Convention Fans

A big welcome to any and all new readers of the blog, especially you Dragon*con fans! You can always rely on this blog to have a new post every day! I’m already working on some interviews with some cool convention attendees and organizers, so look for those interview segments to start appearing!

Pros of a Large Convention:

While I’ve never attended the big daddy of all cons (Comic Con), I have attended three rather large East coast conventions over the years: Megacon (Orlando), Dragon*con (Atlanta) and Otakon (Baltimore). Both boasts some pretty hefty attendance numbers. Although I don’t really attend small conventions anymore (see Not as Much “Bang for Your Buck” in my previous post), I do want to reitterate that I have experienced many conventions of many sizes.

1. Did You Say NATHAN FREAKIN’ FILLION and ALAN TUDYK?! OMG and Michael Dorn too?!

Fillion introduces himself & Tudyk to Dorn (Dragon*con 2008)

What can I say? That was my reaction last year to the 2008 Dragon*con line up. Now add about another two dozen or so actors from Star Trek, Firely, Star Wars, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Harry Potter, Smallville, Battlestar Galactica, and… you get my point, and you have Dragon*con’s final line up. They filled an entire ballroom with stars from some of the most popular (and obscure) sci-fi and fantasy series and got them all to Atlanta for a weekend to sign autographs and given talks. You just can’t beat the ability of these large cons to attract big name stars from such a wide variety of shows, movies, comics, etc. I met more Star Trek actors in a single year at Dragon*con than I did in three years attending smaller conventions.

2. A Seemingly Infinite List of Stuff to Do

One of the benefits to renting out an entire convention center or multiple hotels is that you have a great deal of space for events and programming. A large con can run three or four big ballroom events in at a time, and another two dozen smaller ones in meeting rooms. Don’t want to see the Harry Potter actors? You can go across the hall for the Miss Klingon Empire Beauty Pageant (and if you haven’t seen that you haven’t truly lived), or take a gander at the Buffy Horror Picture Show, or go hit up one of the many viewing rooms for anime and independent films. If anything, attending one of these big conventions will make you want time traveling powers just so you can do it all.

Miss Klingon Empire Beauty Pageant (Dragon*con 2008)

3. Vendors Vendors Everywhere

Need a set of D20s? Need stuffed animals shaped like microbes? Need that one episode of that show that never aired on TV in the United States on DVD? The dealer’s room at a convention like Comic Con probably has it. Not only will they probably have it, but they’ll have the corporate sponsors handing out free t-shirts and posters for it. Large cons have the ability to bring in vendors from across the country, selling a variety of items, and offering plenty of freebies. They’ll teach you how to play their new card game. They’ll show you a new preview of their game that hasn’t been shown anywhere else. You can literally spend hours in their vendor and exhibition halls, and still not see everything available.

4. Premiers and Other Exclusives

This is sort of related to number three, but deserves separate mention none-the-less. Big conventions tend to attract exclusive releases and content. For example, a lot of film companies have been debuting trailers at Comic Con over the past few years. Another example: Dragon*con’s Trek Trak hosted the world premier of Star Trek: Of Gods and Men in 2008. They even had Tim Russ (Tuvok of Voyager) in attendance. Otakon 2003 hosted the very first US concert by J-Pop sensation T.M. Revolution, which was no small feat.

Whether it’s a release party, or never-before-seen footage, large conventions are often able to bring exclusive content to the fans like no small convention can.

Next: The Cons of Large Conventions

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