Parade Sign up Is Officially Open.
We are taking the time to post this information so take the time to read it!
A few quick notes:
YOU MUST HAVE A 405th COSTUME.
YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE DEPLOYED.
YOU CANNOT SIGN UP HANDLERS/NON- COSTUMED/NON-405th MEMBERS.
INCLUDE YOUR FULL REAL NAME.
IF YOU DON'T HAVE 50 POSTS/90 DAYS AND AREN'T PART OF A REGIMENT TALK TO ME FIRST.
YOU MUST HAVE A SATURDAY DCON PASS TO MARCH.
We are excited that the Parade Organizers are moving forward at this time. Details are still being filtered down to us as organizers have them.
Okay so here are the details about Parade Morning and lineup:
WE WILL MEET IN THE MARRIOTT LOBBY AT 7:30 AM BY GUEST SERVICES DESK IN BETWEEN THE STONE COLUMNS. FROM HERE YOU WILL RECEIVE WRISTBANDS AND WE WILL DEPART TOGETHER ON THE SHUTTLES AT 8:30.
ALSO AS A REMINDER WE WILL NOT BE POINTING WEAPONS IN THE DIRECTION OF ANYONE.
STAGING ON PARADE MORNING, SATURDAY, 9/3
IF YOU ARE LATE FOR THE MARRIOTT YOU MUST MEET US AT THE NORTH AVENUE LOCATION I suggest however you not be late as no one will have cell-phone available to call as we are in Uniform.
I am going to try but no promises. MY CELL is 205-447-7514
THE PARADE
START TIME: 10:00 AM
ZeroSerenity will once again be directing us as march. Watch his nonverbal hand cues.
TIME: Staging (line-up) 7:30 AM until 9:30 AM
STAGING LOCATION: North Avenue Presbyterian Church at the intersection of Peachtree Street NE and North Avenue. The address is 607 Peachtree Street NE.
This location is approximately 8 blocks North of the Hyatt Regency’s front door. The North Avenue MARTA station is within 1.5 blocks of the church.
We have arranged a special shuttle service loop to Staging. All buses are not handicapped accessible and anyone wanting a handicap accessible ride should check in with disability services for a dedicated phone number to a disability shuttle.
The route picks up at the back of the Marriott on Courtland and drops off at the top of the route on North Ave from 7:30 am-9:30 am.
DO NOT BOARD ANY SHUTTLE LEAVING THE MARRIOTT AFTER THE 9:30 AM PICK UP. YOU WILL NOT ARRIVE AT STAGING ON TIME AND RISK LOSING YOUR PLACE IN THE PARADE.
WEAPONS as part of your costume must be peace-bonded by Dragon Con Saftey BEFORE the parade. There will be part of the Safety team at parade staging. Please see one of them prior to the start of the parade to have your weapons peace-bonded if you have not done so prior.
Masks are not required to march in the parade per the current City of Atlanta and CDC Guidelines. It is up to each marcher and/or group if you need to wear a mask during the parade. Please be kind to other people's choices to wear a mask or not. However, once you enter ANY hotel at the end of the parade, you will be immediately asked to put a mask on, so you probably want to carry one with you.
IF YOU ARE WALKING IN THE PARADE: Plan on arriving around 9:00 AM and NO LATER THAN 9:40 AM. Parade team members will direct you to the location of your parade section. If you are the first in the section to arrive in the staging area, you may be asked to hold the place marker sign for that parade unit so others can find the section. Please note that if you arrive after 9:40 AM, you run the risk of not being in the parade or not being able to march with you section. Once we start moving the parade out of the parking lot, the exit becomes one-way and that’s out onto Peachtree.
Section Signs: These are meant for staging use only and should not be taken out on the route. Please do NOT leave the sign where your section was lining but rather hand it off to the parade team member collecting them as you leave to get onto the route at the Peachtree gate
There are two staging entry points for participants at the parking lot gates, one on Peachtree Street and one on Courtland Street. Wristbands and badges are checked and must be visible when you enter.
We set up staging in the order you will be marching so all you'll need to do is move with your section from the parking lot onto the street.
Once in the staging area, please follow the directions of the Parade team. One of us will tell you where you should stand (where your assigned parade section is being staged) if marching or where to park your parade vehicle (drivers, please stay with your vehicle). Dragon Con Security and the Atlanta PD are also on the ground to assist.
It's noisy and often hard to hear what's being said while we're staging and then moving the parade out. We sometimes yell telling you to "move!" or something similar. Please be assured we aren't yelling because we're rude or cranky or angry...it's just so you can hear us, especially when there’s a sense of urgency and something needs to happen quickly. We love, appreciate and value the safety of you all, honest!
