Member-only story
Some experiences defy explanation without firsthand observation. Dragon Con is one of those things. You may have been to a con, but Dragon Con is not just a con. I’ve seen many threads where people ask what other cons capture the Dragon Con spirit, and no answer ever quite offers the same event.
What sets Dragon Con apart can partly be explained by the venue. Unlike the many convention center-based conventions, for many, many years Dragon Con has been held in a growing series of hotels that connect to one another by sky bridges (“habitrails” in the con-goer vernacular). Then it slowly expanded to other nearby hotels and a trade center space. But fundamentally, while mermaids swim at the Sheraton and writers convene in the Westin bar, the con is still taking place in those first three connected hotels: a Hyatt, a Marriott, and a Hilton. And by “taking place,” I mean programming is in their meeting rooms and attendees are sleeping upstairs-inasmuch as anyone ever sleeps at Dragon Con-and the parties never stop in between. (3–2–1, the con rule goes. Three hours of sleep, two meals, one shower every day.)
Friendships are forged in these 120 hours (plus or minus) of constant cultural immersion in the geeky civilization of your dreams. Whatever your fandom, whatever your interest, no matter how obscure, someone in those hallways shares it. And it’s the intensity of this…
