Day 1 Of SWCV

The night before was like Christmas eve and we couldn't sleep. We woke up after only a couple of hours of sleep at 7am. A harsh hour especially when you work nights but well worth it. We walk to the Orange County Convention Center from the hotel a mile away. Definitely got the blood flowing. The line was a long one but everyone was friendly. We chatted up several people making new contacts. We even had people stopping us because they recognized us from the becoming a Wampa video.

Upon entering, Jeremy was off to find the exclusive Ralph McQuarrie Bounty Hunter print. I was keeping an eye on his 5 year old son and visiting with everyone's favorite pink droid, R2-KT when I spot a guy that looked a hell of alot like Dave Filoni, the man behind The Clone Wars. He looked our way then headed into the exhibition hall then it dawned on me that it was him. Dave Filoni had announced that he would pin buttons on kids in Clone Wars costumes. The button is the same as the stamp he uses to approve things for the show that says Plo Kool. We were after him at that moment. We actually found him right away and the kid got pinned! I snapped a couple of pics and then shook Filoni's hand and thanked him for all his work. Nice guy.

After that we found Jeremy and I showed him the pics. And he did manage to get the Bounty Hunter print, but I got to meet Filoni (yeah I won't drop this for a few months). We were off to do things for the kid. He got to do a Lego piece for their huge display that later the Wampa was involved with. Check my day 3 info for that. I went off the the Her Universe booth to get my "Daddy's Little Girl" shirt and my Rebel Alliance necklace. I even saw Ashley Eckstein who voices Ahsoka Tano on the Clone Wars. Then we hit a few of the booths and displays then off to the family room so that the kid can have his face painted like Darth Maul and build a little droid of his own. Jeremy decided just then to tell me that in the 501st room I can buy a R2-KT patch. I kinda sorta ran down there. Then it was off to the Droid builders across the way. These people made some amazing droids. Then it was time to end our day at the con and for the kid to go back home.

After a brief nap it was off to the Ice Bar and the Wampa to come out in style. And when I mean in style I mean to the Imperial March. We headed into the 27 degree section of the bar that had ice sculptures, ice seats and even ice cups. We hung out with members of the 501st, Rebel Legion and other patrons. We were in there chillin' literally, well I was, he was fine in his fur suit. I did my handler duty by making sure the costume looked right, handing him water and taking pics for people. We went outside for a few pics. People came into the bar just because they saw him through the door. We decided to hit the dance floor including the Wampa! Yes I have video of it. After 3 hours, we said good bye, I thanked the people at the Ice Bar for their help and letting us hang out then it was back to the hotel for sleep.

Who knew this was just the beginning of what was to come of the weekend. On a side note, I was amazed at how many people knew us from that video. I had people coming up to just me and telling me how awesome it is. I even got bashful at times. I got really shy during most of the weekend. Here are a few pics of the day. Day 2 post to come soon.