Dragon*Con 2010
So, we made our way to Dragon*Con again this year. It's something we love and it's something we try to do every single year as our vacation.
We were lucky that most of our friends got to come this year, as well. We all stayed at the amazing Marriott Marquis again.
This year, we decided to do costumes, as well. So, we put together a Nerd Herd costume from the TV show Chuck.
Our friend Patty, Anya *me!*, Nikki, and Roomie Boy
We also put together a cross-over t-shirt from the tv show "Firefly" and the hit web series (movie? webmovie? Editor's note: I believe the proper term is "MuShortio." -CBM) Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.
Roomie, Anya, Nikki
And, lastly, we decided we'd do employees from Merlotte's Bar and Grill (from the TV series True Blood).
Anya, Roomie, Nikki
We also were able to hit our favourite restaurant with the crew — to get the BEST cake on the planet!
The best panel we hit ALL con was the Eureka/Warehouse 13 crossover panel. The actors were awesome, the audience was thrilled to be there, and we had a grand time. We were also able to get our photos with some of the folks from Eureka.
We met Deputy Jo Lupo (Erica Cerra).
We met Douglas Fargo (Neil Grayston).
And, we even met...
Sheriff Carter, himself! That would be Colin Ferguson! And, yes, that man's gorgeous blue eyes are JUST as gorgeous in person! *grin*
When you go to these conventions, you never know exactly what to expect from the actors. The cast was lovely, awesome, and SO thrilled that their audiences were so large! Eureka and Warehouse 13 had lines wrapped around the building, with a two hour wait. That's Star Trek and Whedon track kind of lines!
They enjoyed the heck out of the fans. We were also lucky enough to meet Artie from WH13 (Saul Rubinek). He was gracious and just a kind guy. Eddie McClintock (who plays Pete on WH13) is a rockstar. A SERIOUS rockstar. He not only created and sold t-shirts with an original WH13 theme, but, he had artwork, talked to us for about five minutes, befriended one of our crew, AND decided to stay two days longer than he was originally slated for. Plus, his "handler" was his wife! She was lovely, as well.
Rene, Saul, and Eddie on panel
Another area we hit this year was the Stargate Multi-track. The panels were hilarious and we got a photo with Michael Shanks (Dr. Daniel Jackson from SG-1)... I'm waiting for my copy to arrive.
Kari, Michael, and Anya
We met Alainna Huffman from Stargate Universe. She is SO awesome.
There's been a lot of nasty fan reaction to SGU for some reason. It's an amazing show, and I highly suggest y'all take a gander at it. We talked to her for a long while about how our group of friends LOVES the show and how there is absolutely no need to be nasty with anyone concerning a TV show! Don't like it? Don't watch it. She commented on how much positive reaction she'd received at D*C. I'm glad to hear that!
We also met Corin Nemec (Jonas Quinn from SG-1)...
Kari, Corin, and Anya
And, Paul McGillion from Stargate Atlantis. Last year, I went on and on about how much we adored Paul. Well. We still adore him.
He let us take THREE photos with us... then made sure to hug us really well before we left. He's SO funny on panel and genuinely adores talking to his fans. He's one who seems to have a blast when he's surrounded by geeks, bless him.
Jason Mamoa and Alaina on panel
Michael Shanks and wife Lexa Doig on panel
Alaina and Paul on panel — Paul's taunting David Hewlett because he canceled this year. :(
Corin and writer Martin Gero on panel; Martin was a hoot.
Chris Judge and Ben Browder on panel
And then... well, then I got to meet
Principal SNYDER from Buffy the Vampire Slayer! *grin* Some of you know him as Quark from one of the Star Trek series, but to me, he'll always be Snyder. He was so cool. I told him where I
And, speaking of "he's been on EVERYTHING..."
Ladies and gents, meet Mark Sheppherd! He's been in *deep breath* Firefly, Warehouse 13, Leverage, Supernatural, Battlestar Galactica, um... and a TON of other things. He's that actor that is EVERYWHERE. He's pretty darned cool, too.
And we also got to meet some of the cast of "True Blood."
Kristen Bauer who plays Pam, Nikki, Sam Trammell who plays Sam Merlotte, Anya, Roomie, and Nelson Ellis who plays LaFayette
They were all VERY cool. I went and got a shot with just myself and Kristen because Pam is one of my favourite characters from the series and from the books (Sookie Stackhouse or Southern Vampire Series by Charlaine Harris).
One of the other reasons we go to the con is to see some of the cool costumes.
William Shatner dolls? Life-size?
The Lady GaGa cast from "Glee"? They performed the song at the costume contest, too!
Donna Noble looking for HER Doctor Who?
Richard Castle from "Castle"?
Here's one for my age group: Big Trouble in Little China?
Avatar?
This year, we also got to go to the Georgia Aquarium. I can't tell you how gorgeous this place is. It's stunning!
So... what was the best part of Dragon*Con this year? Well... there were lots of "bests" for us. For one, we got to introduce a friend to the insanity of a con full of geeks. She's now hooked. We got to see our Irish gals and got to meet a new pal from England. We hung with almost all of the rest of the group we bonded with last year. These ladies are truly amazing and I look forward to seeing them each year.
We met SO many awesome actors this year. They were all so happy to be there with us and we chatted with so many. We even went and talked to Edward James Olmos (Battlestar Galactica, among other things) and got to tell him that BSG was one of the main reasons that Kari and I became friends! And because of Kari, we met the rest of the Moose Crew. Geekdom works like that.
We met James and Oliver Phelps. I got to tell them about HOL and Hufflepuff and all of you. Did you know that in real life the boys tested as Hufflepuffs? The Weasley Twins might be Gryffs, but the Phelps guys are Huffs!
My roommate and I got to get our geek on and spend lots of quality time together.
There's a reason we go back each year. Even though we go, go, go and stay busy and usually end up sick when we get home, it is SO worth it because for a few days each year, we are with a group of folks who truly understand the love of fandoms.
It's hard to find in real life, folks. When you do find it, you keep it.
And, we'll be hitting Dragon*Con in 2011. Believe it!