection. I’m happy this convention exclusive figure was available locally, and after waiting patiently, I grabbed it on sale for less than a standard figure.

Some day I hope to track down the Celebration Chicago 2019 exclusive ‘blue chrome’ version, to complete this mini-set of ‘hood up’ Princess Leia figures (while I was able to attend Celebration, sadly I didn’t win the Funko ‘lottery’ to be able to buy their exclusives).

It would be neat if they released this sculpt in a regular painted version (like it is pictured on the box), as the standard Princess Leia A New Hope figure is quite a different design.

Here is the gold chrome Princess Leia alongside the ‘hologram’ version from the Leia/R2-D2 two-pack, and the original Leia AHH figure. I still have a few Princess Leia Pop! Vinyls left to track down, but this gold chrome figure is definitely a favourite.

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