Another Dragon*Con is in the books, and thousands of gays turned out over Labor Day weekend to watch or join in the spectacle of one of the nation’s largest costumed conventions.

“It’s one of the largest events in the world and so it’s great to come down and see people go crazy in that regard. It’s like Pride and Halloween mixed together,” said Mike Dillers of Cobb County, who came down for the weekend.

The convention draws roughly 50,000 people from across the country for a five-day celebration of everything geeky. From sci-fi to fantasy to horror, actors, authors and producers mingle with fans who often show off costumes or hunt autographs.

Besides the costumes and stars, the sheer number of people with common interests is what draws Kyle Floyd from his Lawrenceville home every Labor Day weekend.

“It’s just nice once a year to know that I’m not like the weirdest person in the world, because where we live, these interests are not common,” he said.

Sarah Edmonson attended the convention with her partner, Wyatt George.

“You can go up to anyone in the con and have a conversation, because they have the same interests that you do,” George said.

“You never meet a mean person here as a rule, and everyone here is nerdy, so you’re all sort of bonded in your nerdiness, it’s fantastic” Edmonson added.

George is active in the Kennesaw Pride Alliance and considers Dragon*Con and Pride events separate things.

“I look at them differently. Pride celebrates my gay side, while Dragon*Con celebrates my gay side,” George said.

Brooks Power drove 13 hours from Dallas, Texas, so that he could attend the convention dressed as Magneto from the X-Men movies. Power is out in Dallas and makes the effort not for the gay community, but for the geek community.

“I’ll be honest with you, this is my forth or fifth time at Dragon*Con, and this is the first GLBT event I’ve gone to,” he said, standing outside of the Rainbow Flag party.
Power spent over $300 putting together his costume and hand tailoring his uniform, and like many of the gay men who dress up for the convention, says he doesn’t dress in drag.

“I costume, that’s it, that’s where I draw the line,” Power said. “I will cross-play occasionally, but it’s not like drag. Like I have a costume that’s half-man-half-woman from the ball room dance scene, but I don’t really get into the dresses and lip-syncing.”

Patterson Lundquist enjoyed the excited squeals he got from his Zander costume. Zander is a gay homage to the main character from Zelda on the animated series “Drawn Together.” Lundquist made the costume by hand and said the reaction he got during the weekend was fantastic.

“Oh my God! Zander!” he said, summarizing the reaction. “It’s been very mixed. I had a guy in a Racoon City Police Department uniform go ‘Thank You’ in a deep voice, and I was like ‘Okay.’ … it’s been great.”

Despite Zander’s openly gay status Lundquist didn’t choose his costume to make a point.

“I just hadn’t seen a really good Zander, and I met the actor, and he’s a really good guy so I thought I’d do it,” he said.

This year’s convention included nightly LGBT themed panels, the traditional party and openly gay actor John Barrowman of “Dr. Who” fame as one of the headlining guests.

Enjoy the spectacle of Dragon*Con through these photos by Kenneth Hatchett.

Top photo: Patterson Lundquist as cartoon charter Zander (by Matt Schafer)