We’re going to start taking more costume commissions starting in January 2018! If you want to be on the list to get notified when spaces open up, or to see how many slots are open, we have a new page for that! Check out Costume Commissions!
In 1990 the annual Origins™ Gaming Convention was held at DragonCon (these days it’s stationary, but in olden times it moved around). As a table-top gamer I was super excited to go and see all the new roleplaying games and board games that were being debuted. As I walked through the vendors’ hall, nestled between TSR’s Dungeons and Dragons and Game Designers Workshop were two new games that were premiering: Torg and Rifts. This year at GenCon the big talk was about the revival of Torg and Rifts. It’s the gaming industry. What are you gonna do?
Cosplayers, Gamers and Pop Culture Fans Return for Annual Fantasy, Sci Fi & Gaming Convention
More than 400 Actors, Artists, Authors and Creators Will Give Talks and Meet Fans.
ATLANTA – August 18, 2015 – More than 65,000 people are expected to pack downtown Atlanta over the Labor Day weekend as Dragon Con, the internationally known pop culture, sci fi, fantasy and gaming convention, returns for its 29th consecutive year.
Dragon Con fans will travel from every state in the nation and a few foreign countries to participate in the four-day convention, where they can meet their favorite actors, artists, authors and creators, and talk about the stuff they love.
Guests – More than 400 guests, from the worlds of movies, television, comics, literature and other universes, will lead panel discussions and meet with fans. Battlestar Galactica’s Edward James Olmos, Star Wars’ Peter Mayhew, internet personality Felicia Day, as well as John Barrowman, David Ramsey, and Stephen Amell, all from CW’s Arrow, head an all-star guest list.
Nichelle Nichols, Star Trek’s Lt. Uhura, will serve as grand marshal of the Dragon Con Parade.
And, at this year’s Dragon Con, Sesame Street meets Peachtree. Famed puppeteer Caroll Spinney, who recently retired after 45 years performing Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch, as well as Muppet performer Steve Whitmire, who has performed Kermit the Frog since 1990, will appear at the convention.
“We’re very excited about this year’s guest list. We have attracted guests from some of the best shows on television today, including Arrow, Game of Thrones, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, and Once Upon A Time,” convention co-chair Rachel Reeves said. “We also have guests from fan favorite shows from recent years, such as Warehouse 13 and classic sci-fi shows such as Doctor Who.”
Cosplay – Dragon Con is well known for the quality of its cosplay – or costume play – and that tradition will certainly continue. The nation’s top cosplayers will show off their best work during the show, participating in costume contests every night of the convention and promenading throughout the five host hotels and the streets of downtown Atlanta.
Cosplay competitions remain a mainstay of Dragon Con, including the queen of competitions, Dragon Con Masquerade, which is both the oldest continuously run competition in fandom as well as one of the largest in the world. Dragon Con is also thrilled to introduce the newest competition, The Chôsen, which will premiere at Dragon Con Night at the Aquarium.
Parade – Atlanta’s largest parade, the annual Dragon Con Parade, will step off Saturday, September 5 at 10 a.m. To better accommodate parade spectators, the parade will have a new route. Beginning at the intersection of Peachtree Street and Linden Avenue, the parade will head south on Peachtree, east (left) on Andrew Young International Boulevard and north (left) on Peachtree Center Avenue. It will end on Peachtree Center Avenue between John Portman Boulevard and Baker Street, in front of the Atlanta Marriott Marquis.
The new route is now a little longer – .9 miles, from .8 miles last year, and brings the route closer to the North Avenue MARTA station, in addition to the Civic Center and Peachtree Center stations. Parking downtown is expected to be tight, and Dragon Con encourages parade spectators to consider taking MARTA.
Gaming – Perhaps better known for the celebrity guests and cosplayers, Dragon Con is also one of the largest gaming conventions in the nation. Taking up most of the Hilton Atlanta Downtown and parts of the Sheraton Atlanta, gaming at Dragon Con features voice actors, game designers and other guests from the worlds of table top and video gaming, as well as the opportunity to play tabletop and LAN gaming in casual and tournament formats.
Official Charity – Earlier this year, Dragon Con selected the Lymphoma Research Foundation – Georgia Market as its official charity for 2015. Through auctions and other charity events, plus a dollar-for-dollar match up to $50,000 from Dragon Con, the convention will raise money to support this important community organization.
In 2014, the convention raised over $115,000 for its official charity, the Atlanta Community Food Bank, and collected 535 pounds of food. Through the Superheroes community service program, Dragon Con fans contributed more than 900 hours of community service.
Dragon Con also conducts the largest convention-based blood drive in the nation. Last year’s annual Robert A. Heinlein “Pay It Forward” blood drive attracted a record turnout, with 2,972 attendees donating more than 6,000 units of blood and blood products, benefiting LifeSouth, which serves more than 40 hospital in the Atlanta area and 110 hospitals in the Southeast.
