72,000 POP CULTURE FANS SPENT THE LABOR DAY WEEKEND AT DRAGON CON

More Than $210,000 Raised for Arthritis Foundation’s Georgia Chapter And Still Counting.

(Press Release) – Dragon Con, Atlanta’s internationally known pop culture, fantasy, sci-fi, and gaming convention, attracted 72,000 attendees for the five-day celebration and raised more than $210,000 for its official 2024 charity, Arthritis Foundation’s Georgia chapter.

Dragon Con will return in 2025 for the five-day Labor Day Weekend, Aug. 28 to Sept. 1.

“Dragon Con is the world’s greatest gathering of friends, a place where fans come together to show off their spectacular costumes, catch up with old friends and make new ones, and meet their favorite actors, authors, and other creators,” convention co-chair Rachel Reeves said. “These are the reasons fans come back to Dragon Con year after year.”

Dragon Con Logo

As estimated, fan attendance was 72,000. Fans came from all corners of the globe, representing all 50 states, several foreign countries, and six of the seven continents.

With monies still being collected, the convention’s charity efforts raised at least $210,000 for the Arthritis Foundation, which is currently celebrating 75 years of pursuing a cure for America’s number one cause of disability, affecting nearly 60 million adults and 300,000 children in the US.

Over the past decade, Dragon Con has raised more than $1.3 million for its annual official charities.  Funds are raised through convention-based auctions, special merchandise sales, special events, and a dollar-for-dollar match from the convention up to an additional $125,000.

In the Dragon Awards, the only fan’s choice award in fandom, Starter Villian by John Scalzi won the Best Science Fiction Novel, the first of 11 categories of fiction, comics, art, gaming, and filmed entertainment.

Comedy legend John Cleese was recognized with the Julie Award, which recognizes universal achievement across multiple genres. Cleese is a co-founder of the Monty Python comedy troupe, responsible for Monty Python’s Flying Circus television show, three Monty Python films, and an assortment of television and movie specials, video games, and live tours.

LifeSouth, which conducted the annual Robert A. Heinlein “Pay It Forward” blood drive at Dragon Con, attracted more than 3,950 donors who donated to the drive, resulting in about 10,600 blood components. The annual drive, consistently ranked as the largest convention-based blood drive benefits LifeSouth, which serves more than 25 hospitals in the Atlanta area and 125 hospitals in the Southeast.