Indianapolis is the land of the Hoosiers, but to Star Wars fans, it's the most happening place this side of Tatooine (Luke Skywalker's home planet).

More than 25,000 devotees of the Star Wars films flocked to the Indianapolis Convention Center in April to participate in the Celebration Ill, a Star Wars fan convention held in Indianapolis for the second consecutive year. The event surpassed last year's in size as fans were primed for the new film, Revenge of the Sith, which opened in May.

“There were storm troopers, Chewbaccas, and Princess Leias all over the place,” says Cassidy Faulkner, spokeswoman for the Indianapolis CVA. The storm troopers actually came in handy. CVA officials brought some of Darth Vader's soldiers to the state house for a little added muscle in their efforts to lobby for the expansion of the convention center. Legislators got a good laugh out of it, but guess what? It worked. The expansion was approved.