About Dragon Con
Dragon Con is the internationally known pop culture convention held each Labor Day in Atlanta. Organized for fans, Dragon Con features more than about 3,000 hours of comics, film, television, costuming, art, music and gaming over four days. For more information, please visit www.dragoncon.org and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
It was a muggy Saturday morning in September in Atlanta. We were on our way from the Sheraton to the Marriott, having just stood next to a pool in our historically-accurate costumes with historically-accurate underpinnings, when we got stopped by a family dressed as the crew from the Starship Enterprise. They asked if they could take their picture with us, and we happily obliged. The mom told us how wonderful we looked, and sheepishly admitted she wasn’t really a Star Trek fan, but their daughter Dawn was, so they all dressed up with her. We told her that we love seeing the family cosplays, and that they looked wonderful. The family hurried on their way, smiles on their faces, and we didn’t think much more about it.
Two weeks later, we saw an article by the Huffington Post with a picture of Patrick Stewart hugging our Star Trek family. Dawn was meeting Sir Patrick Stewart as part of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Over the past few years, we’ve attended a lot of conventions, and one of things that sets Dragon Con apart is the involvement in charity, both on the local and national level. Last year, the Dragon Con charity was the Atlanta Community Food Bank, where over $115,000 was raised, including the company match of over $50,000. Every year there is a blood drive for LifeSouth, which serves more than 40 hospitals in the Atlanta area and more than 110 hospitals in Florida, Georgia, and Alabama. In 2014, the drive welcomed 3893 donors and collected 3,292 units, assisted by a crew of more than 60 people from all three states who descended on Atlanta to handle the flood of donors in costume. Also new last year was Dragon Con Superheros, which is a year-round community service project, which is continuing this year.
This year, Dragon Con’s selected charity is the Lymphoma Research Foundation, which will again match $50,000 of money raised. We’re certain the charitable attendees will surpass last year’s donations, and it’s nice to know we’re using our power of geek for good!
National Craft Month continues, and so do our how-tos! Today, we have a short tutorial on how Jen made her Golden Glider purse, to go with the Golden Glider and Captain Cold costumes. Check it out!
New Slate of Superheroes Community Service Projects Lets Dragon Con Fans Lend a Hand
ATLANTA – Dragon Con, Atlanta’s internationally known pop culture, fantasy and sci-fi convention, has selected the Lymphoma Research Foundation – Georgia Market as its official charity for 2015. Dragon Con will match dollar for dollar, up to $50,000, any money raised for this charity at the 2015 convention.
Dragon Con also announced its slate of Superheroes community service projects for Dragon Con members and fans in the Atlanta area. This program is now in its second year.
In 2014, the convention raised over $115,000 for its official charity, the Atlanta Community Food Bank, and collected 535 pounds of food. Through the Superheroes program, Dragon Con fans contributed more than 900 hours of community service.
“Selecting the Lymphoma Research Foundation as our official charity this year was a very personal choice,” said Rachel Reeves, convention co-chair. “We are grateful that organizations such as this are working hard to improve treatments and cures for this devastating disease.”
Two long-time members of the Dragon Con family – Eugie Foster, Director of the Daily Dragon, and Mark Brown, Co-Director of Convention Operations – recently died from lymphoma, while a third member is currently battling it.
Lymphoma is a group of blood cancers, most notably non-Hodgkin lymphoma, which accounts for about 90 percent of cases. Other types include Hodgkin lymphoma, myeloma and immunoproliferative diseases. Over half a million people are currently living with lymphoma in the United States – the most common blood cancer in adults and the third most common cancer over all among children.
Three Superhero projects are currently planned for the spring and summer of 2015. In addition to having a great time, people who participate in any of these service projects will be invited to an exclusive celebration during this year’s convention and will receive a Superheroes t-shirt.
“We had a great time last year, getting together as fans and volunteers, to do something good and make a difference in our community,” Reeves said. “Donations are always important, but there are plenty of organizations that also need volunteers to carry out their mission.”
The first Superheroes project will see a return to the Atlanta Community Food Bank partnership, with a half-day of work in an ACFB supported community garden on March 21st.
Community gardens act as a powerful tool for social change by providing neighborhoods with fresh vegetables, attractive landscapes, and place to meet and work towards positive goals. Volunteers help with weeding, seeding, planting, tilling, cleaning, clearing, and any other activity that can possibly take place in a garden.
For the second project, Dragon Con will field a team of volunteers to raise money and participate in the annual Lymphoma Walk, supporting the Lymphoma Research Foundation, on April 11th at Wesleyan School in Norcross. In addition to the walk team, the Superheroes will have other opportunities to volunteer at the walk – possibilities include registration, t-shirt table, set up/clean up, and route cheerleaders.
A third project is in the works, and details will be announced when they are confirmed.
About Dragon Con
Dragon Con is the internationally known pop culture convention held each Labor Day Weekend in Atlanta (Sept. 4 – 7, 2015). Organized for fans, Dragon Con features more than about 3,000 hours of comics, film, television, costuming, art, music and gaming over four days. For more information, please visit www.dragoncon.org and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
For more information on the Lymphoma Research Foundation, please visit www.lymphoma.org.
For more information on Atlanta Community Food Bank, please visit www.acfb.org.
It’s barely November, but we’re already excited about 2015! Check out our convention schedule:
We’re planning to attend these conventions in some sort of capacity, either as vendors, attendees, press or even guests! As the conventions get closer, we’ll have more details for you! And we’re excited about MomoCon’s Cosplay on Ice coming up, so keep an eye out for those costumes, coming soon!
Our friends over at Beat Down Boogie have released their first two Dragon Con 2014 music videos. We’ve embedded them for your viewing pleasure. Check them out below – we’re even in them!
