Watch Time Lapse Video of Rare Star Wars Billboard Sheets Put Together!

1977 Star Wars Billboard

We took a deep dive into the loft area during our Rancho Obi-Wan Virtual Fundraiser Gala in 2021, and discovered rare Star Wars Billboard sheets from 1977!
There were 24 sheets with the date of 11/18/77 and we handled each with great care.

Watch the time lapse video of our team putting together this beautiful piece of Star Wars history!

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The History Channel Gets a Taste of Star Wars at Rancho Obi-Wan

Some of the visitors to Rancho Obi-Wan are diehard collectors who have a mental list of specific things they want to see, such as our collection of carded vintage Kenner action figures. But until recently we’ve never had a guest who was looking to EAT a vintage collectible!

Adam Richman, a genial and knowledgeable pop-culture maven and longtime TV series host, was the first. We were approached in 2021 by a production company putting together a new series for the History channel with an unusual idea. They wanted Adam to revisit pop culture highlights of the 1980s by tasting them! And Star Wars was certainly one of those highlights.

Rancho has lots of packaging for licensed food products from the original Star Wars trilogy, but nearly all of them are empty. (There is that small box somewhere of mummified marshmallow character heads from the UK, but they weren’t easy to locate.) Could we find some four-decade-old food for Adam to discover during a Rancho tour?

A few years ago at a collectors party during Star Wars Celebration there was a contest to see who could finish a bowl of 1984 C-3PO’s cereal first. That was almost too easy since the cereal tasted like dry cardboard even when it was new! But we found a box of sealed 1983 Pepperidge Farm Return of the Jedi cookies in our archives. And we had sealed Topps cards and slabs of bubblegum from The Empire Strikes Back.

Would Adam be up to the challenge? Might I taste something too? I’ve chewed 20 year old Spanish Droids and Ewoks gum, but this was an even greater task. And once I smelled the excruciatingly vile chemical smell coming from the cookie bag, I decided to let Adam have the sole moment of glory.

A lot more happened during the 12-plus hours the crew was at Rancho, and the highlights, if not always tasty, can be seen in the episode of “Adam Eats the 80s” airing this Sunday night, April 10th on The History Channel!

Steve Sansweet is owner and Executive Chairman of Rancho Obi-Wan, former Head of Fan Relations at Lucasfilm and contributor to StarWars.com, and previously the longest-running Bureau Chief of the Wall Street Journal in Los Angeles.

You may also enjoy Scouting the Galaxy with Steve Sansweet

A Bobblehead Surprise from Spain for Steve Sansweet

The Bobbleheads of the Galaxy—The Last Bobblehead, a 2017 graphic novel parody from Spain by artist Enrique Vegas. It contained a surprise for our founder Steve Sansweet.
In an internal panel, Steve is featured inside a carbonite block with a Rancho Obi-Wan sign hanging nearby, in the “humble establishment” of someone who considers himself the ultimate collector!

A Look Behind the Scenes of Our Virtual Gala 2021

Star Wars Posters

Our mission here at Rancho Obi-Wan is to inspire! We are inspired by all the support from everyone near and far that help us continue to share our collection of the World’s largest Star Wars Memorabilia Collection!

We couldn’t have brought our our Virtual Fundraising Gala 2021 to you without the help of our volunteers and docents. 

Here are a few fun behind the scenes photos taken during our Virtual Fundraiser Gala 2021.  Featured: Rancho Obi-Wan founder, Steve Sansweet. Volunteer Director of Production Mark Rusciano and Docent Dwayne Smith. *Photos by Consetta Parker, Special Projects and Media Manager for Rancho Obi-Wan 

Be sure you’re subscribed to our free newsletter for updates on our Next Fundraising Gala that will be IN PERSON August 20, 2022!
Continue reading “A Look Behind the Scenes of Our Virtual Gala 2021”

Thank you ALL for your support!

Thank you for watching our Virtual Gala, buying merch from our CustomInk fundraisers, catching up to 12-years of support, becoming new Members, renewing old Memberships, joining our Virtual Museum, filling out paperwork for corporate matching, liking us and sharing on social media, creating Facebook fundraisers, adding us as your charity of choice on Amazon and HumbleBundle, and sending notes of love and support.

With your help, Rancho Obi-Wan is humbled and honored to preserve all aspects of Star Wars fandom for you and future generations. Our mission is to celebrate the Star Wars community, promote Star Wars collecting as a positive hobby, educate and inspire all ages, conserve and interpret Star Wars memorabilia, and provide fun and exciting exhibits that bring joy to everyone.

We hope to see you in the new year!

– Steve & Anne
– Our Directors, Docents & Crew

Virtual Gala October 23, 2021, 1-4pm Pacific Time

Join us here on the Virtual Museum to celebrate our 10th anniversary! Make sure you have a current subscription to the Virtual Museum in order to view the video stream.

  • If you joined us last year for the Virtual Gala you already have an account here, but you may need to add a Virtual Museum subscription. You can do that by first logging in to your account and then add a Virtual Museum subscription. Reset your password if needed to get in to your account.
  • If you have had a Virtual Museum subscription in the past and it is on pause or has been cancelled you can reinstate the Virtual Museum subscription from your account page.
  • If you did not join us for last year’s Virtual Gala and you do not have a Virtual Museum subscription, please sign up for a new account. You can pause or cancel anytime.

This year we’re going to spend a lot of time inside the museum showing you some of our favorite things. We’ll also show some typical behind-the-scenes projects.

Have a question? This week, please Tweet @RanchoObiWan your question using #askROW for a chance to have your question answered by the Rancho Obi-Wan team.

And let’s do a “reverse” scavenger hunt! Can Steve find it? This week, please Tweet @RanchoObiWan an item you would like Steve to find in the museum using #ScoutingWithSteve

There will be no auction this year, but we will have some merchandise available via CustomInk through November 1st.

Finally, this is a fundraiser and we really appreciate your help.
There are many ways to support us:

We’re super excited to share the museum with you. See you soon!

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: