Posted in: Recent Updates | Tagged:

Dragon Con, Day One – Friday Night Bites! By Cheryl Lynn Eaton

Published Sat, 05 Sep 2009 05:23:39 -0500

Last updated Sun, 06 Sep 2009 12:27:53 -0500

It has come to be a tradition in Atlanta, Georgia. As summer rolls into fall, DragonCon rolls into town. And the good ol' dragon has grown to monstrous proportions over the years, feeding on the offerings of Trekkies, X-Philes, and an assortment of pop culture fanboys and fangirls. This year, Bleeding Cool aims to bring you the best, the worst and the downright weird of the four-day, four-hotel revelry. From chivalrous Stormtroopers to zombified southern belles, DragonCon has it all. Hopefully, our Bleeding Cool operative on the scene can manage to stay out of the clutches of Klingons long enough to give you the scoop…

Our Bleeding Cool operative started the first day of DragonCon with blood. Now, we all know that vampires love the crimson drink, but it turns out that humans are pretty fond of it too. However, unlike our sparkly undead associates, we humans don't sip the stuff to survive. On Thursday, DragonCon launched its five-day "Pay It Forward" blood drive. The blood drive, which has been a DragonCon staple for seven years, was sponsored by The Heinlein Society and the LifeSouth Community Blood Center.

Not only were prizes handed out to those lucky enough to be pricked at the right time, but each compassionate and courageous soul willing to part with a small portion of "people juice" received a cloisonne pin, a nifty T-shirt and a "bleeding" mug courtesy of the CW's upcoming vampire series The Vampire Diaries.

Yet while Vampire Diaries wares were handed out to those donating blood, Vampire Diaries representatives were searching for a different kind of donation—an 8×10 glossy. Show representatives spent the better part of the morning interviewing fans interested in becoming extras for the show.

Those in attendance at the Vampire Diaries casting call may have been interested in nefarious villains who hunt in darkness, but our Bleeding Cool operative was on the hunt for a hero! And what better place to find one than at DragonCon's Hero Initiative booth? Well-known creators such as George Perez and Paul Jenkins graciously spent their Friday sketching characters and meeting with fans in order to raise money for the non-profit organization.

Other conventions promptly end at 7:00 PM, but the festivities at DragonCon last well into the night. Convention attendees had a wide variety of events to choose from. Costume contests, wrestling shows, film festivals and sketch jams were all available to those looking for a little after-hours entertainment. However, some fans were more than happy to just people watch as their favorite costumed characters drifted by.