Category: Star Wars Celebration

THE Star Wars convention from around the world

There have been 13 Celebrations, and counting, in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, and Japan. Rancho Obi-Wan has exhibited at five of these and Steve has been to all of them. We’ll share photos and video from Celebrations-past and as we prep for the future.
 
 
 
 

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Visit Rancho Obi-Wan Booth and See Saga Museum Member Panels at Star Wars Celebration Japan!

If you’re attending Star Wars Celebration, be sure to visit the Rancho Obi-Wan booth and see Saga Museum member panels at Star Wars Celebration Japan!

Visit the Rancho Obi-Wan booth to draw your own Star Wars Sketch Card and see select items from our collection, and collections of The Saga Museum collector’s Duncan Jenkins and Gus Lopez.

Gus Lopez will be a presenter for  the Star Wars Coins and Medallions Panel Friday, April 18th, 12:30pm–1:30pm on the Collector’s Stage.

Duncan Jenkins will be part of the The Colorful World of Vintage Keshigomu (Rubber Erasers) Panel Saturday, April 19th, 12:30pm–1:30pm on the Collector’s Stage.   *See Keshigomu sneak peek now!

Visit Rancho Obi-Wan booth and see Saga Museum member panels at Star Wars Celebration Japan!

Duncan Jenkins and Gus Lopez will be presenting the  Inspiring and Serving the Community Through Star Wars Memorabilia Panel Saturday, April 19th, 2:30pm–3:30pm on the Fan Stage.  This panel is about The Saga Museum of Star Wars Memorabilia Initiative of Rancho Obi-Wan and will cover the history and background on the five extraordinary collections that will be part of the Saga Museum, and feature a glimpse of the incredible Star Wars items and stories that will be unveiled to the public.

Duncan Jenkins will be a presenter for the Star Wars Around the House Panel on Sunday, April 20th 1:00pm–2:00pm on the Collector’s Stage.  This fun panel will cover household and kitchen products from a galaxy far, far away!

Bonus! Gus Lopez will be hosting all the panels at the Collector’s Stage at Star Wars Celebration Japan!

We hope everyone has a wonderful time celebrating Star Wars together at Star Wars Celebration Japan 2025!

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The Colorful World of Keshigomu Star Wars Characters and Vehicles

Let’s take a look at the colorful world of Keshigomu Star Wars Characters and Vehicles first released from Japan in 1978!

Keshigomu means “rubber eraser” and they have been a very popular area of collecting in Japan since the 1970s.  There are countless lines from almost every imaginable franchise.  So, it’s no wonder that there were multiple series keshi (as the word is usually shortened colloquially) of Star Wars characters and vehicles when the film was first released in Japan in 1978. 

We will only discuss one series now, but later installments will deal with the others.  If you can’t wait that long, there is still time to book a flight an attend Star Wars Celebration Japan in Tokyo where I will be on a panel entitled “The Colorful World of Keshigomu” on April 19 from 12:30 to 1pm.  Also, the Rancho Obi-Wan booth at Celebration Japan will showcase some of these interesting and fun collectibles so stop by to see them.

People (especially kids) love loopholes in the rules and that, I have been told, is the impetuous for the rise in popularity of Keshigomu.  An obvious rule is you can’t bring toys to school.  But what if you were only bringing an eraser to class?  No problem.  What if that eraser just happened to look like your favorite cartoon character or a starship?  Now you’ve managed to fight the system and have a fun way to escape the tedium of preparing for the rest of your life.  Don’t be fooled that any actual erasing took place with these toys [err..] legitimate school supplies.

Keshi are inexpensive and can be purchased in many ways from capsule machines (what we would call gumball machines) to kiosks and even premiums in food promotions.  The first line we will discuss is from a company called Maruka Toy Company.  These small size erasers (not toys) were sold in 50-piece bags.  I don’t know about you but I don’t think I have used up 50 erasers in my entire life.  These bags were filled with random Star Wars vehicles and characters roughly an inch and a half tall in a rainbow of colors.  Each color was available in opaque and translucent.  So, you can see that completing a full set can be quite a challenge.  And we all know collectors like a challenge.  The small Maruka series consists of the Millennium Falcon, Landspeeder, X-Wing, Y-Wing, TIE Fighter, the Escape Pod (looking more like a Soyuz Capsule), and the intrepid droid duo C-3PO & R2-D2 providing the only actual characters in the bags.

