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Dragon Con

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Dragon*Con
StatusActive
GenreMulti-genre
VenueHyatt Regency Atlanta, Atlanta Marriott Marquis, Atlanta Hilton and Towers, Sheraton Atlanta Hotel
Location(s)Atlanta, Georgia
CountryUnited States
Inaugurated1987
Attendance30,000+[1]
Organized byEd Kramer, Founder
Pat Henry, Chairman
Filing statusFor-profit
Websitehttp://www.dragoncon.org/

Dragon Con (also Dragon*Con) is a North America multigenre convention, held annually in Atlanta, Georgia. The 30,000-plus-member convention takes over a six-square block area of downtown Atlanta near Centennial Olympic Park, and is hosted by a 1500-member volunteer staff. Dragon Con has hosted the 1990 Origins Game Fair and the 1995 North American Science Fiction Convention (NASFiC). Like many World Fantasy Conventions, it is operated by a private corporation, and was the subject of considerable controversy by a small segment of SMOF fandom in 1995 [2] when it was scheduled on Labor Day Weekend, often a date for domestic Worldcons. Since its inception in 1987, it raises thousands of dollars each year for local and national charities and since 2003, Dragon*Con attendees have donated 732 pints of blood, potentially saving over 2,000 lives.[3]

History

Dragon*Con was launched in 1987, as a project of a local science fiction and gaming group, the Dragon Alliance of Gamers and Role-Players (DAGR), founded by Ed Kramer. The name "Dragon" for both the club and the convention was derived from Ed's Dragon Computer (a European version of Radio Shack's venerable Color Computer), which hosted a local Bulletin Board System ("The Dragon") that initially served as a central hub for both organizations. The inaugural Dragon*Con flyers debuted at the 1986 Atlanta Worldcon, ConFederation. However, by the following year Dragon*Con had been selected to be the host of the 1990 Origins convention.[4]

The inaugural Dragon*Con featured Guest of Honor Michael Moorcock, Lynn Abbey and the late Robert Asprin, the late Robert Adams, Ultima creator Richard "Lord British" Garriott, co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons the late Gary Gygax and Toastmaster Brad Strickland. Miramar recording artist Jonn Serrie delivered his keyboard arrangements from within a real NASA flightsuit and Michael Moorcock jammed onstage with Blue Öyster Cult's Eric Bloom, performing the Moorcock-written tunes "Veteran of the Psychic Wars" and "Black Blade". The late Thomas E. Fuller's Atlanta Radio Theatre Company performed H. P. Lovecraft's "The Call of Cthulhu" live at the con and on live radio.[5]

Over the years, the convention continued to grow. In 1989, Dragon*Con relocated to the Omni Hotel and Convention Center to accommodate the 3,200 fans who attended, mainly due to the appearance of popular author Anne McCaffrey. By 1995, when Dragon*Con hosted the North American Science Fiction Convention, attendance had blossomed to over 14,000 fans. Ten years later, with the convention now encompassing the Hyatt Regency, the Marriott Marquis and the Hilton & Towers hotels, and in 2008 added the Sheraton Atlanta Hotel, attendance had passed the 30,000 mark and continues to grow each year. [6]

Among the many long-running events at Dragon*Con, in 1991 the first "Robot Battles" robotic competition event was held, an event that is still held at the convention to this day, making it the second oldest robotic competition event in the world.[7]. In 2002, the annual Dragon*Con parade was inaugurated.[8] By the sixth year in 2007 over 1000 participants, most in costumes from all aspects of fandom marched along Peachtree Street from Woodruff Park (at Auburn Avenue) to the Hyatt, ending on Courtland Street at the Marriott and Hilton.

Programming

The 4-day event comprises approximately 850 hours of panels, seminars, demonstrations, and workshops, with over 30 specialized programming tracks that include writing, art, anime, gaming, Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature, comic books, costuming, space science, online media, independent film, podcasting, Asian cinema and culture, robotics, filk, costuming, scientific skepticism, Star Trek, Star Wars, Stargate, X-Files, Joss Whedon creations, apocalyptic themes, Anne McCaffrey's Pern, Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time, J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, British and American SF television, the Dark Fantasy track, the Dragon*Con Independent Short Film Festival, and general programming which specific Guests of Honor attend (e.g. Clive Barker's Lost Souls and Storm Constantine's Grissecon).[9][10][11] From its origin, music has been a significant feature of Dragon Con, with past performances by Blue Öyster Cult, Bella Morte, Chick Corea, Edgar Winter, Ghost of the Robot, Godhead, Iced Earth, Voltaire, The Crüxshadows, Jefferson Starship, The Misfits, GWAR, Man or Astroman?, The Bloodhound Gang, Spock's Beard and many others.[12]

Awards

In 1998, Dragon Con established the Julie Award, in honor of Julius Schwartz, bestowed for universal achievement spanning multiple genres, selected each year by a panel of industry professionals. The inaugural recipient was science fiction and fantasy Grandmaster Ray Bradbury. Additional recipients of the award, presented by Schwartz each year, include Forry Ackerman, Yoshitaka Amano, Alice Cooper, Will Eisner, Harlan Ellison, Neil Gaiman, Carmine Infantino, Anne McCaffrey, Jim Steranko and Paul Dini. It is also the host of the Dragon Con Independent Short Film Festival, the Futura Award (paying homage to the Fritz Lang masterpiece Metropolis), the Parsec Awards, and the Georgia Fandom Award, renamed in 2008 as the Hank Reinhart Award, after its first recipient.

2008 guest highlights

Among the more than 340 guests and musical performers confirmed for 2008[13] include such notables as Nathan Fillion, James Marsters, The Amazing Randi, Edward James Olmos, and Jenna Jameson.

References

  1. ^ Welcome to Dragon*Con! - Welcome to Dragon*Con!
  2. ^ "Smofs Give Two Thumbs Down"
  3. ^ 'Dragon*Con Blood Drive'
  4. ^ History of Dragon*Con
  5. ^ History of Dragon*Con
  6. ^ History of Dragon*Con
  7. ^ History of Robot Battles
  8. ^ Dragon*Con Parade Information
  9. ^ "Programming Tracks". Dragon Con. Retrieved 2008-07-30.
  10. ^ Boese, Christine (2002-08-19). "DragonCon: All hope abandon, ye who enter here". CNN.com. Retrieved 2007-08-31. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ White, Rusty (2003-08-24). "Dragoncon 2003: An Introduction To FREAK!". Retrieved 2007-08-31. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ Newitz, Annalee. "Sex with storm troopers". Salon. Retrieved 2007-08-31.
  13. ^ Dragon*Con Guest List
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dragon Con.


Preceded by
5th North American Science Fiction Convention
ConDiego in San Diego, USA (1990)
 List of NASFiCs
6th North American Science Fiction Convention
Dragon*Con in Atlanta, USA (1995) 		Succeeded by
7th North American Science Fiction Convention
Conucopia in Los Angeles, USA (1999)
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