DRAGON CON PART 2: THE FACTS ABOUT THE CON
When Dragon Con is discussed there are always multiple ways it's being described. There are 4 types of people out in the world, one that don't know about Dragon Con, never heard of and no idea about it, two are ones that have heard of it but don't know anything about it so have their own assumption of what it is, the fourth are ones that do know about it but don't think it will be in their interests, and the last are all the ones that have been to the con so know what it is.
For PART 2 of my blogs on Dragon Con, I want to take the time to talk some about what the con is and what it's about. For 2015 I was lucky enough to experience the con from a different angle, as a reporter, and I got to say I enjoyed it and myself like I expected I would. Now before you say, "Oh, well duh Lee, you got a press pass to Dragon Con, of course you will enjoy it". Let me tell you it's still work, granted it is extremely fun work that is work you will never get anywhere else but as much fun as it can be, I still have to make choices, not tough ones, but ones that are, do I want to do this for personal reasons or should I skip that so I can get that for my blog? See, not tough ones cause both are fun but don't take any of what I'm saying as anything else then I loved doing doing this. This is work I would gladly volunteer to do with not only a smile on my face but I would be begging to get to do it.
Speaking of volunteering, I will start talking about how Dragon Con is able to be brought to us.
Ever wonder how Dragon Con is able to be put together? Volunteers.
It's with these people, all the volunteers, that Dragon Con is able to be accomplished.
Though if you think that Dragon Con is all about the celebrities, costumes, and parties, well it's not. Along with all that's going on at the con, there is also the money raised to be used for charities for a good cause. This year the money being raised was for the Lymphoma Research Foundation. At last count that was given, they had raised $100,000, which is a very good sum of money. Last year Dragon Con was able to raise $115k for the Atlanta Community Food Bank, and I'm sure when 2016 rolls around for Dragon Con, we fanboys and fangirls will once again help out in the time of need.
But what else is at Dragon Con?
Well, if you want to see some unique art work then this is also the place to do it at. I would like to show some photos but that is one place that photos are not allowed to be taken, which is reasonable because these artists put a lot of their time, selves, and money into creating the art and it don't need to be taken away with a photo.
Whatever you can as well as can't imagine is going to be shown in the artist alley. This year I was able to see some of the puppets used for Kermit the Frog, Fozzie the Bear, and even Oscar the Grouch. All of which was extremely cool to see in person. There was also some very cool art work of dragons to some sculptures that if I had in my apartment would give me nightmares (don't take that as the art was bad, it was sculpted with great detail and skill, only just in an image that is a bit on the nightmarish side).
There's also the comic alley that will include some of the big names in the comic book world down to local artists that are creating their own works. It's an amazing place if you like comics. Which I love and I love going. This year the big draw for me was Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti, who are writers and artists on the Harley Quinn book as well as others like Starfire. I usually get a headsketch while at the comic alley but this year it was just getting my Harley Quinn books signed.
So, you might be saying, “Sure the shopping is great, the art work is amazing, and the celebrities are cool, but I want to just look at costumes.”. Well, OK, Dragon Con has you covered for that. If you want to be lazy where you have the costumes walk past you while you stay in one spot, then go to the parade on Saturday. This is a huge parade that gets larger each year and in it you will see every costume you can ever think of and more. There are no other parades like this one and with each year it gets more amazing. So many people take part in this parade and it is so cool to see all the costumes, the cars, and everything else that gets, well, paraded down the streets of downtown Atlanta. It really is a sight to behold.
And well, that's it for this blog, it's been fun but the con was a lot more fun.