The Colorful World of Keshigomu Star Wars Characters and Vehicles

If a 50-piece bag wasn’t in a young kid’s budget or they were a budding gambler, they could instead choose to purchase the keshi in sealed paper bags that each contained five random erasers (not toys) from the line.  Interestingly, it seems that a Star Destroyer was available only in these blind bags.  In addition to the five colorful vehicles or droids, there was a piece of paper letting the buyer know if they were a winner or loser.  If they were a loser, all the young student could do was hang their head in shame and exit the store.  But if they were a winner they were treated to a free exclusive keshi of either Darth Vader or R2-D2 (slightly different than the plain Artoo found in regular packs).  Four different images can be found on the paper blind bags: Darth Vader or the Droids (shown here) plus the Space Battle photo and the Japanese version of the Hildebrandt art.

The Colorful World of Keshigomu Star Wars Characters and Vehicles

You might think surely that is enough keshi for one movie, but, as they say in Japan “Au contraire mon frère.”  This is just the beginning.  But you will have to wait patiently for the next installment.

As a postscript, when Gus Lopez and I wrote our eponymous price guide “Gus and Duncan’s Comprehensive Guide to Star Wars Collectibles”, we listed the 50-piece bag of the small Maruka keshi in the Toy chapter.  But don’t tell any Japanese teachers or the jig will be up and the loophole will be closed.

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MANY Thanks to MANY people for a Successful Star Wars Celebration Anaheim 2022!

For this year’s Star Wars Celebration, ReedPop asked us to create a high-quality exhibit to fill 6,000 square feet on the third floor rather than our normal 900 square feet in the exhibit hall. That’s a great big empty room to fill, so we partnered with fellow collectors and Rancho Obi-Wan Board members Gus Lopez, Duncan Jenkins, and Lisa Stevens and Vic Wertz to execute the vision for this space. Each of the four collections is unique and provided a balance of amazing objects from concept, to screen, to collectible, to fan-made. We have many people to thank for helping bring this vision to reality for Celebration in Anaheim.

Rancho Obi-Wan Boba Fett to Bo-Katan Exhibit

We welcomed just over 8,000 visitors over four days, and we hope the experience we created for you brought a lot of joy, laughter, warm feelings of nostalgia, and the rush of awe and wonder. Thank you for coming!

Rancho Obi-Wan Boba Fett to Bo-Katan Exhibit

Star Wars Celebration Anaheim 2022

Our main exhibit, Boba Fett to Bo-Katan: The Evolution of the Mandalorians, and four smaller exhibits, What’s in a Name, The History of Star Tots, Cascading Grogu in Ombré, and 10 Years of Rancho Obi-Wan, took seven months of brainstorming, planning, curating and designing. We ultimately brought almost 600 unique objects from all four collections to display in 20 different cases.

Star Wars Celebration Anaheim Exhibit

We also had our popular wheel spin, the general store, a fundraising raffle, and—new this year—a Create Your Own Sketch Card program area. We received 347 brilliant works of art from all ages around the world (including one from the man himself, Dave Filoni).

Star Wars Celebration Dave Filoni Sketch Card

Our mission to inspire came to fruition at this single small table at the exit of the Boba Fett exhibit. We had created a story, found objects in our collections to support that story, displayed them for visitors to enjoy, and then watched them pour that inspiration into works of art. To come full circle, we’ll be scanning the art and sharing them on our social channels over the next many months. I guarantee these pieces will, in turn, inspire others, and so the mission is fulfilled exponentially!

Star Wars Celebration Sketch Card

Ultimately, bringing this exceptionally large exhibit to Celebration was exceptionally hard. I’ve likened the experience to running a marathon and then immediately running several sprints. But at least our gang of volunteers was running together and picking up one another when one of us fell. Rancho Obi-Wan may be the result of Steve Sansweet’s passion, but its foundation is a group of incredible people who work hard, who work often, who care for the collection as their own, and who care for its founder and fellow volunteers as their family.

