Atlanta, GA, USA- The journey to Dragon Con 2023 began on a Tuesday evening, stopping and staying at a Tru hotel in Lake Norman, North Carolina. Lake Norman is beautiful. Continuing on to Atlanta, Georgia on Wednesday morning. Reaching Atlanta at the hotel Homewood Suites, Atlanta Airport North. The hotel is nice and the staff was great and accommodating. Changed clothes and off to the Atlanta United soccer game Wednesday evening.
The game was exciting and fun. Took the MARTA train back and went to the hotel then went to bed. It’s going to be a long week!
I woke up Thursday morning and wanted to go to a brunch today in Peachtree City, Georgia. The Flying Biscuit has the best biscuits and grits in the South! Then go back to the hotel and change clothes. Off to downtown by a 12-minute train ride to Dragon Con.
Dragon Con 2023 has 70,000 attendees. Atlanta, GA is the busiest over the next 5 days. One can see any cosplays including Barbie, horror, Star Wars, Star Trek, Pokemon, etc. It is an all-genre con that doesn’t stop. Officially beginning Thursday evening and ending on Monday, anything and everything one can imagine, from parties to panels to meeting guests. It is a special place where everyone is welcomed from young to old, it doesn’t matter. Everyone is there and is in love with their own favorite fandom. Cosplayers will work an entire year on one cosplay specifically for Dragon Con. This is only part of what makes Dragon Con so special. The most impressive thing about Dragon Con is it is one of the only cons that is volunteer-based. Yes, Dragon Con is run by volunteers. From the information booth to the people working registration, they just volunteer their time. Another thing that makes Dragon Con special is there is a blood drive where you can give blood. There are medical professionals who take the blood. There is a special Dragon Con blood drive t-shirt given to those who give blood. There is also a charity event Dragon Con donates to and there is a place where things get to much one can go and color for relaxation. These are things that make Dragon Con wonderful.
This year Chandra Free an artist was chosen and designed the artwork on this year’s convention badge. If one visited her booth she would sign the badge for free, so it is a signed artwork.
The cosplays are the main event so to speak. The cosplayers are what makes Dragon Con. Cosplayers from all over the world converge in Atlanta to show their cosplays. There are panels to attend on everything from Dr. Who to Star Trek to Blizzard Entertainment who develops World of Warcraft, and panels about how to write a book with authors, and there are anime panels, etc. There are alternative history panels, there is the bunny hutch party, and there is the horror panels. There is the Dr. Who party and there are bands and special performances all week long. There are different groups that can be found on Facebook about Dragon Con, from Dragon Con Deadpool to Dragon Con Swag and Seek group. Dragon Con Swag and Seek is a group that is all about spreading kindness and positivity. There are photo shoots for cosplays, group cosplays, and others. Of course, there is a cosplay contest too. The Hilton, Marriot, Hyatt, and Weston hotels stay busy and full of people all week. There is Americas Mart which is the gaming, artist, and vendor area, yes an entire building is used just for this purpose. The Dragon Con Parade brings more people out to watch on Saturday morning. There are concerts throughout to catch so one can see Voltaire and Cruxshadows. There are always raves with wonderful DJs at night so one shakes their groove thing all night.
Anyone who comes to Dragon Con once always returns. There are other wonderful conventions to attend but Dragon Con is a special con. Cosplayers unite. Cosplayers Assemble!
For more information about Dragon Con check here.https://www.dragoncon.org/
For the Dragon Con Parade 2023. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ft9AEq5GuA
