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Dragon*Con was launched in 1987 as
an outgrowth/evolvement of a local SF and gaming group, the
Dragon Alliance of Gamers and Role-Players (DAGR), founded by Ed
Kramer. The name "Dragon" for both the club and
the convention was derived from Ed's Dragon Computer (a
European version of Radio Shack's venerable Color Computer),
which hosted the local Bulletin Board System ("The
Dragon") that initially served as a central hub for both
organizations. Through months of initial planning, club
members John Bunnell, David
Cody, Robert
Dennis, Mike Helba, Pat
Henry, and Ed Kramer formed the original Dragon*Con Board
of Directors; most remain an integral part of the convention
to this day. In fact, nearly fifty "ten-year" staff
and guests were honored at Dragon*Con '96!
Our inaugural Dragon*Con flyers
debuted at the 1986 Atlanta Worldcon, ConFederation. However,
by the following year Dragon*Con had been selected to be the
host of the 1990 Origins convention -- the US National Gaming
Convention -- and so had penned a seven-year contract with the
Atlanta Hilton (for 1990 through 1996) -- all prior to the
start of our first event!
Dragon*Con '87 featured Guest
of Honor Michael Moorcock (his first US convention appearance
in twelve years), Robert Asprin and Lynn
Abbey, the late Robert Adams, Richard
"Lord British" Garriott (creator of Ultima),
Gary Gygax (co-creator of Dungeons and Dragons) and
Toastmaster Brad
Strickland. Just over 1,400 fans joined in on the fun -- a
remarkable number for a first-year convention. Miramar
recording artist Jon Serrie delivered his keyboard
arrangements from within a real NASA flight suit (with helmet)
during the Masquerade/Costume Contest. Michael Moorcock and
longtime friend Eric Bloom, Blue Oyster Cult's
vocalist/guitarist, even jammed onstage, performing the
Moorcock-written BOC tunes "Veteran of the Psychic
Wars" and "Black Blade" -- thus launching live
concerts as a Dragon*Con annual tradition. Starfire
Swords donated a sword to be presented to Michael Moorcock
by the convention. Thomas
E. Fuller and the Atlanta Radio
Theatre, who've become
another annual tradition, performed H.P. Lovecraft's Call
of Cthulhu live at the con and on the air.
Dragon*Con's 1987 and 1988
conventions were held at the Pierremont Plaza Hotel (now the
Renaissance), at the corner of Spring and Linden. However,
with Anne McCaffrey as Guest of Honor in 1989, Dragon*Con
relocated to the Omni Hotel and Convention Center to
accommodate the 3,200 fans who attended. As host of Origins
'90, Dragon*Con moved to the Atlanta Hilton and Towers and
more than doubled in size with Guest of Honor Tom
Clancy,
providing the Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA) with one
of its largest and most successful conventions to date.
Dragon*Con '90 also marked the
inclusion of an entirely new facet of the convention, the
Atlanta Comics Expo, which was held simultaneously with
Dragon*Con at a nearby hotel. The Expo proved so successful
even in its first year that we retained the moniker and
incorporated it into Dragon*Con itself, a marriage "made
in heaven" -- especially with so much more-recent "crossover"
of comics into SF and fantasy (as well as gaming).
Later in 1990, we hosted
Michael Moorcock and Harlan
Ellison at Georgia Fantasy Con, a smaller mostly-literary
event which set the groundwork for the 1992 World Fantasy
Convention (held in Pine Mountain, Georgia at the Callaway
Gardens resort).
Also in 1992, Dragon*Con and
Atlanta's Dark River Writers assisted in the presentation of
the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writer's Association (SFWA)
annual Nebula Awards Banquet Weekend (held at the Sheraton
Colony Square Hotel).
At the 1992 Worldcon in
Orlando, Florida (Magicon), Dragon*Con won its bid to host the
1995 North American Science Fiction Convention (NASFiC). Later
that year, Dragon*Con also received the bid to host the
International Starfleet Conference as part of its 1995
convention. The combined event set a Dragon*Con attendance
record with 14,312 fans participating. The program book won
the Georgia Printers Association's Award of General Excellence
for that year.
Also in 1995, Dragon*Con staff
assisted in the presentation of the highly successful 1995
World Horror Convention, held at the Sheraton Colony Square
Hotel. We again hosted this professionals' convention in 1999
at the Sheraton Century Center.
The 1994 Worldcon in Winnipeg,
Canada marked a surprise bid for Dragon*Con to host the 1998
Worldcon (after discovering that we'd have to shift dates for
1998 to Labor Day weekend anyway). There was much relief when
Baltimore received the 1998 Worldcon bid instead, since they'd
lost the Worldcon's traditional Labor Day weekend dates and no
conflict would result after all.
In 1996, Atlanta Mayor Bill
Campbell presented the convention with a certificate of
acclamation for hosting its tenth Dragon*Con in the city. By
the time Dragon*Con departed the Atlanta Hilton as its host
hotel in 1996, we had already annexed the Westin Peachtree
Plaza for game tournaments, the Atlanta Civic Center for our
Masquerade Costume Contest, and nearly a dozen overflow hotels
for fans to use. The Atlanta Business Chronicle listed
Dragon*Con as the city's 12th largest annual convention of
any kind based on our 1996 attendance and room block.
