By Isaac Lew
It's hard to believe that it's already over. After months of planning and waiting, this past Labor Day weekend in Atlanta, Ga, Dragon*Con 2003 took place. While this is mainly a sci-fi, comic, and fantasy convention, quite a few vintage collectors decided to use this event as a chance to get together. Over 20 of us traveled from all parts of the US, Canada, and Mexico for a weekend of fun. Along with the 20,000 other attendees, we had an awesome time. It was great meeting up with everyone and we had a total blast just hanging around and talking. The convention started Friday afternoon with most of us arriving then. Friday night we went to dinner at Benihana-- a Japanese restaurant where the chefs prepare and cook your meals right in front of you. I suppose that the chefs were a bit perturbed that most of us were too busy talking to each other to pay attention to their performance. Oh well. After dinner we went back to the hotel where we people watched and hung out in our rooms into the wee hours of the morning. A few people also attended midget-wrestling on Friday evening.
Saturday morning some of us awoke to find dozens of Stormtroopers marching in downtown Atlanta as part of the Dragon*Con parade. After getting ready and getting to the lobby of the hotel, we decided that we hadn't had enough expensive meals yet so we were treated to a breakfast where four pieces of toast cost $10. We then headed to the dealers' room and later to the Star Wars costume contest. After this we briefly entered a panel for The Clone Wars, but as soon as they started talking about the Empire's dental plans we decided to jet. At 8:30 we returned to watch a sculpting demo by Gregg Keefer. When he asked for a volunteer with a bald head, we all pointed to Billy Bennett (Baldylox) and Billy got to have a head sculpted roughly based on his likeness. Then it was time for dinner so we headed out to Hard Rock Cafe for some good food. Upon returning to the hotel we did more people watching, photo taking, and room trading. Sometime after 2 in the morning we found ourselves downstairs sitting in a circle, a bit tired. Suddenly, a few drunk people jumped into our circle and decided that it would be funny to play Duck Duck Goose. Watching drunk people play Duck Duck Goose with us was quite a site-- just ask Mike Mensinger.
Sunday morning and afternoon were spent walking around and having lunch. Later a few people decided that they just had to see the Klingon Beauty Pageant so we all went. While there, John Alvarez found the love of his life by means of a large female Klingon (there are pictures of this to prove it). Then we attended what was possibly the greatest panel of all-- the Star Wars collecting panel. Among the panel were Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca) and a secretive guy who claimed to have the largest collection in the south valued at over a million dollars (this, in our opinion, was very sketchy). Watching the panel was interesting to say the least-- the questions and answers were pretty basic and sometimes ridiculous. I mean, when you're getting collecting advice from Chewbacca you know something has to be up. :^)
In all seriousness though, it's hard to deny that we all had a great time. Being able to meet up with friends that you don't get to see very often is always a pleasure. The fun times we had talking, hanging out, and generally goofing off are worth more than any Star Wars toy or collectible. I encourage anyone who hasn't done so, to make the effort to attend a convention or gathering where a lot of us will be meeting. I guarantee you will love it. But don't take my word for it-- take a look at the pictures I took to see for yourself!
Dragon*Con 2003 Photos