ATLANTA – One of the world’s largest science fiction and fantasy-themed conventions kicked off its 29th annual convention on Friday; DragonCon is underway, a celebration of all things pop culture.
Attendees from across the nation hope to spend the Labor Day weekend meeting their favorite celebrities, sitting in on panel discussions about movies and books and television, participating in extravagant costume contests and shopping for treasured one-of-a-kind collectables.
Last year over 62,000 fans attended DragonCon and organizers anticipate this year’s attendance to be even higher.
Four downtown hotels – the Hyatt Regency, the Marriott Marquis, the Atlanta Sheraton and the Atlanta Hilton, as well as Building 2 of Americasmart - host hundreds of event vendors, making the celebration one of Atlanta’s ten largest events.
The economic impact on the city is also enormous. In 2014 DragonCon events raised over $115,000 for the Atlanta Community Food Bank, collected nearly 3,300 units of blood for Life South’s “Pay It Forward” blood drive and contributed over 900 hours of voluntary community service leading into the convention. Since 2005 DragonCon has raised more than $426,000 for area charities.
To learn more about DragonCon visit their website.
(Alison Reeger-Cook contributed to this story.)
