Dragon Con switches to virtual convention this year

In-person event is canceled; organizers working on free programming.

Dragon Con organizers have decided to cancel the in-person Labor Day weekend extravaganza in downtown Atlanta due to the pandemic, opting for a virtual event instead.

“After many months of handwringing, sleepless nights, and more Zoom meetings than we can count, we have decided that Dragon Con 2020 event will not be held in person,” the organizers announced on the event’s website Monday. “Trust us, we are just as bummed as you are, but know we did not make this decision lightly.”

On the site, they said that given the current situation, they could not guarantee a safe convention and had to make this difficult decision.

“We truly did everything possible to remain positive and exhaust all options,” they noted. “We are looking forward to 2021 when we can all meet again in person.”

The convention is one of many major annual Atlanta events that has had to be postponed or canceled. And almost every major comparable convention nationwide has done the same thing.

Dragon Con organizers said last year’s 33rd annual event drew the largest crowd yet with 85,000 attendees over four days. “We were on track for 90,000 for this year,” said spokesman Dan Carroll in an interview Monday.

Over the years, the convention has grown in popularity as more sci-fi/fantasy sub-genres and brands have popped up and flourished. Shows such as “The Big Bang Theory” turned cosplay and other seemingly nerdy pursuits into the mainstream. The Saturday morning Dragon Con parade each year has drawn tens of thousands of fans, many who would later hang out in the hotel lobbies taking selfies with costumed attendees.

Carroll said he’s as disappointed as everybody else but “all the evidence points to us having no choice but to make this hard decision.”

And given Dragon Con’s relatively modest sunk costs and massive number of volunteers, Carroll said he is confident Dragon Con will survive for a bigger and better 2021 convention.

Carroll said plans are being put together to create a free virtual version which will feature some new content, “best of ” panels and events from past years and virtual cosplay contests. For folks who have already become Dragon Con members this year, membership will be rolled over automatically for 2021.