Dragon Con is my convention home ya’ll. Literally home, as I call the greater Atlanta area home and have also been attending Dragon Con since 2011. Wow, 7 years attending, and I know people who have been going for nearly as long as it’s been around! This year I was so happy I was able to go, as I was in a military training session at the time, and I wasn’t certain for a while if I would be able to or not. Thankfully I was able to go for Saturday and Sunday this year, and I had a blast! I drove from Florida to Georgia (cue Florida Georgia Line songs) Friday night, crashed late in the evening, and woke up Saturday to begin my convention experience!
As always this started with picking up my pass in the press lounge:
And then first thing I had a panel I was on! It was the 11:30am “First Order vs. the Empire Military Themes in Star Wars” panel. This panel was so fun (though I may be biased as I was on it), and I had a fantastic time with fellow panelists Riley Blanton, Brandy Blanton, John Liang, Thomas Harper, and Andy Dykes! One of the coolest things about Dragon Con is the fan programming. This is where you can find fellow fans as enthusiastic as you discussing the things you love, with an open mic. forum towards the end of each panel for audience participation. I so enjoyed breaking down the First Order’s and the Empire’s military, structure, uniforms, and leadership styles!
We then went to part of the 1:00pm “Thrawn” panel, which was a lot of fun! Moderated by Nanci Schwartz and featuring Timothy Zahn, the panel discussed his iconic Star Wars character Grand Admiral Thrawn, and his various appearances in books and Rebels. We were so hungry we wound up leaving early to eat lunch. What’s so cool is that the audience wound up singing happy birthday for the author Tim Zahn! Moments like these are common at Dragon Con, and a reason the convention is so dear to me. I didn’t get to see this moment in person, but here’s a short video of it courtesy of Thomas Harper:
Happy Birthday to Tim Zahn from DragonCon! pic.twitter.com/WGLe7aqXKn
— That’s No Moon, it’s a Thomas (@thomasLharper) September 1, 2018
Friends are a key reason I attend this convention, and lunch saw us finally getting some time together to just sit, eat, chat, and get a little rest.
What followed lunch was walking around and seeing some of the Dragon Con sights!
We then attended the 4:00pm “Farewell, Star Wars Rebels” panel, with moderator Matt Rushing and panelists Timothy Zahn, Bria LaVorgna, Tom Hutchens, and Henry Gilroy. This one was a trip down nostalgia lane, and a great panel. Star Wars Rebels holds a special place in my heart, and hearing everyone reminisce about their favorite moments and characters was bittersweet.
Then at 7:00pm we had the “Star Wars Episode 9 Speculation” panel! This one was moderated by myself, and included Riley Blanton, Caitlin Plesher, Charlotte Errity, Alex Damon, and Mollie Damon. I had such a blast talking Ep. 9 theories and announcements with my fellow panelists and the audience! Shout out to Mollie for making an amazing teaser video for our panel! We had a lot of fun talking about whether or not Rey/Kylo was a thing….
After that was dinner with a group of friends! I knew I didn’t have as much time at this Dragon Con with them as I had in the past, and it was so nice to chill and chat over food before heading off to the Last Party on Alderaan, a Star Wars themed, late night dance held every year at the con starting at 10:00pm and running late into the night!
And thus ended a wonderful first day at Dragon Con!
Bethany Blanton
