This was my first time attending this convention. I
have wanted to go for years but I kept putting it off. This year I finally
decided to go. I know, I'm so brave. Yes, this con is not for the faint of
heart as it is big (not San Diego Comic Con big but I am not going to even try
that) and there is a lot to do. This convention is in Atlanta every year and is
filled with people. People walk around wearing all kinds of costumes, more
costumes than I can even identify and I read and watch a great deal of
material. The cosplay is the only thing you are guaranteed to see. You can skip
the panels (you shouldn't), the vendor room (you shouldn't) and the artist
alley (you...well, you know). Making and wearing costumes is called cosplay
(costume play) and it is huge at conventions now (or at least the ones I
attend).
There is so much that people have to pick and
choose since several things overlap. One solution the administrators of the con
did to alleviate this problem is to repeat the panels over several days so if a
person misses it Friday that panel can be seen on Saturday. Speaking of panels,
expect to be waiting for some because the lines are lllllooooonnnnnggg. The
good thing about being in a line is the chance to meet new people. That is what
I did when I was waiting for the shuttle to the Georgia Aquarium. There you go,
Autumn and Will, you have now officially been mentioned in a blog.
Dragon is one of those events where no amount of
description will do it justice. You have to experience yourself to truly
understand. One can see thousands of pictures online (I will be posting mine
here soon and on Facebook) but they are no substitute for being there. You will
run into people you have not seen in a long time or people whose cosplays you
have worshipped from afar. Yes, I said worship since I am at the altar of
cosplay. No, I have not done a cosplay yet myself. I like to watch...Yes, I
know how that sounds and no, I do not mean it like that.
I took at least a thousand photos over the long
weekend. I will be posting them soon. I have to clean them up before they are
ready to be seen here. I went there with my little digital cameras and stood
next to guys with the huge cameras. They would look down at me holding my
little rectangular box of a camera, start smirking when they saw what I had and
then tell me that size does matter.
My
favorite photo is posted below with Samantha Merrell. I did not know her before
this con and she makes this photo great. My face, ehhh, not so great. Obviously
she has done cons before since she seems so comfortable doing this.
There are several things
I have learned at this con:
Wear comfortable shoes (there is a lot of
walking to be done).
Stay hydrated (just not at the
prices the hotels were charging for bottles of water).
Bring extra batteries and memory cards for your
devices.
Saturday will find you feeling like
you are in a pinball game.
Go see Amber Benson if she is there.
Let me explain the last one. Amber
Benson has starred on TV, in movies and written books (in case you do not know
who she is). She was in the walk of fame with several other celebrities and
like other celebrities, had a line of people waiting to see her. She moved her
line with a military precision so the wait time is not very long but people did
not feel rushed or shorted. She has a warm, friendly disposition that made the
30 seconds with her seem longer, that it was quality time and she was glad to
see you. Even though I could not afford it my book still got signed (and that
is all I am going to say about that). This is different from some people there
who had the attitude “can’t afford anything—NEXT!” So, yes, if she is there,
see her. I was going to make a joke about how the celebrities got to meet me,
not that I got to meet them-but in Amber Benson’s case, I had the privilege to
meet her.
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