Celebrating STAR WARS

Wow! It's been a busy weekend with plenty of news updates for Star Wars Celebration Chicago! The first pieces in the Art Show have been revealed with pre-orders starting on Wednesday! The Road to Celebration pin badge sales have started! Skytalking Through Neverland and the Collider Jedi Council have been added to the Podcast Stage ! And we learnt the warm up hosts and DJs for the main stages! I hope anyone reading this site is finding it useful. I apologise for not being completely on top of all the updates last week. I've now updated the Guest page with prices and sales links for all the guests announced last week, the new group photo ops, and added information about the Star Wars Authentics pre-order for those who can't make it to Celebration. I've updated the Art Show page with all the pieces revealed so far (we're about halfway and should see the rest before pre-orders start on Wednesday). And I've tidied up the Exclusives page and add...

Celebration Stage 2015, Photo from The Daily Dot The official Celebration website has been updated with the warm up hosts and DJs for the main stages. Keeping fans entertained whilst they wait for the many incredible panels will be warm-up host Mark Daniel and DJ Elliot Hansen on the Celebration Stage, and warm-up host Amanda Wirtz and DJ Dave Griffiths on the Galaxy Stage! And on the show floor itself, Cameron Matthews will be the warm-up host for the StarWars.com Stage. All of these, along with Celebrations incredible hosts and ever growing guest list, can now be found on the Guests page !

Dark Ink has posted our first look at some of the incredible art show prints for Celebration 2019! Not only that, they've also announced that pre-orders for these amazing pieces will begin on Wednesday, February 27th, at noon PT. The pre-order will run until noon March 15th. After that point any prints which have not sold out will be available as first come, first served at Celebration. The full reveal has not yet taken place and there are more pieces still to be added ahead of Wednesday's pre-orders. You can check out a sampling of what's been revealed so far below, and head over to my Art Show page for artists, pricing, and to see everything revealed so far!

After a false start on Friday, the first set of exclusive Road to Celebration pins are now on sale! Costing $45.00 the set includes exclusive pins of Qui-Gon Jinn, Darth Maul, Jar Jar Binks, and Watto plus an exclusive shirt featuring the pin art and a 20th Anniversary The Phantom Menace logo! To purchase yours head to ReedPOP's online store , log in, and click "VIEW THE ROAD TO CELEBRATION PAGE". Even if you've not received the email from ReedPOP with your personal log in details (I didn't), you should be able to view the page as long as your log in email matches the one you purchased your Celebration tickets with. The countdown to Celebration has officially begun!

The Road to Celebration has begun! The official Celebration website has been updated with all the details on this year's pin trading program and all the exciting things planned as we countdown to the biggest Star Wars Celebration ever! Pin Trading is back! This year's pin collection features over 45 characters designed by artist Chrissie Zullo. When you bought your Celebration tickets you had the chance to purchase the first mystery pin in the collection, and Jedi Master's will receive an exclusive character pin as part of their VIP package. Now, the first of three Road to Celebration pin sets has been revealed. Since this year is the 20th anniversary of The Phantom Menace , The first set features Darth Maul, Qui-Gon Jinn, Jar Jar Binks, and Watto. This set will go on sale tomorrow, Friday 22nd February, and come with an exclusive Road to Celebration shirt (likely featuring the pin badge art). Two more sets will follow in the coming weeks. The s...

The first panel has been announced!! The Phantom Menace 20th Anniversary Panel ! Taking place on Monday, April 15th (the one day you can still get tickets for!) on the Celebration Stage, this panel will no doubt feature stars of the first prequel looking back at the making and legacy of Episode I . No further details have been announced, but if it's anything like 2017's 40th anniversary panel we can probably expect a few surprise guests that will make this one of the can't miss panels of Celebration.

Yesterday The Star Wars Show and the official site announced the next wave of guests for Star Wars Celebration Chicago, and there's some fantastic new additions to the line up! First up is scoundrel turned rebel hero, Lando Calrissian himself, Billy Dee Williams! Next up is everyone's favourite ex-Imperial droid Alan Tudyk (K-2SO)! Joining them are two more heroes of the alliance, Rebels ' Freddie Prinze Jr. (Kanan) and Taylor Gray (Ezra). Rounding out yesterday's announcement were more stars of the Original Trilogy! John Morton (Luke's gunner, Dak), Julian Glover (General Veers), Michael Culver (Captain Needa), and Anthony Forrest (the Sandtrooper who was famously Jedi mind tricked by Obi-Wan Kenobi). We're less than 50 days away and there are more guests still to be announced so make sure you keep watching The Star Wars Show every Wednesday for the latest announcements. And head over to Epic Photo Ops t...

