The 2008 Atlanta Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention
Atlanta, Georgia, USA
September 2008
By Sean Overpeck (CFE)
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Science fiction and fantasy go back further than one hundred years in the days of Jules Verne’s “From the Earth to the Moon,” H.G. Wells “War of the Worlds,” and Mark Twain's novel “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.” Try going back much further with works such as the “Epic of Gilgamesh,” (2000 BC) and “Beowulf” (8-11th century). Our fascination to explore the unknown and make-up stories about it plus the introduction of movie making has produced more Sci-fi and fantasy in the past sixty years than the 2000 years prior combined. Hollywood has expanded in the film works of Isaac Asimov, Frank Herbert, Robert A. Heinlein, Arthur C. Clarke and countless hundreds of others into a cult following. The Science Fiction Convention - a gathering or assembly of fans to discuss and adopt criteria focused primarily on literature, but the purview of many extends to such other avenues of expression as movies, television, comics, animation, and games.
You have local, regional, national, and international conventions, and in Atlanta, the Dragon Con is classified as a national or international as it gathers nearly 70,000 people together in 4-5 hotels for a four day weekend every September. This article is based on my visit and participation in the 2008 Dragon con, but since then in the years that have followed, it has expanded even further, becoming the second biggest behind Comic-Con in San Diego, California.
According to Kevin Kelly, the first official (American, anyhow) "World Science Fiction Convention" (now known as Worldcon) was held in 1939 and followed by conventions in Chicago and Denver in the following years.The first British convention in 1937 attracted 20 fans, Arthur C. Clarke, who went on later to write 2001: A Space Odyssey. Comic-Con began in San Diego as the Golden State Comic Book Convention in 1970 and attracted around 500 fans. In 2008 the Con (now the San Diego Comic-Con or just Comic-Con) had over 125,000 visitors. Internationally there is the EuroCon, the FedCon (Star Trek) which is Europe's largest and many others.
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| First Dragon Con Logo |
Dragon con was founded in 1987 and is a multi-genre convention, meaning that this con typically does not cater to one particular genre, but many themes from books, artwork, movies, television and more. It drew 1,400 fans and as of 2016, the Dragon Con had 77,000 guests. Dragon Con was a project of a local science fiction and gaming group, “the Dragon Alliance of Gamers and Role-Players (DAGR).” It was founded by a board of directors including John Bunnell, David Cody, Robert Dennis, Mike Helba, Pat Henry, and Ed Kramer. The 2008 con that I attended had 33,000 fans. The programming includes a parade, guest panels, workshops, demonstrations, seminars, booths to purchase collection items, and autograph areas for actors, most of which now charge upwards of $50.
In 2008 the highlights were a Star Trek Deep Space Nine Reunion, Firefly Reunion, Battlestar Galactica panel, and X-files panel were some. There were hundreds of science fiction writers and actors from Avery Brooks, Chace Ambrose, Cari Begle, Robert Picardo, Erik J Benner, Laura Bertram, Autumn-Skye Boothe, Tobias S. Buckell, Jeremy Bulloch, Roger Dean, Rainbow Sun Francks, Michael A. Furno, Mindless Self Indulgence, Ethan Phillips, Paul Sabourin, Lance Henriksen, Robert Englund, Erin Gray, Peter David, Walter Koenig, and George Takei to name a few.
I was working as caterer preparing food in the lounge where actors and writers could go to escape the crowds of fans and relax. The main event was a party on the fourth night with southern inspired hors-d'oeuvres. At the time I owned a small catering company and volunteered my time to gain some business, but in the end, less than a year later was the market crash and great recession, so no amount of business would have help with that, unfortunately. It was a fun party, where I got to meet some very interesting people including Dominic Keating from Star Trek Enterprise, Edward James Olmos from Battlestar Galactica, Michael Dorn from Star Trek The Next Generation, and Jerry Doyle from Babylon 5, plus many others. Being a fan of the Dune series, and meeting Frank Herbert’s son Brian Herbert got me interested in reading his continued works of Dune as well.
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| Dominic Keating with other actors and fans |
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| Firefly Reunion |
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Prices for yearly membership
(excluding, alcohol, taxes & gratuity)
$£€¥ - Under 50.00
$£€¥ x 2 - 51.00- 99.00
$£€¥ x 3 - Over 100.00
$£€¥ x 4 - Over 200.00
$£€¥ x 5 - Over 400.00
**Currencies chosen reflect the world’s major travelers and restaurant or wine connoisseur’s**
Currency:
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Price chart:
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$125.00
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United States Dollar (USD)
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$$
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$168.00
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Australian Dollar (AUS)
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$$$
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£97.00
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Great Britain Pound Sterling (GBP)
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£££££
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$168.00
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Canadian Dollar (CAN)
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$$$
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¥857.00
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Chinese Yuan (CNY)
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¥¥¥¥¥
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€112.00
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European Union (EUR)
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€€€€€
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Currency rates as of June 2017
Contact Information:
website:
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Phone
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+ 1 404-669-0773
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Email or webpage contact:
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Social Media
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Accolades:
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TTFN
