For last few years, at least post-Covid, I’ve had the incredible joy of going to Dragon Con. If you’re not new around here, then you know what Dragon Con is and I don’t plan to rehash it, other than to say its an absolutely amazing weekend for costumes, celebrities, and shenanigans. The last couple years I’ve been far less interested in the celebrities and costumes than just spending time with my friends. I’ve been a contributor for the Dragon Con Digital Media Track for the last few years and I have had an incredible time getting to know the folks that participate in that community. Dragon Con just collects massive talent all into one space for a weekend and it inevitabely leads to networking and an incredible amount of creative energy.

Every year I go to Dragon Con, I say to myself, “This will probably be the last year. It’s just a lot.” That statement is always brought up sincerely and genuinely, because the show is an awful lot of work. The travel is hard, trying to get a hotel is hard, the whole thing just takes a lot of effort to pull off. But every year I leave the convention feeling energized, excited, and generally ready to get some creative stuff off the ground. I leave the con having spent all kinds of time with amazing creators, and in many cases I’m telling people who want to create to just get out there and do it. I can’t even heed my own advice most of the time, but I sure do get up there and say it to everyone else. Needless to say, this year is no different an d I’m already planning on going out there again and being a part of the whole show.

This year felt like one of the best years that I’ve been able to go. I was rooming with my great friend TVsTravis, his friend Charlie, and my other great friend Audie. We managed to cram our hotel room with amazing people who were also creators and get the same level of energy out of it that I do. We just had the freedom this year to really focus on meeting up with people that we never get to say, but also meet people that I had never met in real life. I’m a big fan of the Frogpants Network of podcasts and streams and there are several folks from that community that make Dragon Con a thing for them every year. Travis knew a handful of folks thanks to the TMS Vegas event that Frogpants does every year and was kind enough to introduce me to several of them who were as awesome in real life as they are in the chat rooms and on the shows that they do segments on. Just a genuine bunch of wonderful people.

I think that’s the reason that I’ll definitely be going over and over. The community at Dragon Con is just so positive. Everyone who is there is there to meet like minded folks who love nerdy things, like to dress like heroes, and of course party. One story summed it all up in a nutshell. We’re sitting at a table just relaxing a little amidst all the chaos. A guy walks over carrying a bunch of his cosplay stuff, and he was worn out. He’d been on his feet for a while and really just wanted a place to sit, so of course I invited him to sit with us. After a couple minutes of chatting, he asked if we could watch his stuff while he went to tell his friend where he was. He just went off to find his buddy, leaving us with his cosplay stuff. I brought up that it was kind of wild that he knew us for all of two minutes but was comfortable leaving his stuff with his. He sat back down after about three or four minutes and I told him as much. He just looked at me and said, “This is Dragon Con, man.” Dragon Con all by itself is enough of a reason to trust people.

That’s why I’m going back. There are few places where 75,000 people can get together and the implicit trust is so evident.

This is Dragon Con, man.

• Stephen