Chicago is famous for its food. From deep dish pizza to Italian beef to Chicago style hot dogs. Whilst you're in Chicago you will definitely want to try some of the local cuisine. Now, there's plenty of guides online to the best foods to try in Chicago. From the best deep dish in town to the best cookies, a quick Google search will give you all you need to know. So for this guide I'm going to focus mainly on what's available near McCormick Place itself. McCormick Place West McCormick's West Building, which will be home to Star Wars Celebration, offers a range of dining options, including some you don't even have to leave the show floor for! First up is the West Hall Cafe. This is located on the show floor making it the most convenient place to eat, and likely the busiest as well! The cafe offers Mediterranean pizzas and paninis, gourmet burgers and chicken sandwiches, along with a range of express to go sandwiches, salads and snacks. If you're plan o...

Picture via TheForce.net Forums The first exclusive is here! Earlier today, at New York Toy Fair, Hasbro announced that they are bringing two exclusive figures to Celebration Chicago in April! The first is an all new figure of Obi-Wan Kenobi from The Phantom Menace , and accompanying him is a re-release of Darth Maul, updated with the new photo real face printing technology that the latest Black Series figures have featured. The figures will come on Celebration exclusive retro card backs based on 1999's The Phantom Menace toy line, featuring the visage of Darth Maul and a striking red and black colour scheme. Both figures will be available as regular retail releases later in the year. Obi-Wan in the main Black Series line this Summer, and Maul in the new Black Series Archive line in Fall. Sale details have not yet been announced. Recent Celebrations have required a wristband or ticket, distributed ahead of show opening, in order to purchase the exclu...

Just a quick update to say that guest autographs and photo ops are now on sale via Epic Photo Ops and are selling fast! Peter Mayhew's Thursday and Friday photo ops have already sold out, proving once again that the Wookiee always wins! I've update the Guests page with pricing and direct links to each guest and group photo op, but you can head straight to the Epic Photo Ops' page right here . Remember, if a guest sells out online during presale there will be no more tickets available on site. A photo op ticket is good for up to four people in a single photo. If you want additional prints they are $10.00 each and a digital copy is also $10.00 May the Force be with you!

We are now less than 60 days away from Star Wars Celebration Chicago! Let that sink in for a moment. Less than 2 months until what promises to be the biggest Celebration so far! And with that in mind the Star Wars Celebration have announced three more guests today and confirmed that tickets for all both autographs and photo ops will go on sale Wednesday February 13th at midday PST (that's 2pm Central and 8pm GMT). The official site confirms that if an autograph or photo op session sells out during pre-orders, then it is sold out and there will not be additional sales during the show. So if you know there's someone you have to meet, grab your tickets as quickly as possible, especially for the big names! For any photo ops and autographs that don't sell out ahead of time, you will be able to purchase tickets from Topps on site at Celebration. Joining the Celebration line up today is the Emperor himself, Ian McDiarmid! Star of Return of the Jedi and the Prequel Tri...

The Star Wars Show is back! After a winter hiatus that seemed to last forever, Andi and Anthony are back bringing news direct from the Lucasfilm headquarters, including more guests for Celebration Chicago! The Guest list keeps growing with stars spanning the entire Star Wars Saga. First up, a man who needs no introduction, the one and only Peter Mayhew is returning to Celebration! Joining him from the Original Trilogy is Return of the Jedi 's Michael Pennington (Moff Jerjerrod) Temuera Morrison (Jango Fett) joins his on screen son, representing the Prequel Trilogy. The Clone Wars continues to make a strong showing with Dee Bradley Baker (Captain Rex), Tom Kane (Yoda) and Catherine Taber ( Padm é Am idala) joining the already announced Clone Wars line up. Rebels gets represented with Vanessa Marshall (Hera Syndulla) and Jason Isaacs (Grand Inquisitor) And joining their Resistance co-stars are Myrna Velasco (Torra Doza) and Donal...

If you're not driving then Celebration's McCormick Place can look a little isolated. Sure, there's Uber and Lyft, as well as good old fashioned taxis, but over a week that can really add up. Ok, nothing beats the freedom of driving yourself, or the door to door service that Lyft/Uber can provide, especially if the weather feels like you'd be warmer on Hoth, but for those of us on a budget or just looking for an inexpensive way to get around, Chicago's public transport is second to none and offers fans a great way to explore the city. Run by the Chicago Transit Authority , Chicago has America's second largest public transport system with a bus and rail network that serves the city and 40 neighbouring communities! The main way to get around is on the L Train. With 2 stations within walking distance of McCormick Place, it's easy to reach Celebration from wherever you are staying in the city. The Green Line Cermak-McCormick Place is closest, just a 5...