94-year-old Stan Lee makes one of his last public appearances. He joins the Dragon Con parade as its Grand Marshal.

Dragon Con launches the Diversity in Speculative Fiction track, which draws standing room only crowds all weekend. Peter Capaldi, fresh off regeneration, joins the Brit Track to talk Doctor Who and two of the young stars of Stranger Things draw huge crowds.

The convention hits a record high attendance at 85,000 attendees. Fandom royalty like David Tennant, Cary Elwes, Robert Englund, and George Takei top the guest list. A seemingly simple standee is posted up by the Fed-Ex box in one of the sky bridges. Over the course of the weekend, that standee would collect googly eyes, leis, stickers, offerings, and worshippers. We didn’t know it at the time, but a new deity was forming. Meanwhile, another cult was getting more mainstream. The Marriott officially embraces its legacy and introduces the Marriott Carpet Cake and Cookie.

The year that didn’t happen. With the country on lockdown and all in person gatherings canceled, “Dragon Con Goes Virtual” is launched. 24 hour streams of Dragon Con TV are run, new panels are recorded virtually, and old celebrity panels are replayed. An interactive vendor hall is run through Eventy. And, most memorably for me at least, a virtual parade, featuring cosplayers sending in shots individually of them walking through their own streets or back yards, is aired on Saturday morning. A facebook group called “Concellation” is launched, where Dragon Con attendees gather to post as if at the convention like any other year. The community draws together in amazing and beautiful ways.

Attendance is capped at 50% of the previous year, with tickets already purchased for 2020 rolling over. Proof of vaccination or a negative test from within 72 hours are required for badge pick up and masks are mandatory at all times. Only badge holders are allowed to line up on the streets to view the parade. “Closed for Cleaning” time slots are integrated into the schedule between panels and volunteers diligently wipe down and sanitize surfaces and microphones between each use throughout the day. It’s a more subdued convention, but the general feeling is that we’re all glad to be back.

Mask mandates are rolled back to just volunteers and staff, but are strongly encouraged for everyone else. Gaming moves to Americas Mart Building 3 and the shuttle loop is expanded to include it. 

We’re inching closer to those pre-pandemic attendance levels as we hit 70,000 attendees. Barbie takes over the convention and an estimated 600 cosplayers show up for the official photoshoot. A massive group of Andor cosplayers march through the sky bridges shouting “One way out!” The Sheraton officially becomes the Courtland Grand, though it would continue to be referred to as the Sheraton by many for years.

One cosplayer’s size miscalculation leads to a massive cannon being left on the balcony overlooking one of the hotel lobbies throughout the convention, becoming a beloved landmark almost immediately. With the success of the recently released Fallout show, vault dwellers fill the halls. The charity drive sets a new record, raising over $200,000 for the Georgia chapter of the Arthritis Foundation.

We’re almost back. The attendance creeps up to 75,000 and the guest list is packed with stars. Surprisingly, the longest lines in the walk of fame seem to be for the cast of Bones, apparently owing to the show’s star, Emily Deschanel, desire to spend as much time as possible talking to each individual guest, leading to truly unique interactions and fond memories for her fans. The cast of The Guild reunites in preparation for the launch of their kickstarter to fund The Guild Reunion Movie. Most notably, however, this year saw the largest donations to charity to date, skyrocketing the total amount donated to $320,000 for the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

And now, we have finally arrived. Look around, take it all in. Did you remember to drink water in that badge pick up line? Did you visit Lynn Abbey, the first guest of honor at the original Dragon Con way back in 1987? How did you enjoy the parade? Were you lost in the crush of Carls and Donuts?