Star Wars Celebration Thank You

Please join me in thanking the following 76 people for getting it done:

Steve Sansweet
presents
The Rancho Obi-Wan Experience
at Star Wars Celebration Anaheim 2022

Star Wars Celebration

Introducing
The Saga Museum
a World-Class Collaboration
featuring the collections of
Steve Sansweet
Gus Lopez
Duncan Jenkins
Lisa Stevens & Vic Wertz

Star Wars Celebration

Produced by Anne Neumann

Boba Fett to Bo-Katan Exhibit

Research
Vic Wertz

Story
Vic Wertz
Steve Sansweet

Curating
Anne Neumann
Dan Norgan
Duncan Jenkins
Gus Lopez
Lisa Stevens
Michael Wistock
Rich Smolen
Vic Wertz

Captions
Vic Wertz
Anne Neumann

Interpretive Plan & Design
Anne Neumann
Paula Millstone

Installation
Anne Jenkins
Lisa Stevens
Rich Smolen
Vic Wertz
Freeman

What’s in a Name Exhibit
Duncan Jenkins

Star Wars Celebration 2022

History of Star Tots Exhibit
Gus Lopez

Cascading Grogu in Ombre Exhibit
Anne Neumann

10 Years of Rancho Obi-Wan Exhibit
Anne Neumann

Exhibit Prep Marathon
Aileen Sweeney
Bob Canning
Brian Allbright
Carl Wagner, Carpentry
Consetta Parker, Social Media
Curt Hanks, Graphic Design
Dan Norgan, Technology
David Leonard
Duncan Jenkins
Dwayne Smith
Giuseppe Lipari
Gus Lopez
Jeff Neckers
Kaden Smith
Lisa Stevens
Lorena Gies
Marc Morita
Marino Frugoli
Marlon Sarabosing
Michael Wistock
Phillip Barr
Rich Smolen, Online Exhibit Galleries
Shannon Smith
Steve Gies
Steve Sansweet
Stewart Levy
Tahal Royce
Troy Brierly
Vic Wertz
Yannik Morales

Exhibit Set-Up 200m Sprint
Anne Jenkins
Anne Neumann
Duncan Jenkins
Dwayne Smith
Eric Plummer
Gus Lopez
Jason Neurath
Lisa Stevens
Lorena Gies
Marc Morita
Michael Wistock
Rich Smolen
Steve Sansweet
Stewart Levy
Susan Rogers
Tony Clemens
Vic Wertz
Victoria Webb

Exhibit Management 400m Sprint
Anne Neumann, Manager

Anne Jenkins, Assistant to Steve Sansweet
Consetta Parker, Social Media & Scheduling
Duncan Jenkins, Docent
Gus Lopez, Docent
Jason Neurath, Steve’s personal shopper
Joe Churin, Remote Suburban Support
Lisa Stevens, Docent
Lorena Gies, General Store
Mark Rusciano, Videography
Rich Smolen, General Store
Stewart Levy, Wheel Manager & Chauffeur
Steve Sansweet, Docent
Susan Rogers, General Store & Sketch Card Program Manager
Victoria Webb, Photography
Vic Wertz, Docent

Volunteers
Tracy Kelly, Volunteer Coordinator

Tracy Kelly, On-Site Manager
Angel-Marie Ashley, On-Site Manager
Tony Clemens, On-Site Manager

Aileen Sweeney
Amanda Jamnicky
Anne Marie Lehmeyer
Charmaine Cuddie
Chuck Goddard
Davina Deschain
Derek Fecke
Dwayne Smith
Eric Plummer
Grace Chang
Jason Thomas
Jeff Caffrey
Jeff Ellis
Jennifer Sanders
Jon Nagel
Kay Fluhler
Kelly DuBose
Kenny Dow
Kort Peters
Kris Dow
Laura Takao
Lawrence Green
Marc Morita
Matt Kamimura
Melissa Hillman
Nick Dellow
Nick Gillispie
Peter Jamnicky
Rachael Royce
Reggie Clark
Rosy Mendoza
Steven Newcomb
Tahal Royce
Tammy Ross
Tate Dellow
Toni McIntire
Werner DeGruyter
Wes Middleton
Yannik Morales

Exhibit Tear-Down 100m Sprint
Anne Jenkins
Anne Neumann
Duncan Jenkins
Dwayne Smith
Gus Lopez
Lisa Stevens
Lorena Gies
Marc Morita
Michael Wistock
Rich Smolen
Steve Sansweet
Stewart Levy
Susan Rogers
Tony Clemens
Vic Wertz
Victoria Webb
Werner Degruyter