Dragon*Con 1997 marked our
shift in hotels to the Hyatt Regency, whose staff have been
extremely supportive. We also made use of the Inforum, a
convention facility two blocks to the west which has since
been closed for convention use.
A new chapter began in 1998 for
Dragon*Con, as we retained our convention headquarters at the
Hyatt Regency Atlanta, but shifted our large-scale operations
(Exhibit Hall, Dealers Room, etc.) to a modern convention
facility called the America's Mart (consisting of the Atlanta
Apparel Mart, Gift Mart, and Merchandise Mart), ranked as the
fourth largest producer of conventions in the United States.
We retained these facilities for 1999, when our attendance
topped 20,000; we dropped the cumbersome "Atlanta Comics
Expo" moniker while retaining our comics programming and
guests. We used the same facilities in 2000.
For 2001 we shifted our
location slightly, keeping the Hyatt as our headquarters hotel
while -- finally! -- making use of the celebrated Atlanta
Marriott Marquis Hotel, one of the Southeast's true
architectural masterpieces. In a sense we'll have come
full-circle; back when our first flyers debuted in 1986 at the
Atlanta Worldcon, Confederation, acclaimed science fiction
writer Ray
Bradbury had said of the then-new Marriott, "This
hotel is science fiction!" Fifteen years later,
it's still one of the most unique structures in the Southeast.
Alas, our growth came at a
cost, as we had to shift our dates to Labor Day Weekend to
make use of both hotels (it's the slowest weekend of the year
in the hotel business). We sincerely regret the conflict with
Worldcon's dates, but it's something over which we have no
control.
In 2002 we kept the same dates
and primary hotels. 2002 also kicked off the 1st
Annual Dragon*Con
Parade, which winded through downtown Atlanta ending at
the Marriott Marquis. The event was so successful that it has
been added to the lineup for 2003. And Mayor
Shirley Franklin proclaimed September 2, 2002, as TrekTrak Day
in the City of Atlanta. TrekTrak
is the track of programming at Dragon*Con devoted to Star Trek
in all of its various forms. Click
here for a look at the proclamation.
2003
set all sorts of records for Dragon*Con, with the largest
number of advanced registered attendees, the largest number of
guests, and the largest Costume Contest - so large, in fact,
it was staged at the nearby Atlanta Civic Center, which seats
nearly 5,000 people.
In 2004 we added several new programming tracks to the lineup. The
Costuming track is dedicated to costumers and those who want to pursue costuming; the
Gothic Horror track was hosted by author Storm
Constantine, an influential figure in the Gothic movement; the
Independent Film track
provides insights to practicing and budding filmmakers; The Tribe returned and now has an official track of programming; and
Young Adult Literature was added because of the
growing demand for science fiction and fantasy for children and young adults, due in part, to the popularity of Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings books and movies.
2005 was a turning point for Dragon*Con when we added the
Atlanta Hilton & Towers as our third official hotel.
Convention Registration was temporarily moved to the Hilton
and the room formerly used by Registration, the Continental
Ballroom in the Hyatt International Tower, became another Main
Programming room. The Costume Contest moved back to the Hyatt
for logistical reasons and convenience. Due to new Georgia
State law, all hotels and restaurants became smoke free in
public areas.
In 2006, Registration moved back to the Hyatt into the
Grand Hall. The Art Show also moved to the Hyatt and shared
the Grand Hall with Registration. We incorporated more of the
Atlanta Hilton & Towers, using the Galleria level for
Gaming and the Grand Salon on the second floor for the Walk of
Fame and an additional Exhibitor's Hall.
New programming tracks for 2006 included Podcasting,
Silk
Road: Asian Cinema and Culture, Sci-Fi
and Fantasy Literature and Star
Gate: Offworld Fandom.
2007
brought several other programming track changes. The Tribe
track became Apocalypse Rising and now covers a broader apocalyptic theme in movies,
television, books, and music...even prophecy, theology, and
mythology. And the Buffy track changed its name to the
Whedonverse to include all of Joss Whedon’s creations.
The Marriott remodeling project, already under construction in
2007, necessitated the temporary move of the Dealer's Room, Exhibitors Hall and Comic
Artist Alley to the Hilton. The Walk of Fame and
Gaming were moved from the Hilton to the Marriott. Band
tables moved down one level in the Hyatt from the
Centennial level to the Grand Hall level.
We raised $15,000 for
the American Diabetes Foundation, the
official Dragon*Con charity for 2007.
This, added to the $3,500 Team Dragon
raised, makes the total $18,500 for the
fight against diabetes.
2008 brings change and growth for Dragon*Con.
Now that the Marriott remodeling project is complete, the Dealer's Room, Exhibitors Hall and Comic
Artist Alley will all move back to the Marriott. The
Walk of Fame will also remain in the Marriott, moving to the
new Atrium Ballroom.
Gaming will
move back to the Hilton, but the Hilton starts its renovation
project this year necessitating the addition of convention
space in the Sheraton Hotel. The Sheraton, located across the
street from the Hilton, will add 15,000 sq. ft. of Grand
Ballroom and house some programming tracks.
Our sincere thanks to everyone -- staff, guests, exhibitors,
dealers, attending artists and attendees -- who have
contributed to our growth over the years!
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