Friday at 4PM, Dragon Con Main Programming welcomed Pat and Sherry Henry, Dave Cody, Robert Dennis, and John Brunnell to the Hyatt Centennial I for a “look back” at the history of the phenomenon that is Dragon Con. Moderator Greg Euston led off the hour by asking if anyone imagined making it to forty. Cody pointed out that originally the goal was to fill a single hotel and make it (financially) to another year. Not only did none of the panelists imagine forty years, but they also never thought they’d hit 80,000 plus in attendance. Henry (Pat) reflected on the key to it: community. He pointed out that while the members of this huge family have a wide variety of interests, they are all part of a single, much larger, community. A nerd version of “E Plurius Unum” if you will. Dennis followed up by adding that whatever the number, the catch phrase still applies: Dragon Con is a get together of “our closest friends.”
Building this community took time, there were about 1,400 attendees in 1987, but Brunnell added, “I had drunk the Kool-Aid.” Euston asked about average convention attendance in 1987. Cody referred to the Atlanta Fantasy Fair as the high-water mark at the time. Its attendance peaked at approximately 6,000 people. He believed “we could be the fantasy fair with more stuff… more things to do.”
All emphasized the multi genre approach that defines Dragon Con. Back in those days you couldn’t convene a Star Trek convention along with a Star Wars convention, or a gaming convention and a science fiction convention. The consensus was that it just wouldn’t work! Dennis added that music at such an event was beyond the imagination! It’s when you combined all the genres and added music, Dennis believes, that the “magic” started. Pat Henry was quick to add the parties. While the idea of having parties wasn’t particularly appealing to the hotels, he pointed out, that attitude tended to change once “they saw their bar receipts.”
Euston then turned to Sherry Henry and asked her to revisit her perspective on those early days. At the time both she and Pat had full-time jobs and were busy raising two daughters. She continues: “he comes in and he’s so excited. He’s like, ‘what if we do this? What if we try that?’ and I never really got past that first question…. I never got past ‘what’.” Sherry Henry concluded “he was so enthusiastic… I got on board.”
The con took time to nurture and grow. In the early years, the tendency was to count everybody (including hotel staff if necessary) to build the number. As the con grew, reaching 20,000 and drawing the attention of fire marshals, they begun to fudge the number the other way. “We did it in your interest,” Henry proclaimed to the audience!
One of the key factors that facilitated the convention’s growth was its organization. To attend Dragon Con in 2026 is to see a remarkable organization at work. Anyone who has ever been charged with organizing an event knows how challenging that can be and yet, this organization is able to carry off a multi-day event across five hotels running events 24 hours a day. Dennis pointed out that while the organizational structure, including the use of volunteers, is much bigger now, it is still basically the same as it was in 1987. It worked then, and it works now. On that Pat Henry emphasized that there’s a lot of trust involved. “The volunteers trust us, and we must trust them. We have been gifted,” he declared “with people who have embraced the show.”
When asked about the most pivotal decision or innovation that facilitated the con’s success, Pat Henry pointed directly to the parade. Born of a chance encounter with a Salvation Army parade, he used a parade to make members aware that they had added a second hotel (Marriott Marquis) and moved the vendor hall into it. That parade marched right into the lobby, down the escalators and ended at the vendor hall (where lemonade and cookies were served).
Later in the hour Euston asked about the relationship that currently exists between the Atlanta Convention and Visitor’s Bureau and Dragon Con. (Earlier this year the Bureau inducted Pat Henry into its Hall of Fame). Pat Henry recalled that it was Sherry who encouraged him to engage these folks. Henry was reluctant at first, replying that he liked “flying under the radar.” Henry turned serious. “I like keeping my people safe…. I just didn’t want people making fun of our group.” He concluded, “Sherry was right.” Those early encounters centered on the birth of the “Kick Off Classic,” which also occurs Labor Day weekend. Dragon Con was on the ground first, however, and because of its economic impact on downtown, during what was the slowest weekend of the year for hotels, it remains. Where else in America can you stand at a crosswalk alongside Batman cosplayers and Auburn fans, all in full kit? Fandom is fandom.
Sherry Henry is most proud of the impact Dragon Con makes through its charity program. Science fiction conventions have a long history of charity. During the interwar period, they had “fan funds” in which participants could donate money to help share costs of travel for fans coming from overseas. So, the concept wasn’t new. In the early days of Dragon Con, each track had its own charity, but the decision was made to pull them all together. That concentration allowed the con to increase its impact. Last year Dragon Con raised almost $350,000 for its designated charity.
The panel concluded with Euston asking them what it is that gives them the greatest sense of pride. Cody cherishes the community that’s been created and is proud of it. Pat Henry is proud of the generational component, having passed leadership of the convention to his daughters. Robert Dennis is most proud that Dragon Con has stayed true to the original mission and vision, which John Brunnell proclaimed was “For the Fans by the Fans!” Dragon Con is a remarkable achievement, and we are all the better thanks to vision and determination of the founders.