Once your parade section has been called, please proceed from the church’s parking lot onto Peachtree Street and into the far right lane (basically the one all the way across the street from the gate you exit). DO NOT try to line up around any vehicles – they will be integrated into your section on the street as we launch at Linden Avenue.
FACILITIES & AMENITIES in Staging:
Port-a-potties are located to the right of the participant entrance from Peachtree Street. Please make sure you tidy up after you use one.
The Boy Scouts are providing bottled water in the staging area and at the end of the parade route. Please take only ONE bottle of water to ensure all parade participants can have some water. If possible, bring your own or have a supply waiting for you at the end of the parade.
There is no storage for personal items in the staging area. You might need to improvise a pocket or other carrier hidden in/on your costume to carry room keys and other essentials you might want to bring
Please be aware of and appreciate that the church graciously allows us to use their property each year. Take time to make sure you do not leave any personal belongings, trash or other discarded items behind. There are several trash cans in the parking lot - find one of them and use them, please!
EMTs are on duty all morning and accompany the parade.
THE PARADE
START TIME: 10:00 AM
The route is a little over one mile long. There is a slight incline on Peachtree Street. There is one downhill on John Portman (formerly Andrew Young International Blvd). The parade ends at the Marriott Marquis on Peachtree Center Avenue.
The CW Atlanta and DCTV are broadcasting us live! Be yourself, do what you’ve always done that makes the parade so incredible. More information regarding these broadcasts is attached to this email.
At the end of the parade route, marchers will be directed into the Marriott via the front driveway and vehicles will be directed to continue on Peachtree Center Avenue.
Do NOT stop in the block in front of the Marriott, please. Parade vehicles can proceed to the next block where they can temporarily park to offload or tear down, if needed. If you do not need to change anything on your vehicles, please continue on Peachtree Center and follow the directions of the APD as they move you out of the area.
The parade is usually over - last person in the parade arrives at the Marriott between 11:30 & 11:45 AM. Depending on where your parade section is in the line-up, you should get there between 10:30 and 11:30 AM.
Please do not designate the end of the parade area as a meet-up spot for friends. It’s crowded and crazy and we’re trying to get literally thousands of parade participants through the area and off the street.
Most important to remember:
1. You MUST be a member of Dragon Con to participate in the parade. Badges and wristbands must be worn and visible on parade morning. (Some exceptions may apply and have been approved prior to the convention.)
2. NO ADVERTISING AND/OR PROMOTION of commercial enterprises are permitted in the parade without prior and express written approval from Dragon Con Senior Management.
3. Masks are not required to march in the parade per the current City of Atlanta and CDC Guidelines.
4. WEAPONS as part of your costume must be peace-bonded by Dragon Con Security BEFORE the parade.
5. REMEMBER YOUR AUDIENCE - we represent everything that is wonderful about Dragon Con. The crowds that watch and enjoy the parade are filled with children waiting for a glimpse of their favorite characters and heroes. We are the very public face of Dragon Con. Please don’t do or say anything that reflects poorly on yourself or the convention.
6. We are a POLITICS-FREE ZONE. No campaigning or protesting or demonstrating - 'real life' political or social issues - is allowed.
7. Dragon Con reserves the right to remove anyone and anything from the parade, at any time and without prior notice, deemed offensive, dangerous, or otherwise inappropriate for the event.
HAVE FUN!!!!!!!!!
IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ASK THEM NOW!
As usual, we want to have 99.999% of people in Halo costumes. We do need a few handlers and again, we want those handlers to be people willing to help everyone, not just the person they are there with, and have some experience in handling. Handlers need to be a little bossy from time to time to keep things going and they need to watch out for members who are in trouble due to costume malfunctions, over heating or bad crowd interactions (although this last one has thankfully never happened). Please keep all of this in mind over the coming weeks so you know that any non-costumed requests may be denied.
RULES FOR THE PARADE
1. Everyone registered MUST have 405th gear.
2. Everyone registered MUST be registered by forum name and real name.
3. You CAN register someone else, but you cannot register them as a "guest". See number 2.
4. We will NOT be registering any handlers at this time. IF YOU REQUIRE A HANDLER DUE TO SOME SORT OF MEDICAL CONCERN, PLEASE SEND ME A MESSAGE SO WE CAN ENSURE YOU ARE LOOKED AFTER IN TERMS OF HAVING YOUR HANDLER REGISTERED.
