Grace Dunklin, Campus Carrier Staff Reporter
When people say they went to a “geek convention,” what do you think of? ComicCon, with its gigantic booths and big name attendees? MomoCon, the formerly free Georgia Tech convention? Swag bags, booze and scantily dressed women? Furries and Stormtroopers? I guarantee that whatever you first think of as a con, it is not what I imagine.
Instead of just attending Dragon*Con, the annual Atlanta convention over Labor Day weekend, I worked as a volunteer for the Tolkien’s Middle Earth track.
As a volunteer for the convention, I have to work 25 hours at my section of the convention. I usually have a job I refer to as the “friendly neighborhood door Dragon” or the “unexpected bouncer.” This means I sit outside the track room door and make sure people line up for panels in an orderly fashion and are all attendees at the convention. Due to room size and event attendance, we couldn’t have more that 300 people in our tiny track room. No one wants to make the fire marshal angry, and it is usually my job to ensure his satisfaction.
Another thing I do is run the microphone for question and answer panels, either with scholarly panelists or celebrities. This year, the important celebrities for my area at the Con were Graham McTavish, Sylvester McCoy, Manu Bennett and William Kircher. These four men are main actors in “The Hobbit” adaptations by Peter Jackson.
These panels are heavily fan-run and therefore have volunteers keep interference and inappropriate questions to a minimum. We could not have people asking about lawsuits or for hugs or the panel might never end.
In my opinion, volunteering is the best way to get involved in a convention like Dragon*Con. Though volunteers have to dedicate a significant portion of their time to their section of the Con, if they pick right and are involved in a subject that they love, it will barely feel like work. The perks of volunteering are good too. After the first year, which is sort of a probationary period, a volunteer badge is free. There are no restrictions on what you can do with a volunteer badge.
As a volunteer, you get to see a different side of the convention. You get to have a hands on experience and help people have the best time they possibly can at an event that is possibly one of the largest of its kind in the southeast. If you like helping people and being geeky at the same time, volunteering at Dragon*Con is definitely something to consider.