Dragon Con 2022: Know Before You Go

It’s officially Dragon Con Week! I’m so excited because starting tomorrow, downtown Atlanta will be flooded with about 60,000 Cosplayers, Gamers and Pop Culture Fans!

Dragon Con, the internationally known science fiction, fantasy, and gaming convention, runs from Thursday, Sept. 1 to Monday, Sept. 5 with events and activities across five host hotels – Hyatt Regency Atlanta, Marriott Marquis, Hilton Atlanta, Westin Peachtree, and Sheraton Atlanta – and AmericasMart Buildings Two and Three.

Guests – Two members of the original Star Trek television series, William Shatner and Walter Koenig, lead a long list of celebrity guests who will appear at this year’s convention. Joining them are Emmy-nominated actor Morena Baccarin; Once Upon a Time’s Jennifer Morrison; Lauren Ridloff, Tony-nominated deaf actress from Marvel’s Eternals; and David Ramsey and Emily Bett Rickards at the head of a long list of actors representing the Arrowverse.

Other top guests from television and movies include Charmed’s Holly Marie Combs; Stargate Atlantis’ Joe Flanigan and Rachel Luttrell; Encanto’s Diane Guerrero, Mauro Castillo, and Adassa; and The Boys’ Laz Alonso, Nathan Mitchell, and Tomer Capone; as well as voice actors Kaitlyn Robrock (Disney’s Minnie Mouse), Jim Cummings (Disney’s Winnie the Pooh), and Nolan North (Superman).

Joining Shatner and Koenig, Star Trek fans will have a chance to meet Anson Mount, Anthony Rapp, Michelle Hurd, and many other cast members from the latest installments of the beloved franchise, Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Picard, and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

Fans will also recognize guests from Georgia-filmed productions including Doom Patrol (Joivan Wade, Matthew Zuk, Riley Shanahan, and Mark Sheppard); Stargirl (Brec Bassinger, Yvette Monreal, Trae Romano, and Anjelika Washington), The Walking Dead (Chad Coleman, Laurie Holden, Katelyn Nacon, and Chandler Riggs), and Fear The Walking Dead (Lennie James and Danay Garcia).

Covid Policy

DragonCon continues to follow CDC guidelines and this year’s convention will have the following policies in place:

• Well-fitting and appropriate masks are required indoors at all convention venues, including the five host hotels and AmericasMart Buildings Two and Three.
• This year’s convention will have reduced capacity compared to 2019’s convention, but more fans than the 2021 convention
• There is a limited number of Saturday-only memberships (which are expected to sell out)
• There will be no onsite membership sales to reduce congestion, increase social distance, and improve traffic at badge pickup in the Sheraton. If memberships are available for purchase, they will only be available online through Growtix.
• Proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test are not required this year, but they encourage everyone to get vaccinated to help reduce the spread and severity of COVID 19. Please make informed decisions about attending Dragon Con and if you are not feeling well or have been recently exposed to somebody with Covid, please plan to stay home

Photo Ops – One highlight of Dragon Con is the opportunity to take photos with your favorite celebrities. Click here for photos ops schedules and information!

Cosplay – Dragon Con is well known for the quality of its cosplay – or costume play – and that tradition will certainly continue. 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, and the low-key and fan-voted Hallway Costume Contest.

Gaming – New this year, Dragon Con is moving a large part of its ‘round the clock gaming programming one block up and one block over, from AmericasMart Building One to Building Three.

Joystick Gamebar will once again offer a pop-up experience at 161 Peachtree Center, featuring dozens of classic American arcade games. No need for quarters, these games will be free to play for the full convention.

Parade – The always popular Dragon Con Parade steps off on Saturday, Sept. 3 at 10 am. After a year in which only badged Dragon Con members could attend, the parade is once again free and open to the public.

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. Dragon Con encourages parade spectators to ride MARTA.

The 2022 parade will be televised and streamed live on Atlanta’s CW69 and on DCTV. CW69’s live coverage will begin at 10am ET and will remain on air through the entire parade, with a time-edited rebroadcast on Sunday, Sept. 4 at 11pm ET.

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 Dragon Con Goes Virtual streaming app.

Official Charity – Open Hand Atlanta is Dragon Con’s official charity for 2022. 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.

In addition to fundraising, Dragon Con conducts the largest convention-based blood drive in the nation. In 2021, 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.

Tips and Tricks

You can never be too prepared for Dragon Con. Wear comfortable shoes and be prepared to walk. Bring a backpack or big bag with the following items and you will be set!

• Mask (masks are required indoors this year so make sure to bring plenty)
• Cash – many vendors (especially in the Walk of Fame) are Cash only
• Portable charger/battery back-up (keep that phone and camera charged)
• Refillable water bottle (the hotels provide water in the panel rooms so bring a water bottle to stay hydrated and fill up)
• Protein bars, snacks
• Lanyard – Don’t lose that badge! Lanyards aren’t provided so bring your favorite one with you
• Sharpie/pens (you never know who you might bump into)
• Poster tube or plastic covers for Autographs/posters
• Sewing kit, safety pins (especially if you are a Cosplayer)
• Sunscreen
• Umbrella
• Extra shirt to change
• Hand Sanitizer
• Lysol wipes
• Advil/Tylenol
• Vitamin C (start staking them now to build up that immune system)
• Hair ties
• Lip Balm

Dragon Con Goes Virtual

Can’t make it to Dragon Con? No problem! Dragon Con Goes Virtual features overlapping coverage of the live convention and exclusive programming just for the platform from the amazing fan tracks, for only $10.  Additionally, the virtual marketplace will be open from September 1 through September 9, allowing fans both at the event and at home to purchase from and support their favorite vendors and artists. Click here to purchase a streaming pass!

You can keep up with Dragon Con on Instagram and Twitter @DragonCon and you can keep up with my shenanigans on Instagram @LisaGetsLit Happy Dragon Con y’all!

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 five days. For more information, please visit www.dragoncon.org and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.