Labor Day weekend · Thu 02 Sep to Mon 06 Sep 2027
Dragon Con 2027 in Atlanta.
Five days of science fiction and fantasy, gaming, comics, literature, art, music and film, spread across five host hotels in downtown Atlanta. Dragon Con bills itself as the largest multi-media, popular culture convention in the universe; the 2027 dates are published by Dragon Con itself, and this page gathers what is confirmed and is plain about what is not.
Dragon Con has run since 1987, when some 1,200 fans turned out for the first one. It is organised for fans, and it has grown into the weekend that organises the downtown Atlanta year: the 2026 convention, its 40th anniversary, drew 75,000 attendees, with more than 3,500 hours of programming across the five days, on the convention's own account.
The convention is not in one building. Its programme fills five host hotels around Peachtree Center in downtown Atlanta, among them the Hyatt Regency and the Atlanta Marriott Marquis, its two headquarters hotels, and the AmericasMart holds the dealer hall. The hotels stand within a few blocks of each other around Peachtree Street and the Peachtree Center MARTA station, and for five days their lobbies are as much the show as the panel rooms.
The five days
| Date | Day | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Thu 02 Sep 2027 | Day one | The convention opens: badge pickup and the first programming across the host hotels |
| Fri 03 Sep 2027 | Full programme | Panels, gaming and the dealer hall in full swing |
| Sat 04 Sep 2027 | Parade day | The Dragon Con Parade steps off down Peachtree Street in the morning |
| Sun 05 Sep 2027 | Full programme | A full day of programming, and the hotels at their busiest |
| Mon 06 Sep 2027 | Labor Day | The closing day: programming winds down and the hotels empty out |
Memberships and badges
Dragon Con is a membership convention, not a ticketed show. You attend on a membership, which takes the form of a badge worn through the weekend, and the panels, gaming rooms and hotel programming are for members. Memberships are sold online in advance through the convention's own site, and 2027 memberships are on sale now.
The terms are strict, and worth knowing before you buy: memberships are non-refundable and non-transferable, and an unused membership cannot be carried forward to the following year. Children under seven attend free, and the convention offers no childcare. If you cannot be in Atlanta, there is a streaming membership, DragonConTV, sold on the same page.
The parade
Ask any Atlantan about Dragon Con and the first thing they describe is the parade: thousands of cosplayers, young and old, marching down Peachtree Street on the Saturday morning of the weekend. The convention's own history puts the watching crowd at some 75,000 people and calls it the city's best attended parade. It has run since 2001, when the convention spread into its second hotel and the parade was routed between the two. Watching costs nothing: it is a parade on a public street, and no membership is needed to watch it go by.
Costuming
Costuming is the convention's signature. Its own account says the quality of the cosplay is what distinguishes Dragon Con: fans bring several costumes for the weekend, save their best for the nighttime, and promenade through the hotel lobbies posing for photographs. The Masquerade, its group costume contest, is among the longest-standing costume contests in all of fandom, and the bigger programming tracks run their own costume contests besides. You do not have to dress up: plenty of members spend the weekend in jeans and a T-shirt, and the costumes are the show either way.
Where to stay for Dragon Con
The five host hotels are the convention, and their rooms are the ones everyone wants; they go first. The convention's own history notes that the need for rooms spread long ago beyond the host hotels, to some 24 Atlanta area hotels in a recent year, from Midtown to the airport. The practical answer for most visitors is a downtown or Midtown room on the MARTA lines, a short walk or ride from Peachtree Center. Our Downtown guide is the base the convention's geography argues for: the hotels around the host hotels, on the streets the parade walks.
Booking opens below: the city-wide search, or a stay arranged through Maison V, our sister company.
Search Atlanta hotelsvia Trip.com · affiliate linkLuxury Atlanta Staysvia Maison V · our sister company
A spare afternoon: Atlanta on screen
Memberships are the convention's own to sell; this tour is not a convention ticket and nothing here replaces a membership. For a spare afternoon inside the weekend, this private three-hour tour visits the Atlanta filming locations behind Black Panther, The Avengers, Loki and Falcon and the Winter Soldier: the city Dragon Con takes over, seen through the films shot in it. Minimum two guests.
Book the Atlanta MCU Film Locations Tourvia Viator · affiliate link
The weekly note tracks the announcements
One email a week: what is on in Atlanta, which tentative dates have just been confirmed, and the weekends worth planning around while rooms are still bookable. Dragon Con's guest announcements and membership deadlines will land in the note as they are published. Get the note before everyone else: the public page follows a few days later.
The full calendar
Dragon Con weekend sits inside a much bigger Atlanta calendar: Falcons, Hawks and Atlanta United home games, the Fox Theatre's seasons, exhibitions and comedy, all running through the autumn. The full calendar carries everything in date order.
Dragon Con questions, answered
When is Dragon Con in 2027?
Thursday 2 to Monday 6 September 2027, the five-day Labor Day weekend. Dragon Con announced the dates in its own wrap-up release for the 2026 convention: it will return to downtown Atlanta in 2027 over the five-day Labor Day weekend, Sept. 2 to Sept. 6.
Do I need a ticket?
You need a membership. Dragon Con is a membership convention: the badge is your admission to the panels, the gaming rooms and the hotel programming, and memberships are sold online in advance on the convention's official site. They are non-refundable and non-transferable, and an unused membership cannot be carried forward to the following year.
Can I watch the parade without a membership?
Yes. The parade marches down Peachtree Street on the Saturday morning of the weekend, and watching from the street is free. The convention's own history estimates the watching crowd at some 75,000 people and calls it the city's best attended parade.
Where is Dragon Con held?
Across five host hotels in downtown Atlanta, around Peachtree Center, with the dealer hall in the AmericasMart. There is no single convention centre: the programme moves between the hotels, and their lobbies are part of the show.
Can children come?
Yes. Children under seven attend free, on the convention's own buy page, and childcare is not offered. The convention's own history records that family-oriented programming was added long ago and the adult fare moved to the nighttime hours.