Six Stargate Alumni Land in Atlanta as Dragon Con Marks Its 40th Year This Weekend
Dragon Con opens in downtown Atlanta on Thursday, September 3, and runs through Labor Day, Monday, September 7. The convention is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year and expects more than 75,000 attendees across its five host hotels and the AmericasMart buildings, according to a guide published by FOX 5 Atlanta. Among the headline guests named by the station is Richard Dean Anderson of MacGyver and Stargate SG-1.
Anderson is not travelling alone. The convention's official photo-op vendor, Epic, lists a "TeamUp – Stargate – SG1" group shot featuring Anderson, Claudia Black, Ben Browder, Teryl Rothery, Michael Shanks and Jewel Staite, with sessions scheduled for Friday at 11:20 a.m., Saturday at 12:40 p.m. and Sunday at 11:50 a.m. at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis. Between them, the six cover Jack O'Neill, Vala Mal Doran, Cameron Mitchell, Janet Fraiser and Daniel Jackson from SG-1, plus Dr. Jennifer Keller from Stargate Atlantis. Amanda Tapping had originally been announced for Atlanta but withdrew last month to direct a pilot.
For Anderson, Atlanta is the second stop on what his official website describes as a "marathon" of five convention appearances in two months. He was in Birmingham, England, last weekend for Starfury's Ascension 2, and heads to Rose City Comic Con in Portland on September 11–13. Shanks, who confirmed at Ascension that Daniel Jackson had been set to return in Amazon's now-cancelled series, will also be at Dragon Con.
Dragon Con's Walk of Fame, where guests sign autographs, is open Friday from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Monday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The free Dragon Con Parade steps off at 10 a.m. on Saturday and finishes outside the Marriott Marquis. As always, guest lineups and photo-op times are subject to change, so attendees should check the official schedule before heading to a session.