People & puppets make Dragon Con a Labor Day must-do

ATLANTA (FOX 5 Atlanta) - There are only two times during the year when you can walk past a Storm Trooper, a Klingon, a couple of Batmen, and Freddie Krueger without giving any of them a second look. 

Halloween is one, of course. The other is this weekend, as Dragon Con returns to Downtown Atlanta and draws tens of thousands of sci-fi and fantasy fans for a long weekend of celebrities, cosplay, and fun & games.

Dragon Con is Atlanta’s annual Labor Day weekend celebration of pop culture, focusing on the worlds of science fiction and fantasy. Even if you’ve never been to a Dragon Con event, chances are you’ve seen the pictures and video – more than 85,000 people visit the city during the convention, most of them dressed as their favorite characters and lined up to attend panels and workshops and meet celebrity guests. 

So what’s new for 2019?  Well, aside from some major names (including Georgia Takei, David Tennant, and Lana Parrilla), fans will celebrate the 80th anniversary of Batman (alongside cast members of the FOX hit “Gotham) and also get to explore the fascinating world of puppetry with the puppeteers behind Star Wars favorite BB-8.

Dragon Con continues through Monday, September 2nd at AmericasMart Buildings 1 and 2 and downtown hotels Hyatt Regency Atlanta, Marriott Marquis, Hilton Atlanta, Westin Peachtree, and Sheraton Atlanta. 

Ticket information and a full schedule of events may be found here.

Of course, we couldn’t resist getting in on the action, and spent the morning downtown immersing ourselves in Dragon Con culture – including a chat with the Incredible Hulk himself, Lou Ferrigno!  Click the video player above to check it out!