Dragon Con 2024
Atlanta, GA – August 29 through September 2, 2024
Dragon Con!
It’s an annual tradition for me. It’s also a family reunion of sorts as I catch up with dear friends from around the world. This year will be my fifteenth(!) time attending and my ninth year as an attending professional.
If you plan to be there, you can find me at various places over Labor Day weekend according to the schedule below. The convention app is available now – look for Dragon Con by Core-apps in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store – and contains the schedule of events. The list of confirmed guests, performers, artists, and attending professionals is available on the official Dragon Con site.
The schedule spans various fan tracks, each of which specializes in topics like Star Wars, Star Trek, military science fiction, horror, literature, and so on. From those hundreds of hours of programming, each attendee can play Choose Your Own Adventure and build their ultimate geeky experience.
Dragon Con itself takes place in downtown Atlanta spanning five hotels (Courtland Grand Hotel, Hilton Atlanta, Atlanta Marriott Marquis, Hyatt Regency Atlanta, and Westin Peachtree Plaza) and the AmericasMart Atlanta exhibition center. The convention draws approximately 70,000 to 80,000 attendees (or more) annually and showcases one of the city’s most popular parades on Saturday morning at 10am.
Dragon Con prides itself on contributions to charity and the community. You can find more information about those efforts on their webpage. Each year, the convention partners with a local charity organization and this year’s partner is the Arthritis Foundation. For over seven decades, the Arthritis Foundation has led the fight to conquer arthritis for nearly 60 million adults and hundreds of thousands of children in the United States living with the disease. The Arthritis Foundation provides ways for people to take control of arthritis by connecting them with others who understand the challenges. Dragon Con will match every donation up to $125,000.
This year’s charity selection is important to me because members of my family have been helped by them. I’m eager to see how Dragon Con’s community can help the local branch further their goals.
The convention hosts the Dragon Con Hustle, a virtual 5K conducted on the honor system. The registration fee is donated to the annual charity and each participant gets a physical medal two weeks after the convention ends. This is probably one of my favorite ways to donate since I routinely log 30 to 35 miles during the convention as I walk to and fro. You can run, walk, roll, or even skip your way to the goal, and all Dragon Con asks is for a progress update on social media with the #DragonConHustle hashtag.
Dragon Con also hosts one of the most successful blood drives with the donations going to the non-profit Lifesouth Community Blood Centers. Lifesouth serves 125 hospitals in Alabama, Georgia, and Florida, and the Dragon Con blood drives routinely outperform those held at that big west coast corporate convention.
If you’re new to the convention, consider stopping by the Dragon Con Newbies group on Facebook. It is run by Kevin Bachelder, Sue Kisenwether, Kim McGibony, and me, and is an in-depth community resource for information about this massive (and sometimes overwhelming) event. Memberships (tickets) for this year’s convention are available, however memberships are limited.
Remember, if you buy a copy of the Dragon Tales book and come find me during the weekend, I will sign it for you. Though not an official part of Dragon Con, the book is themed around our experiences with the convention and the proceeds go to charities in honor of Thom Trainor and Darren Nowell.
Speaking of which, here’s where to find me during Dragon Con 2024.
Note: All Dragon Con schedules are tentative until the convention ends on Monday. Even then, things are a bit suspect. As things change before the convention, I’ll update this post.
Revision History:
-
- Rev 0 – 20 Aug 2022: Initial post.
The Schedule
Attendees start rolling in up to a week before the convention and start partying. I don’t have any big plans for Wednesday yet, but I will definitely be in the area on Thursday to check in to the hotel, pick up my badge and Hard Rock Dragon Con gear, and get started with programming.
12:00p-4:00p: Dragon Con Newbies Walking and Rolling Tours (4 hours)
Main Programming
Marriott Marquis, Atrium Level, A601-A602
Want to get a ‘lay of the land’ and find your way around the hotels? Did you know there’s a food court? Meet others new to Dragon Con and get a tour with some veteran con-goers. The last tours will leave at approximately 3:30pm.
Panelists include: Kevin Bachelder, Sue Kisenwether, Kim McGibony
4:00p-5:00p: Dragon Con Newbies Discussion with Q&A (1 hour)
Main Programming
Marriott Marquis, Atrium Level, A601-A602
First Dragon Con? Confused or overwhelmed? Savvy con attendees will share tips and tricks to navigate this amazing pop culture event.
Panelists include: Kevin Bachelder, Sue Kisenwether, Kim McGibony
10:00a: Dragon Con Newbies Discussion with Q&A (1 hour)
Main Programming
Marriott Marquis, Atrium Level, A601-A602
First Dragon Con? Confused or overwhelmed? Savvy con attendees will share tips and tricks to navigate this amazing pop culture event.
Panelists include: Kevin Bachelder, Sue Kisenwether, Kim McGibony
11:30a: Quantum Leap: No Leap Home (1 hour)
American Science Fiction and Fantasy Media
Marriott Marquis, M301
Ben Song’s leap had just about as much luck as Sam Beckett’s. While this Quantum Leap got mostly positive reactions, the second season shifted gears, introducing Hannah, but NBC/Peacock cancelled it, leaving Ben unable to return home, and us still lost unable to resolve Sam or Ben’s story.
Panelists include: Kevin Bachelder, Kristin Jackson, Wayland Smith, Anthony Liggins
1:00p: Farscape 25th Anniversary Fan Panel (1 hour)
Military Science Fiction
Westin, Chastain DE
Farscape was a landmark show for its weaving together of intricate stories, compelling characters, practical effects in puppetry, and strong visual storytelling. Board Moya with us as we look back on 25 years of this fan favorite.
Panelists include: James Henson, Amanda Tillman, Callie Kelley
10:00a: We’re Going to Need You to Come in Saturday: The Office Space Anniversary
American Sci-Fi Classics
Marriott Marquis, M103-M105
Why does it say paper jam when there’s no paper jam? Find out the answer (AFTER you turn in your TPS reports) and celebrate the anniversary of the most accurate workplace in all of cinema! Also, we really need to talk about your flair.
Panelists include: Michael Bailey, Van Allen Plexico, ToniAnn Marini, Gary Mitchel, Joe Crowe
11:30a: Battlestar Galactica: The Cylon Secrets Within
Military Science Fiction
Westin, Chastain DE
One of the more controversial decisions in the reimagined series (which celebrates its full-season 20th anniversary this year) was to incorporate Cylons into humanlike bodies. We’ll look at how this changed the game in terms of the plot possibilities, as well as choose our favorite Cylon models.
Panelists include: Kevin Grazier, Kevin Cafferty, Karen Henson, James Henson
No panels scheduled at this time.
10:00a: The Musicals and Plays of Fantasy Literature (1 hour)
Fantasy Literature
Hyatt, Embassy CD
A look at our favorite fantasy stories come to life on stage.
Panelists include: Nich Lyle, Mera Rose, M. C. Williams, Sara Rose
11:30a: Cruise Control: Space Travel in MSFM (1 hour)
Military Science Fiction
Westin, Chastain DE
How do YOU travel through space? We’re exploring methods like FTL travel, Stargates, jump gates, and more as we review the different means of travel and navigation in our MSFM properties and the benefits and drawbacks of each for a sci-fi show.
Panelists include: Doug Burbey, Erin Macdonald, Karen Henson, Badger (Joey Bruner), Alli Martin
Creative Criticality 