Before I begin my animated narration of the most fantasy-filled afternoon of my two-and-twenty years, I request that anyone unfamiliar with Dragon*Con immediately familiarize yourself here. The link will take you to a website specifically designed to educate novices about what awaits them at Dragon*Con. Unfortunately, this year’s Con ended Monday, but it never hurts to prepare for next year, assuming you like what you see in the following paragraphs. And if you’re already drooling over the link I provided, I have plenty of pictures to satiate your growing hunger.
Now that you’ve got some background info about this thing called Dragon*Con, I hope you enjoy the experience of this event from the point of view of a greenhorn.
I was invited to attend Dragon*Con by a good friend that I hadn’t seen or spoken to in about two+ years. Let’s call her Sophie. After picking up bits and pieces of our friendship via text, we’d been making plans to finally see one another. While most long-lost friends reunite over coffee and gossip, Sophie and I decided to catch-up on opening day of one of the biggest sci-fi and video game conventions in Atlanta. We set the date Monday and planned to meet at the convention registration room that Friday morning. I had never even heard of Dragon*Con before then. But by the time I finished researching anything and everything about the event, I already knew who I was going to be. Think MTV, black-rimmed glasses, thick bangs, and combat boots. You guessed it: Daria Morgendorffer. And I was determined to scour Dragon*Con looking for my Jane.
That week of work went especially slow, but my co-workers were amused (if not bewildered) at my decision and general enthusiasm to attend an event known to boast upwards of 40,000 people traipsing along in spectacular costumes on a day other than Halloween. But if “we the people” lived only to avoid the perplexities of others, we’d never have any fun. So, Friday rolled around, and off I went to Dragon*Con!
First, let’s mention a few details. Dragon*Con is not an isolated event. Piece of advice: don’t attend this convention expecting to socialize with a few individuals dressed in their Sunday best and crammed into a large dining hall filled with kissing booths and dart-throwing contests. Do expect to wear comfortable walking shoes, or, if this is contrary to your Miss America costume, a change of flats to lessen the discomfort of walking four blocks to each hotel.
That’s right: Dragon*Con spans four of the largest hotels located in downtown Atlanta. Specifically, The Sheraton, The Hyatt, The Marriott, and The Hilton. And don’t just limit yourself to the lobbies; plenty of the main events are scattered throughout the different ballrooms inside of each hotel. Triple-thinking those Jimmy Choo platforms that go perfect with your adult rendition of Alice in Wonderland? Don’t! My second piece of advice is to go big or go home. The wilder, wackier, and more elaborate your costume, the higher the chances that you will understand how it feels to be a celebrity for a day. Aside from getting your picture taken about five hundred times, you might even be asked for an autograph. Of course, remember that you are in character and your fans want an autograph of the character you are portraying—not your birth name.
Don’t have a fantastic costume, or you simply don’t want to wear one? Great! There are plenty of plain-clothes civilians who attend the convention and have just as much fun as the ones wearing blue body-paint and channeling Avatar. The point is to soak in the Dragon*Con cosmos and have fun, regardless of what you’re wearing… or not wearing.
But let’s get back to my story. As I was reaching the Sheraton Hotel to race to registration, I caught a first-hand look at what was in store for me. The road and sidewalks were filled with people dressed head-to-toe as creatures you’d only see in your wildest (and sometimes scariest) dreams. It was an exciting prequel to what awaited inside the actual hotel. Registration was smooth and surprisingly quick. My research led me to believe that I’d be waiting in a line stretching around the block, as was usually the case on the first day of Dragon*Con. However, after asking around, I discovered that this is the first year Con registration runs on a bar-code system. Online registration = no tedious routine = virtually no lines! I, the consumer, am pleased.
But what really tickled me and set my day on a positive track was having my picture taken before I ever entered the actual convention. Sweet Lei (pictured below) ran up to me asking to take my picture because she identified me immediately as Daria. Success! Now that I knew my costume was recognizable, I felt one step closer to finding my Jane. However, I was also about twenty steps back from finding Sophie (who by this time had moved onto the Hilton Hotel) because when I finally entered the Sheraton, I was completely overwhelmed.
There’s no way to describe the crowds at Dragon*Con. I basically entered a costume-clad community of surprising variety, and we were all writhing around in complete disharmony. It was colorful chaos and a dynamic spectacle. You can get an idea of it below, but it’s safe to say that the picture does not do justice to the intensity of the crowds. In other words, I was stunned. And excited. And very lost.
My journey to find Sophie led me to ask some extremely helpful people for directions to the different hotels. Granted the four hotels are located in a somewhat close proximity to one another, my best asset is not my navigational skills. But I am especially thankful to two girls for pointing me in the right direction, and posing for a picture after.
I made my way to the Marriott, which happens to contain a convenient atrium connected directly to the Hilton. I was certain that this magical hallway would bring me one step closer to finding Sophie. Fantastic, right? Wrong. In order to get to said atrium, you must take an elevator to the proper floor on which it is located. Perhaps I should visit more hotels, because seeing more than five floors on an elevator keypad is especially startling at first. But the surprise quickly melts into depression when you realize that you’ve been riding on an elevator for 10 minutes because you keep going to the wrong floor.
But my elevator drama was nothing compared to the excitement I felt when I finally reached the right floor (the 2nd floor, no less), passed through the atrium portal (and a sea of costumed bodies), ran into the Hilton, and located the Art Gallery. Among the fantastic array of modern art, I finally found my long-lost pal Sophie and two of her friends. We hugged it out right in the middle of the Art Gallery; and just to be clear, reunions are even better when surrounded by people in bloody masks and neon fishnets. But to make an already long story even longer by trying to shorten it (and to get to the pictures) we spent the next hour-and-a-half skipping through Dragon*Con, swapping life stories, and stalking celebrities (another post, another day).
I only spent about three hours total at Dragon*Con, but by the time I left, I felt at peace with the chaotic Con cosmos and at one with the people therein. Many fans went extreme lengths to perfect their astounding attire, and their efforts truly set an atmosphere of fantasy and mystery. From zombie brides to Disney characters, Dragon*Con places no restraint on the creativity of the individual mind. So don’t get burnt out if you know nothing about sci-fi or video games; wear whatever you want, be whoever you want. While I was the only Daria that I saw at the convention, there were plenty of oldies but goodies mixed in with the aliens, techno Goths, and furry creatures. But even though my costume was not as elaborate as some, I will boast that I posed for three pictures, and even modeled for an official Dragon*Con photographer while he snapped away at my costume. Icing on the cake.
All in all, I would highly recommend Dragon*Con to everyone. From doubter to devotee, you will have an experience that you’re not likely to forget. Can’t wait to hear your stories! Enjoy the next post of pictures.
p.s.
Daria never did find her Jane.... she found something better instead! View the pictures below to find out what ;)
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