Dragon Con, and all of its many celebrities, panels, screenings and Storm Troopers, is back for its 29th year.
The four-day convention draws tens of thousands of people to Atlanta and runs "round the clock" Sept. 4-7 at five downtown hotels: the Hyatt Regency Atlanta, Atlanta Hilton, Sheraton Atlanta, Atlanta Marriott Marquis and the Westin Peachtree Plaza.
The biggest spectator event is the Dragon*Con parade. It starts at 10 a.m. but make sure you arrive early. Thousands of people line the streets for it. Click here for the parade route.
Last-minute admission — "membership," in convention parlance, as it also confers several discounts and benefits at Atlanta area retailers — is available until noon on Sept. 2 for $150 and covers all four days. Single-day passes are available for purchase as early as 8 a.m. each day in question.
Complete info on memberships, include one-, two- and three-day admission, is available here. Children ages 6 and under get in free.
Here's what else you need to know if you're attending. (No: You cannot get married at the convention.)
Where to park + stay
Dragon Con has partnered with Parking Panda to sell guaranteed parking passes, though they do not include overnight parking. One-day passes start at $5. (Multi-day passes are sold out.) To book overnight parking, attendees can call 800-232-6415.
There are dozens of other options outside Parking Panda. Here's an interactive map of downtown options, including garages and covered and non-covered surface lots.
The convention maintains a list of area hotels with available rooms, including rate information, here.
What to do
The convention is huge, encompassing programming from many different genres (science fiction, fantasy, horror, comic book, cartoon, etc.), so attendees are best off planning a personalized schedule.
There are many options: Here's a list of featured appearances (including Stephen Amell, Felicia Day, Matt Fraction, Karen Gillan and more) and a list of the 35-plus performers; and here is a list of events, including a late-night puppet slam, a "Rocky Horror Picture Show" performance lifted straight from the Plaza stage, a double-feature "Mystery Science Theater 3000" screening and, of course, the parade.
Many guests will also host autograph signing sessions.
That's not all: The convention will host gaming events of all kinds (video games, board games, table top games, live-action role-playing games and more); workshops covering acting, special effects and makeup, writing and more; and "tracks" (bundled panels, seminars and other events) on topics such as "Star Wars," Asian cinema, urban fantasy, young adult literature and more.
And then there is the artwork, which attendees can see and own, while exploring the art show and the comics and pop artist alley, which includes an exhibit celebrating Marvel Comics' 75th anniversary and a John Lewis signing for his biographic graphic novel "March: Volume 2."
Want to save a photo from the weekend? Here are the details on opportunities for fan photography (you, your costume, your friends) and celebrity photography (you, your costume, a famous person).
WSBTV
