What did Dragon Con look like during a pandemic?
Masks. Lots of masks. (I hope you read that in Keanu Reeve’s voice!) It was like the masked ball in Labyrinth met The Phantom of the Opera. Masks were required by all attendees per the protocols established prior to the convention. And all were required to either be vaccinated or show proof of a negative Covid test taken within 72 hours before showing up at registration to pick up badges.
And so far the protocols seem to have worked. I’ve had numerous friends take Covid tests (some more than once, including me, who took two at-home tests) with no positives so far. The Force is with us! Con-goers wore masks in panels and when moving between hotels. I only noticed masks lowered or removed in the bar area, which was 1) Not unexpected because … drinking and 2) Allowed, also because … drinking.
No one let the mask mandate interfere with cosplaying fun. Many incorporated their masks into their outfit, or wore cosplay that required masks or helmets.
The hotel restaurants all seemed to be serving food buffet-style (in a pandemic?) so I avoided them, but thank goodness for plenty of places to grab snacks and, most importantly, coffee.
The convention raised $120,000 for its official 2021 charity, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta.
The crowds were estimated to be 42,000. About half of the usual crowd. I heard several people say it was like Dragon Con ten years ago. I’ve been attending for too many years and they all start blurring together after a while, but it sounds about right. Despite the smaller attendance, fans still came from all fifty states and a handful of foreign countries, including Canada, Australia and western European nations.
For fans who were not comfortable attending a live convention, Dragon Con Goes Virtual, a live-streamed version of the convention, attracted 22,000 views. The $10 subscription, good through June 1, 2022, included live convention coverage as well as exclusive pre-recorded content and highlights from past conventions that fans could enjoy from the comfort of their own home in the company of close friends and family.
The scaled-down parade, always a highlight of the convention, was also available to watch from home or hotel room.
And a new cult emerged this year, the DragonCon’s Closed for Cleaning Cult. The cult emerged when the app was updated with this year’s schedule, with many times blocked out for cleaning. This reignited the popularity of Bob and Carl the Sci-Fi Janitors, whose masked faces often have appeared on Dragon Con TV as they clean and discuss pop culture.
Last year, a FedEx standee launched the Cult of Jon, when googly eyes were added to the standee, then stickers and a lei and a variety of other adornments. The rumor has it that FedEx told their employees to remove the standees from the hotels prior to con, so fans made their own shrines. Funnily enough, these areas were cleaned each night by the custodial staff and the items removed, merging the Cult of Jon with the Closed for Cleaning Cult. Eventually some other standees were brought in by the Aparcels of Jon, and the worshiping continued.
This is why I love Dragon Con. The sheer insanity of it all. Never a dull moment when con-goers can make a cult out of a cardboard figure.
And the Hilton, one of the host hotels, always gets in on the fun. For the past few years or so, they have a theme and decorate and offer concessions related to the theme. This year was Stranger Things, with the atrium decorated to resemble Starcourt Mall. And oohhhh, they had a Waldenbooks sign! That brought back the memories. And they had an outdoor patio area that made mingling a bit less stressful than being indoors.
And the annual blood drive was also a huge success! LifeSouth, which has organized the convention’s annual Robert A. Heinlein “Pay It Forward” blood drive since 2002, held another successful drive. This year, some 2,200 donors, including a record 40 percent of whom were first time blood donors. The annual drive – consistently ranked as the largest convention-based blood drive – benefits LifeSouth, which serves more than 40 hospitals in the Atlanta area and 110 hospitals in the Southeast.
Dragon Con will return in 2022 for the five-day Labor Day Weekend, Sept. 1 to Sept. 5.