Exhibit Wind-Down Half-Marathon
Anne Neumann
Carl Wagner
Consetta Parker
Dwayne Smith
Octavia Churin
Steve Sansweet
Stewart Levy
Victoria Webb

The only core group shot we got and which I totally forgot was taken by Victoria (not shown). Something apparently hilarious happened. 🙂


 

 

Anne Neumann is President and CEO of Rancho Obi-Wan, former Volunteer Coordinator and Fan Club Breakfast Manager for Official Pix, and previously a Systems Analyst at the University of Texas at Austin.

See more Star Wars Celebration with Rancho Obi-Wan

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Packing for Rancho Obi-Wan Exhibit at Star Wars Celebration is a Galactic Endeavor!

Preparing and packing for the Rancho Obi-Wan exhibit for Star Wars Celebration is a galactic endeavor… Do you think we wrapped Boba Fett in bubble wrap or encased him in carbonite for his trip to Anaheim? Watch this video to find out!

Huge thanks to our amazing volunteers for always being there to help. *And special thanks to Rex for allowing Boba to borrow his suitcase!

Bonus: Here are some sneak peek photos of a few of the collectibles we’ll be bringing to Anaheim for Star Wars fans of all ages to enjoy.

See photos from Star Wars Celebration 2022!

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May the 4th be with YOU!

Happy day everyone. There’s a lot going on, but find an hour or two to watch our Facebook Lives from last year celebrating the 40th anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back. If you like these videos, get much more by signing up for our Virtual Museum–only $10/month!

Originally posted August 31, 2020

Star Wars Celebration Anaheim 2020 was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Rancho Obi-Wan Experience booth was to exhibit a selection of items celebrating the 40th anniversary of The Empire Strikes Back. Conceptualized by our docents, Dan Norgan and Michelle Norgan, it would have taken you on a journey from concept to screen to collectible. Here is part 1 & part 2 of a Facebook Live showcasing many of the items that would have been on exhibit, plus others we would not have been able to bring. In addition, in part 1, take a tour through our bedroom exhibit that was installed at Star Wars Celebration Orlando 2017. In part 2, take a rare view of one of our back storage isles.

Produced by Mark Rusciano
Support by Consetta Parker

Part 1:

Part 2:

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So much news!

Save the date, hints, exhibits and deep dive tours.

Thank you!

On behalf of everyone at Rancho Obi-Wan, THANK YOU for coming to see us at Star Wars Celebration Chicago. It was great to see so many friends and make new ones. Your support there was integral to our continued operation. If you didn’t get to Chicago, we hope to see you at Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim, August 27-30, 2020 where our exhibit will take you back 40 years to Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.

Continue reading “So much news!”
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Many thanks!

To everyone who came to see us and support us at The Rancho Obi-Wan Experience booth at Star Wars Celebration Chicago–THANK YOU! Thank you for visiting, for donating, for buying something, for playing Star Wars with Friends, for spinning the wheel, for bringing your friends and family, for smiling and taking photos, for being inspired by Star Wars!

Continue reading “Many thanks!”
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Rancho Obi-Wan Coming to Star Wars Celebration Chicago

Rancho Obi-Wan will be bringing an exhibit to Star Wars Celebration Chicago in April! See the full story on StarWars.com!

For more information on Star Wars Celebration see StarWarsCelebration.com.

Current supporting members of Rancho Obi-Wan get a line jump pass! Become a member today and save time at the convention.

A pre-order for merchandise is forthcoming and will be announced here. We hope to see you all there!

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ROW @ Star Wars Celebration Orlando 2017

Rancho Obi-Wan will be exhibiting at Star Wars Celebration Orlando, April 13-16, 2017, booth 2701 near the main entrance to Exhibit Hall B.

To commemorate the 40th Anniversary of Star Wars, the Rancho exhibit will create a Star Wars bedroom and play area of the era that kids and fans could only dream about. It will be filled with vintage Star Wars memorabilia from all over the world. Come meet owner Steve Sansweet and get his autograph (always free!)
Continue reading “ROW @ Star Wars Celebration Orlando 2017”

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