W.VA THE OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

Just in case you didn't catch it on TF.N's front page:
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Star Wars Celebration III, the much-anticipated fan gathering that will celebrate the Star Wars saga in advance of the opening of Star Wars Episode III, will return to the Indiana Convention Center April 21 to April 24, 2005.

The announcement of the location and dates of the convention was made jointly by Lucasfilm Ltd. and Gen Con LLC. Gen Con will manage the convention on behalf of Lucasfilm and the Official Star Wars Fan Club. Celebration II, held in Indianapolis in May 2002, attracted more than 26,000 fans from all over the world.

"We had such a great experience with Celebration II, that it just made sense to return to Indianapolis," said Steve Sansweet, Director of Content Management and head of Fan Relations for Lucasfilm. "Only this time we're going to do it bigger and even better. It's going to be an event that no fan will want to miss" Sansweet said that advance indications point to a significant increase in attendance at the event, which will take place several weeks before the Spring 2005 release of Star Wars Episode III. Because of that, and to mitigate long lines common to such conventions, Celebration III will occupy the entire convention center except for the RCA Dome. Also, the convention has been extended for a day, and will open around mid-day on Thursday, April 21.

"Gen Con is thrilled to be working with Lucasfilm on this very special event," said Peter Adkison, owner of Gen Con LLC, producer of Gen Con® Indy, which also is held at the Indiana Center. "Together I know that we will produce an event that will not only meet, but exceed, fans' expectations. With Lucasfilm behind this show 100%, it's going to be the biggest party in the history of the franchise."

Sansweet noted that the Celebration III announcement is being made far earlier than the announcements for the first two official Star Wars fan conventions. "We want to give our fans all over the world the chance to plan their vacation time for this one-of-a-kind event," he said. "We've already been getting requests for information from Australia to Hungary."

Details about programming, guests, activities, entertainment and exclusive merchandise at Celebration III will be released as they are confirmed closer to the convention. The main places to check for information will be www.starwars.com, the official site, and www.starwarscelebration.com. Online ordering for admission to the event and for discounted hotel rooms is scheduled to begin late this summer.
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Note the bold areas above. The first, IMO, is great, because it takes the pressure off of getting there early in the morning on the first day. You can get settled into your hotel rooms, get things together, and you're good to go!

Now the second part is about what I expected. The only thing is that you have to commit so far ahead of time. Speaking for myself, I have no problem with it, because as you've heard from myself and DR ad nauseum, Celebrations ROCK! Hopefully by then, we can add some numbers to our ranks as well.

 

I am going - there is no question about it! I refuse to miss this....


Fettish

 

Yep I saw it......ofcourse im going!!