It?s nearly a week after the big TFN Jedi Council/FanForce Party, and it all looks like a success. The night started off a little slowly, but by the end of the night we estimate that we had around 450 people go through the doors during the course of the evening (we?ll post an update of the actual count when it?s checked). We can?t thank enough the assistance provided by both the event sponsors and co-ordinating crew.

Guest band, Sex Wing Starfighter, kicked off the night with some of their Star Wars based songs. The official introductory video didn?t quite go as planned with some technical difficulties causing audio issues (what a surprise that something message board related experienced problems with computer connections). But that didn?t slow things down too much, with Hooper Kristin Sirota performing along with the music during SWS?s second and third sets.

A touching video produced by FanForce?s Rachel Williams commemorating the members of the FanForce/Jedi Council family that had sadly passed away brought a somber but cathartic mood.
Raffles held through the night for various items made for some happy winners, especially those that won the tickets to ?Last Tour to Endor? that were provided by LucasFilm. Official Pix had also provided a full set of their Metallix pins with two exclusive extras that will be up for a silent auction after the end of Celebration V and more information will be provided on these shortly. Once this has been concluded all profits will be donated equally to 3 charities: the Make-A-Wish Foundation in the US; Beyond Blue in Australia (a national depression initiative); and the World Childhood Foundation in Europe.

The biggest part of the night was the chance for attendees to meet and chat with other fans that they haven?t had the chance to meet in person before, and with the many Star Wars celebrities that joined us. The biggest reaction of the night was the late arrival of Seth Green, Tom Root and Matthew Senreich from Robot Chicken, along with that of the majority of the Clone Wars cartoon crew including Dave Filoni, Tom Kane, James A Taylor, Matt Lanter, Dee Bradley Baker, and Catherine Taber. Del Rey authors Troy Denning, Aaron Allston and Christie Golden enjoyed the chance to talk with fans of their Fate of the Jedi series, as did Dan Wallace and Jason Fry with their recent books. Dark Horse Comics was represented by writer John Jackson Miller and artist Jan Duursema, and ?A New Hope actor Chris Muncke happily joked with fans (and apologies to all those other celebrities that showed up, running around I lost track fairly quickly of those that came in who I did not instantly recognize or have photos of).

Thanks have to go to the companies that donated items for our raffle including LucasFilm, Del Rey Books, Hallmark, the Rocky Mountains Fan Force, artist Darryl Woods, and Official Pix among others.

The night also would not have been as successful as it was without the efforts of a dedicated group of people both in the planning stages and on the night who put the enjoyment of all the guests and attendees ahead of their own, and we cannot begin to thank them enough for what they?ve done. Here?s to hoping for a bigger and better party when Celebration VI rolls around.

We have a feedback thread set up so people can tell us what they thought of the night. Please be respectful but honest. If you think we did something incredibly well or incredibly bad please let us know. If you don?t feel comfortable posting your thoughts feel free to email Dajuan. We hope to do this again in a couple years and your opinions will be a big help!