Dragon*Con 2008

Dragon*Con 2008 was a blast, as expected. Of all the cons that the 501st is known to attend regularly, D*C is the most laid-back in terms of 501st costuming. Honestly, aside from the Saturday morning parade down Peachtree Street, it's difficult to find a plain ol' Stormtrooper or otherwise canon Star Wars costume. On the other hand, if it's FemTroopers or Darth Hello Kitty that you want, you've come to the right place. After last year's virgin voyage to downtown Atlanta's version of Mardi Gras, DZ-4009 and I were amped for a return visit...in fact, we had our tickets and hotel room at the Marriott squared away well in advance (and, yes, the Marriott is now the hotel of choice for many reasons). We also had new costumes planned to debut at the con, but Darth Real-Life has been a real bugger lately, so we were just glad that we were able to attend and I wore my AT-ST Driver as seen in the above pic. I assisted with the 10th Anniversary at Dragon*Con Meet the 501st panel and helped out at the 501st booth when possible---always fun to interact with fans and prospective members. I also captured a lot of audio and conducted interviews for 501stCast episode 23, too. Despite the fact that this is a 4-day con, one really cannot see it all. Of all the panels, tracks and events on the convention schedule (aside from the 501st-related activities) I only participated in one true session which was a Star Wars prop challenge scratch-building prop contest. Scott TK-408 and I thought it might be fun since we've not only built hardware props for years as part of the 501st, but also hosted seminars at MegaCon in Orlando and even Star Wars Celebration. It was a packed house (albeit a small room) and we felt a little guilty for being so overqualified for the competition---something like Emeril Lagasse entering the neighborhood bake-off. Our joint creation, the DS-71 Sniper Rifle, ended up winning third place in the adult category but it was clear from the audience reactions that we were the fan favorite.

If you've never been to Dragon*Con, I highly recommend it. Just click here for some images from Flickr and you'll get a sample of the amazing quality, creativity and craziness that people put into their costumes.