This celebration, I had the opportunity to be a sponsor for one of the events taking place. In this case it was The Collector’s Archive/vintage podcast party. All the sponsors helped donate money to help pay for the expenses of the event as well as the items that were included with admission. It was decided that any proceeds would then go to the cause of saving the Manatee. The Manatee theme was then used for many items at the event.
The most expensive admission included one of each of these cardbacks/proofs, with a Manatee theme, as well as a Manatee inspired Power of the Force style coin. They all turned out really great and did not disappoint.
The sponsors also received a few exclusives themselves. These included a Revenge Rebel Commanatee proof, blank proof, a box with a silver and exclusive gold manatee coin, and a nice lucite star.
Overall, I think everyone had a great time. There were quite a few games people could play, food, socialize, and at the end was the cereal eating contest in which the contestants ate 28 year old C3POs cereal. I tried one piece of the cereal and was actually quite surprised that it didn’t taste all that bad. It was certainly a cereal that was loaded up with sugar back in the day.
Probably the highlight for me was while I was manning the rocket firing Boba Fett booth, I had a guy come up to me and flat out said, “I designed that.” He then introduced himself as Jim Swearingen and gave me his business card. I recognized the name instantly from various other sources that I’ve read about the making of the Star Wars toys. Although it was brief, it was great to meet a Kenner designer firsthand.
Here’s a group of the various pictures of the party that I took during setup and while it was happening.
