ATLANTA — Some 65,000 pop culture fans are expected to descend on downtown Atlanta over Labor Day weekend for this year's Dragon Con.
The event lets attendees "meet their favorite actors, artists, authors, creators, and experts, show off their latest cosplay, make new friends, and revel in the joy that is Dragon Con."
Here's what you should know about the convention.
When is it?
The event runs from Thursday, Aug. 31 to Monday, Sept. 4.
Where in downtown do I go?
Activities will be spread across five host hotels – Hyatt Regency Atlanta, Marriott Marquis, Hilton Atlanta, Westin Peachtree, and Courtland Grand (formerly Sheraton Atlanta) – and AmericasMart Buildings Two and Three.
Who are the celebrity guests?
According to a release, the most notable names this year include:
- Star Trek's Georgia Takei
- Lord of the Rings stars Elijah Wood and Sean Astin
- Performance capture specialist Andy Serkis, known for his work on the Planet of the Apes films, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and more.
Other names include Paul Bettany, Gina Torres, Bruce Boxleitner, Adrianne Palicki, Anson Mount, D.B. Woodside, Ian Anderson, Tom Cavanagh, Tested.com’s Adam Savage, and 1970s action TV stars Lee Majors and Lindsay Wagner. In all, there will be more than 100 actors on-site leading panels, signing autographs and taking photos.
Marty Krofft, of Sid & Marty Krofft Pictures, will also be in attendance. They're behind such popular children’s television shows such as H.R. Pufnstuf, Lidsville, Sigmund & The Sea Monsters, Land of the Lost, and Mutt & Stuff – a run that started in 1969 and ran through 2015 – plus primetime variety shows including Donny & Marie, the Brady Bunch Variety Hour, and Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters.
In addition, Dragon Con said it will host "some 300 authors, artists, game designers, puppeteers, scientists, engineers, and other experts to lead panels and talk with fans across 38 tracks of programming, from high fantasy to hard science."
Will there be cosplay?
Of course!
Cosplay competitions include the queen of competitions, Dragon Con Masquerade, the oldest continuously run competition in fandom, the craftsmanship-focused Friday Night Costume Contest, and the low-key and fan-voted Hallway Costume Contest.
Other activities
On Saturday, Sept. 2 at 10 a.m.. is the famous Dragon Con parade, which is free and open to the public.
The parade route remains the same as in past years. Beginning at the intersection of Peachtree Street and Linden Avenue, the parade will head south on Peachtree, east (left) on Andrew Young International Boulevard and north (left) on Peachtree Center Avenue.
There will also be more than three acres of gaming in AmericasMart Building Three, plus additional gaming and game-related programming in the nearby Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel.