Kevin Shirley

Herding Cats: Next Gen to Picard

Herding Cats: Next Gen to Picard

The Trek track took over the Marriott Atrium Ballroom Saturday morning to host a Q&A panel of Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Picard stars. Garrett Wang, track director and panel moderator, oversaw Jonathan Frakes, Gates McFadden, Brent Spiner, and John De Lancie, in an hour of conversation that spanned far and wide across the world of Star… Read more →

Hobbit Love at Dragon Con

Hobbit Love at Dragon Con

The Marriott Atrium Ballroom was electric Saturday afternoon at Dragon Con as the High Fantasy track welcomed Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, and Elijah Wood for an hour of storytelling and reflection. Kevin Bachelder moderated the conversation and questions from the audience. These actors worked together on The Lord of the Rings over twenty years ago, and Bachelder began by asking… Read more →

“I have to do this!" An Hour with Walter Koenig

“I have to do this!” An Hour with Walter Koenig

Dragon Con welcomed Star Trek legend Walter Koenig to the Hilton Salon Friday at 5:30PM for an hour of conversation and reminiscence. Koenig’s friend and Trek Track director, Garett Wang, offered a master class on moderating a panel. The session began unlike any this reporter has ever experienced. Just after his introduction and arrival on stage, Koenig, 88 years old… Read more →

Star Trek Picard Guests: Filling the Space and Having Fun

Star Trek Picard Guests: Filling the Space and Having Fun

The Trek track took over the Courtland Grand ballroom Friday at 2:30PM to welcome Santiago Cabrera, Ashlei Sharpe Chestnut, and Michelle Hurd from Star Trek: Picard for a sweeping Q&A. Steve Denham, who moderated the session, facilitated the conversation. The session began with an interesting question about the way in which the actors managed and maneuvered in the “space” of… Read more →

Conan the Movie Star

Conan the Movie Star

The High Fantasy track kicked off its Friday programming with a 10AM panel in its Marriott track room (L401-403) examining the Conan franchise on film. Moderated by Mel Todd, Milton Davis, Brian D. Anderson, and Violette Meier discussed the film adaptations of Robert E. Howard’s famous barbarian hero. Conan exploded onto the big screen, and popular culture, with 1982’s Conan… Read more →

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power… It’s a Watch Party!

Along with the rest of Dragon Con 2024, the High Fantasy track launched Thursday, and one of the intriguing highlights of the day occurred in Hyatt International South at 7PM when moderator Jim Wert, Kirsten Z. Cairns (Greendragon), Laura Grabowski, and Willie Jenkins joined more than 200 members to watch the premier episodes of The Lord of the Rings: The… Read more →

Julie Bell: Nature, Textures, and Form

Julie Bell: Nature, Textures, and Form

Dragon Con welcomed (virtually) 2023 Artist Guest of Honor Julie Bell to the Hyatt Grand Hall C Sunday evening. Moderated by Amanda Makepeace (who got pulled away during the hour to receive an award in her own right) Bell reflected on her life as an artist, her passion for the human form, and the power of nature as inspiration and… Read more →

Win the Wars, Not Just the Battle

The “Franchise from a Galaxy Far, Far Away” track welcomed Alex Boland, Jim Griffin, Jean Marie Ward and moderator Ian Boley to the track room in Marriott A706 Sunday at 2:30PM for a session examining the relationship between the Star Wars universe and the modern military. The panel, composed primarily of national defense professionals, focused much of its energy on… Read more →