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Dragon*Con draws fans and breaks records
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Gareth David-Lloyd during a Sunday panel
Dragon*Con was held in Atlanta, Georgia over Labor Day weekend. It is the largest multi-genre convention in the United States and is attended by over 30,000 people each year. Celebrity guests such as Leonard Nimoy, Barry Bostwick, Patrick Stewart and William Shatner attended.
Convention attendees stood in line for hours for a chance to see their favorite actors. Panels and autograph signings were spread across four hotels. Megan Hibner, from West Virginia was in one such line for about an hour as she waited to see Gareth David-Lloyd, from the BBC television series "Torchwood".
"I've always wanted to come, since my freshman year." Now twenty years old and attending her first Dragon*con, Hibner made the nine hour drive with a friend of hers. A "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer" fan, he was looking forward to panels by James Morrister. She had already enjoyed two Buffy panels as well as a Friday morning panel that was a favorite among many convention goers featuring Shatner and Nimoy together. She stood in line since early in the morning to get into it, saying it was something she didn't mind doing because: "You're in a room with legends and have the bragging rights to go home with and say I saw them."
Cosplayer wander the halls of the four convention hotels
Many Dragon*Con attendees see this convention as a place to relax, party, and meet other fans. Nightly parties, concerts and dances were held with room capacity hitting numbers. Felton loved the closeness of the people. "My favorite part of the convention is meeting fans and getting recognized in costume. It's exciting meeting people who are equally as excited about a series as you." As she waited for the David-Lloyd panel, she was dressed as Romana from the BBC show, "Dr. Who." Torchwood is a spin-off of this series. She had already enjoyed getting her picture with the actor that played the Fifth Doctor in the series.
Costuming is a big event as the convention. Several costume contests are heard, including a "Dawn" look-a-like contest that gives away a $1000 prize to the first place contestant. Contests based on anime, Sci-fi, a masquerade with skits, and a Klingon woman beauty contest draw people of all ages and costuming abilities. As you walk through the halls you will see things from comic books, movies, anime, and more. The convention also holds a parade featuring the costumes that runs through the streets of Atlanta.
Cosplayers from movies and commercials come together.
Dragon*con has four dealer's hall that fans can buy merchandise. They could also spend their money to meet their favorite actors and writers in the Walk of Fame. Guests shelled out $75 a piece for autographs and photos from Nimoy, Shatner, and Stewart. Other guests had more modest pricing such as Michael Biehn from "Terminator", who charged $30 or Barry Bostwick and Alen Ruck who charged about $25 a piece for their signature.
Not only is Dragon*Con host to several high profile guests, but also hosts charity events to benefit various organizations. The preliminary 2009 Charity Auction proceeds have been so far counted to total $25,000. The 2009 Blood Drive held at the convention was a great success with 2012 donors. This resulted in the drive getting over 2600 units being put into inventory. According to Life South this was the largest blood drive ever conducted at a convention.
Another record the convention has the possibility of beating was the number of people simultaneously dancing to Michael Jackson's "Thriller." The count was 903 people and they are waiting on the Guinness Book of World Records representatives to go over the tape and make sure everything fits within the guidelines.
Considering going to Dragon*Con next year? Find out more information at their website.
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