DRAGON CON BRINGS 85,000 COSPLAYERS, GAMERS, AND POP CULTURE ENTHUSIASTS TO ATLANTA 

2019 General Release (PDF Version)

The Streets Will Be Alive! … with Zombies, Superheroes, Villains, Stormtroopers, and Other Characters from Fantasy, Sci-Fi, & Gaming

ATLANTA – August 22, 2019 – Dragon Con, the internationally known science fiction, fantasy, and gaming convention, returns to downtown Atlanta for Labor Day weekend, bringing with it some 85,000 pop culture fans.

Dragon Con 2019 runs from Thursday, Aug. 29 to Monday, Sept. 3 with events and activities across five host hotels – Hyatt Regency Atlanta, Marriott Marquis, Hilton Atlanta, Westin Peachtree, and Sheraton Atlanta – and AmericasMart Buildings #1 and #2.

This year, Dragon Con’s footprint will expand to include 200 Peachtree, an event space next to the Westin Peachtree, for selected events including the 8-Bit Ball on Thursday, 10 pm to 2 am, and the Heroes and Villains Ball, Saturday, 10 pm to 2 am, both in the Whitehall Ballroom.

Dragon Con attracts fans from all 50 states and several foreign countries who come to Dragon Con to 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.

Guests – A galaxy of stars from some of the best known television and movies of the last 40 years will be at Dragon Con this year, including two captains, a doctor, an evil queen, a dread pirate, and a nightmare from Elm Street.  

More than 400 guests, from the worlds of movies, television, comics, literature, and other universes, will lead panel discussions and meet with fans. Some of this year’s top guests include Once Upon a Time’s Lana Parrilla, Good Omens’ and Doctor Who’s David Tennant, and Star Trek’s George Takei.

Joining Takei, Star Trek fans will have a chance to meet the original Captain Kirk, William Shatner, as well as Anson Mount and several other cast members from Star Trek: Discovery, the latest installment of the beloved franchise.   

Dragon Con will celebrate Batman’s 80th Anniversary with five actors from Fox’s hit series, Gotham, including Donal Logue (Harvey Bullock), Sean Pertwee (Alfred), Robin Lord Taylor (Penguin), Maggie Geha (Ivy) and David Mazouz (Bruce Wayne).

For fans of the 1980s, Dragon Con will have Robert Englund, best known for playing Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare franchise, along with a couple of his victims. Marc Singer and Jane Badler, who along with Englund, starred in the 1980s version of extraterrestrial television show V, will also be on hand. 

Fans will also recognize guests from Georgia-filmed productions such as Marvel’s Thor Ragnarok (Karl Urban), Stranger Things (Cary Elwes, Shannon Purser, Mark Steger), Cobra Kai (Ralph Macchio, William Zabko, Martin Kove), Black Lightning (Cress Williams, Nafessa Williams, Christine Adams, Jordan Calloway, James Remar), and The Gifted (Emma Dumont, Jamie Chung). 

Some other films and television represented by guests at this year’s convention include the Star Wars franchise; summer blockbuster Shazam!; new series Dark Crystal: The Age of Resistance; Once Upon A Time; Dr. Who; The Boys; Supernatural; Farscape; The Expanse; Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow; iZombie; The Magicians; The Orville; the Stargate franchise; and Wynonna Earp.

Gaming – Responding to the exploding popularity of eSports, Dragon Con is expanding it’s offering this year with the addition of Skillshot, a producer of DOTA Underlords and other eSports tournaments, to the lineup. In addition to the tournaments, Skillshot is also hosting a meet & greet with professional Paladins and SMITE players. 

The popular Artemis Bridge Game, in which eight players man the bridge of a USS Enterprise-like starship through its galactic adventures, is also expanding. First offered in 2016, the Artemis will now have two dedicated installations.   

Overall, Dragon Con offers more than 140,000 square feet of gaming, making it one of the largest gaming conventions in the nation. From the latest video games to the most popular tabletop games, plus Japanese and classic American arcade games, ‘round the clock gaming is free to Dragon Con members starting Thursday, Aug. 29 at 4 pm.

Parade –

The always popular Dragon Con Parade steps off on Saturday, Aug. 31 at 10 am. While the parade is expected to attract a large crowd, it is free and the whole city is invited. 

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. It will end on Peachtree Center Avenue between John Portman Boulevard and Baker Street, in front of the Atlanta Marriott Marquis.

The route is convenient to three MARTA stations – North Avenue, Civic Center, and Peachtree Center. Parking downtown is expected to be tight, and Dragon Con encourages parade spectators to ride MARTA.

The 2019 parade will once again be televised and streamed live on Atlanta’s CW69 and our own DCTV. 

Live broadcast on the CW will begin at 10 am on Saturday, Aug. 31 and will stay live on air through the entire parade, with a time-edited rebroadcast on Sunday, Sept. 1 at 11 a.m.  

There are a number of live streaming options. DCTV will broadcast the parade live on a closed circuit to the convention’s host hotels, with rebroadcasts throughout the weekend. Parade coverage will also be available through the DC Streaming Membership option.

Cosplay –

Dragon Con is well known for the quality of its cosplay – or costume play – and that tradition will certainly continue. The nation’s top cosplayers will show off their best work during the show, participating in costume contests every night of the convention and promenading throughout the five host hotels and the streets of downtown Atlanta.

Cosplay competitions remain a mainstay of Dragon Con, including the queen of competitions, Dragon Con Masquerade, the oldest continuously-run competition in fandom, the craftsmanship-focused Friday Night Costume Contest,  the low-key and fan-voted Hallway Costume Contest, and The Chôsen Costume Contest at Dragon Con’s Night at the Georgia Aquarium.

Official Charity –

The American Heart Association is Dragon Con’s official charity for 2019. Through auctions and other charity events, plus a dollar-for-dollar match up to $100,000 from Dragon Con, the convention will raise money to support this important organization.

The convention raised $115,000 for Atlanta-based Literacy Action, Inc. in 2018 and has consistently raised more than $100,000 for each of its official charities since 2013.

In addition to fundraising, Dragon Con conducts the largest convention-based blood drive in the nation. In 2018, some 3,000 fans donated more than 6,000 units of blood and blood products in the annual Robert A. Heinlein “Pay It Forward” blood drive, benefiting LifeSouth, which serves more than 40 hospitals in the Atlanta area and 110 hospitals in the Southeast.

About Dragon Con:

Dragon Con is the internationally known pop culture convention held each Labor Day in Atlanta. Organized for fans, Dragon Con features more than about 3,000 hours of comics, film, television, costuming, art, music, and gaming over four days. For more information, please visit www.dragoncon.org and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.