#14–TPM Spawned Star Wars Celebrations
The reason why Star Wars have their own conventions with girls in Slave Leia outfits, enough stormtroopers to occupy a planet, enough Jedi to restock the Order, the opportunity to stand all day in line to get their fave stars’ autograph, and of course the chance to spend LOTS of money is that the con originally was conceived as a pre-TPM release pep rally.
Originally held April 30-May 2, 1999 at an aviation museum outside of Denver, CO, it drew tens of thousands of fans. The downpours, mud, and chaos made it kind of a Star Wars Woodstock, only without the LSD or mass nudity. At least that’s what I was told. I missed the Great Denver Mud Party. But the conventions remained with the release of every subsequent prequel and three (including the one this summer) since ROTS’s release.
Tags: fan events, TPM
