School Presentation Literature

Dragon*Con

Transcript

2. The Setting Main Hotels: • The Marriott Marquis • The Hilton • The Sheraton • The Westin • The Hyatt Regency Ancillary hotels reserved for convention attendees: • The Ritz Carlton • The Twelve • The W As well as several others located centrally across downtown
3. Time for the Weekend • Dragon*Con happens on the first weekend in September (Labor Day weekend) every year, and this year will fall on August 31 – September 3 While possible to register on any day of the weekend, most people opt to do it on Thursday to avoid missing any panels.
4. After Registration • Most people opt to wander around the main host hotels. • Only con-goers and guests are allowed inside the hotels during the weekend.
5. Tracks • Every niche and genre holds it’s own track at Dragon*Con. • Alternate History Track • American Sci-fi Classics • American Sci-fi Media • Animation • Anime/Manga • Anne McCaffrey’s Worlds • Apocalypse Rising • Art Show Forums & Workshops • The Armory • BritTrack • Main Programming • British MediaTrack • Costuming • Electronic Frontiers Forum • Filk • Horror & Dark Fantasy • Independent Film Track • Kaleidoscope • Paranormal • Puppetry • Robert Jordon's Wheel of Time • Robotics • Sci-fi and Fantasy Literature
6. Places That Will Take your Money After registration, between panels, or any time you have a spare couple of minutes, most people opt to visit the dealer halls. Occupying three of the largest spaces in the host hotels, Dealer and Exhibition halls are always somewhere to go and relax while examining nerdy curios, art, and clothing.
7. Other Things That Happen This
8. Dragon*Con After Dark Not much happens after nine o’clock during the con, but everything that does is adult oriented • The costume regulations become more lax • Meet ups and room parties become commonplace • And most notably, the After Dark costume contest, where con-goers show off their most revealing outfits
9. Also Found After Dark Other popular After Dark pastimes • The DragonDance rave • Full catered bars in all host hotels, including the famous sailboat bar in the Marriott atrium • Singles meet ups around town
10. Daily Event Designations Just as thursdays are designated for registration, other days are designated for other notable events that happen over the course of the weekend • On Saturday is the Dragon*Con parade, the awards Banquet, and the Comic Book Babes costume contest • Sunday holds the Masquerade and Yule Ball • Monday is mostly reserved for wrap up and final fairwells
11. The Dragon*Con Parade By far the most popular event of the weekend, this is the only time that the general public is allowed to view the goings-on of the convention proper • Every year hundreds of costumed con-goers march down Peachtree Street • Divided into sections by genre and/or specific show or movie
12. With vibrant, varried costumes from every concievable show, movie, manga, comic book, and cartoon, it’s easy to see why people clog the streets of downtown every year to see Parade.
13. And every year, at the most popular event of the convention, a legion of imperial storm troopers marches upon the streets of downtown, effectively becoming the most populer section of the most popular event at the Con
14. The Costume Contests Another of the more popular pastimes come Dragon*Con are the plethora of costume contests held by almost every track worth its salt
15. Every track
16. Dragon*Con Survival Tips If you or a loved one plan on attending Dragon*Con, there are a few things to keep in mind while wandering the streets of downtown: • Sleep: It seems pretty obvious, but it is easy to get caught up in the rush of things and not allocate enough time for R&R, try to take naps between panels, and don’t try to wake up too early after partying the night away.
17. Plan for Transportation An often overlooked aspect of convention survival is transportation, or as it’s known in downtown Atlanta, gridlock/MARTA; especially on Saturdays, when Peachtree Street is clogged with the Parade, downtown traffic is all stop and no go. If you are going to take MARTA to avoid getting stuck in a parking lot then think ahead, MARTA only runs trains every 10-20 minutes, and stops running early on weekends, so plan accordingly for a way home or a place to sleep if you plan to be out past midnight.
18. Keep it Clean With so many people wandering about in an enclosed space, your bound to end up waiting for a panel with more than a few infection vectors, help keep yourself free of “con crud” by playing it safe • Wash your hands after waiting in line or interacting with other people in anyway, you don’t have to be religious, but you do have to do it regularly • Pack a few fruits, like oranges, not only do they boost your immune system, but they also help counteract scurvy • And last but not least, try to keep some hand-sanitizer with you for when you end up shaking hands with the unkempt man in the kilt
19. Get Ready to Exhaust Yourself Even if you’ve managed to get a solid eight hours the whole weekend (congrats, you freaking wizard), come Monday, you’ll still be wiped, so try to plan for a few days of downtime to grab some R&R, recover from con crud, and the occasional scurvy outbreak. With this many experiences jammed into four days, if you don’t need the time to assimilate it all anyway, you were obviously doin’ it wrong.