Registration was announced on September 22, 2004 on StarWars.com, with sales opening on September 27, 2004 at 12:00 noon PDT through the official Celebration website. Tickets were offered as 4-day and 1-day badges for both adults and children.

Hyperspace: The Official Star Wars Fan Club

As a precursor to the modern Jedi Master VIP ticket tier, Hyperspace: The Official Star Wars Fan Club offered members several event benefits during the weekend.

Hyperspace members received early admission each day, access to the Fan Club Lounge, and a special orange Fan Club lanyard. Members who purchased four-day badges through online pre-registration were also eligible for four free “Friends & Family” passes to share Fan Club benefits for groups attending the convention together. Hyperspace members also had access to special member-only events, including Fan Club Lounge Meet-and-Greets and the ticketed Fan Club Breakfast hosted by Jay Laga’aia and Warwick Davis

Unlike later VIP programs, Hyperspace was not a high-priced, limited-capacity premium badge. Membership cost about $30, which meant many attendees could join and take advantage of the benefits. That made the benefits more accessible, but it also created practical problems. With so many fans eligible for early entry, the early-admission lines themselves became long enough that some members did not experience the benefit as true early access.

In addition to regular panels and show-floor programming, Celebration III included several special events across the weekend. These ranged from opening ceremonies and fan-focused award shows to Fan Club-only programming, special breakfasts, screenings, and the official Saturday-night party.

Star Wars Fan Film Awards: The Star Wars Fan Film Awards were held Friday night in the Sagamore Ballroom and hosted by Warwick Davis. The ceremony served as the weekend’s featured fan-filmmaking event, with award winners announced live during the show.

Celebration at Celebration III: The official Saturday-night party took place in Celebration Hall B. The event functioned as the main after-hours gathering of the weekend, with live entertainment and fan activities.

Fan Club Breakfast: Official Star Wars Fan Club members could attend special breakfast events on Friday, April 22 and Sunday, April 24 with Celebration III hosts Jay Laga’aia and Warwick Davis. The breakfasts included a celebrity autograph, a Celebration III exclusive Darth Vader action figure, and a grab bag of items from the Lucasfilm Licensing Archives. Registration was limited to Fan Club members, with each member allowed to purchase one additional guest ticket.

Special Screenings: Celebration III included feature film screenings across the weekend, including A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, The Phantom Menace, and Attack of the Clones. Several screenings were scheduled as evening or late-night events and included free popcorn.

Celebration III’s show floor featured official Lucasfilm displays, fan-built installations, vendor booths, activity areas, and community tables.

• • Lucasfilm Archives Exhibit: A major official exhibit featuring original props, costumes, and production material from the Star Wars films.

• • Vendor Booths: The show floor included licensed merchandise sellers, collectibles dealers, publishers, toy companies, and other exhibitors connected to Star Wars collecting, publishing, gaming, and fan culture.

• • Fan Fair Hall: A large fan-focused area with community tables and all-day attractions, including Death Star Diorama Builders, Star Wars Tattoo Art, Star Wars Cars, Fan Club Tables, and the Xbox Arena.

• • Jedi Training Stage: Repeated stage sessions gave younger fans a chance to participate in Jedi-themed activities throughout the weekend.

• • Droidyard: A fan-building area focused on droid construction, demonstrations, and related activities, including the Droidyard 500 Championship.

• • Large-Scale Origami Builds: Fan Fair programming included life-size origami builds, including Jabba the Hutt and Anakin’s ship.

• • Kids’ Room: Daily programming for younger fans included Star Wars origami, Fold the Fetts, storytime, drawing sessions, and Droid Building Challenge activities.

Star Wars Celebration III had a major official store presence, with exclusive merchandise becoming one of the defining parts of the weekend. The Hasbro Celebration III Talking Darth Vader figure was the best-known exclusive, and demand for store access led to long lines throughout the event.

Celebration III is remembered as much for the atmosphere around the event as for the programming itself. With Revenge of the Sith only weeks away, fans arrived in large numbers, many waiting overnight for major sessions and exclusive merchandise.

• • George Lucas Lines: Lucas’s three Q&A sessions drew some of the most intense demand of the weekend, with fans lining up overnight for a chance to attend.

• • Opening Night Snowstorm: A surprise April snowstorm hit Indianapolis during the first night of the event, forcing large crowds waiting outside to be brought into the convention center early.

• • Line Culture: Long waits became part of the Celebration III experience, especially for major panels, the official store, autographing, and exclusive merchandise. For many attendees, the lines were also social spaces where fans met, traded stories, and passed the time together.

• • Fan Club Benefits: Members of the official Star Wars Fan Club received early admission, access to the Fan Club Lounge, and other exclusive opportunities during the weekend.

Star Wars Celebration III occupies an important place in Celebration history as the final major fan convention before the release of Revenge of the Sith and the first Celebration expanded to four days. At the time, many fans assumed it could be the last Star Wars Celebration, since the first three events had all been tied closely to upcoming theatrical releases. With the prequel trilogy ending, Celebration III carried the feeling of both a premiere-era gathering and a possible farewell to the format.

The event also helped define what later Celebrations would become. Overnight lines, major stage presentations, official exclusives, Fan Club access, autographing, costuming, collector programming, and fan-built attractions all played a major role in the weekend. Celebration III sits at the end of the prequel era, but much of its programming pointed forward, including Lucas’s announcements about new television projects and updates to Star Tours.

For collectors, Celebration III remains closely associated with the official store experience, the Celebration III Talking Darth Vader figure, and the autograph program. For attendees, it is remembered for its scale, its timing, the George Lucas Q&A sessions, the snowstorm, and the sense that Star Wars was closing one chapter while preparing to continue in new forms.