5. If you are a dual member of the 405th and UNSC Capitol - please state that you are. Rick will be collecting UNSC names and providing them to me. I don't at all mind which ever group you are technically marching with but I do want to ensure that you are only counted once.
6. All those marching must be a full member with 50 posts/90 days and/or be part of a Regiment already. If you do NOT have this, please come talk to me.
7. You do not need to be deployed to march, but we would love for you to take the opportunity to get your deployment going or get your photos taken at DCon to submit on your return. It's also a great time to get some feedback from other members in person.
8. You MUST have a Saturday or Weekend pass for DCon to march. You must also have that pass on you for the parade. It doesn't have to be visible but you do need to be able to show it if asked.
9. At this time, we cannot guarantee that children will be allowed. It will depend 100% on our member numbers. Come talk to me if this is an issue for you. IF we have spares and can add in a couple of kids, we'll need them to be Halo-ified. We aren't supposed to have non-costumed people marching. We make the exception for a few handlers out of necessity but we need to keep that to a minimum. Again, come talk to me and let's see what we can figure out.
Please understand that us holding spots we don't use means that others don't get the chance to march. As well, if you sign up for a spot, DO NOT MISS THE PARADE. I get it, it's easy to stay out way too late and not be in any shape to march. But you will be taking a spot from someone else - potentially even another member of the 405th so treat Friday night as a non-excessive partying night so that you're good to go for Saturday morning. Please do not bail on us for the Parade.
Meet up details for times and locations etc. will be posted much closer to the date. We have for as long as memory serves met in the lobby of the Marriott and intend to continue to do so unless any rules have changed.
If you have any questions or concerns about any of this, please message me asap!
P.S.: I know all of this seems a little harsh, but with the Parade wanting us to be accountable for not only having 100% costumes in the parade (we cannot - we need at least a couple non-costumed to herd the cats) and being accountable for the number of badges we take each year, we are forced to be a little more strict with all of this. The demand to be in the parade grows each year and have no doubt that if they start seeing that we aren't using what we ask for properly, they will start putting a cap on how many we can ask for.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE WITH ALL OF THE ABOVE!!!!
I’ll be there as Spartan LockeParade Sign up Is Officially Open.
We are taking the time to post this information so take the time to read it!
A few quick notes:
YOU MUST HAVE A 405th COSTUME.
YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE DEPLOYED.
YOU CANNOT SIGN UP HANDLERS/NON- COSTUMED/NON-405th MEMBERS.
INCLUDE YOUR FULL REAL NAME.
IF YOU DON'T HAVE 50 POSTS/90 DAYS AND AREN'T PART OF A REGIMENT TALK TO ME FIRST.
YOU MUST HAVE A SATURDAY DCON PASS TO MARCH.
We are excited that the Parade Organizers are moving forward at this time. Details are still being filtered down to us as organizers have them.
Okay so here are the details about Parade Morning and lineup:
WE WILL MEET IN THE MARRIOTT LOBBY AT 7:30 AM BY GUEST SERVICES DESK IN BETWEEN THE STONE COLUMNS. FROM HERE YOU WILL RECEIVE WRISTBANDS AND WE WILL DEPART TOGETHER ON THE SHUTTLES AT 8:30.
ALSO AS A REMINDER WE WILL NOT BE POINTING WEAPONS IN THE DIRECTION OF ANYONE.
STAGING ON PARADE MORNING, SATURDAY, 9/3
IF YOU ARE LATE FOR THE MARRIOTT YOU MUST MEET US AT THE NORTH AVENUE LOCATION I suggest however you not be late as no one will have cell-phone available to call as we are in Uniform.
I am going to try but no promises. MY CELL is 205-447-7514
THE PARADE
START TIME: 10:00 AM
ZeroSerenity will once again be directing us as march. Watch his nonverbal hand cues.
TIME: Staging (line-up) 7:30 AM until 9:30 AM
STAGING LOCATION: North Avenue Presbyterian Church at the intersection of Peachtree Street NE and North Avenue. The address is 607 Peachtree Street NE.
This location is approximately 8 blocks North of the Hyatt Regency’s front door. The North Avenue MARTA station is within 1.5 blocks of the church.
We have arranged a special shuttle service loop to Staging. All buses are not handicapped accessible and anyone wanting a handicap accessible ride should check in with disability services for a dedicated phone number to a disability shuttle.
The route picks up at the back of the Marriott on Courtland and drops off at the top of the route on North Ave from 7:30 am-9:30 am.
DO NOT BOARD ANY SHUTTLE LEAVING THE MARRIOTT AFTER THE 9:30 AM PICK UP. YOU WILL NOT ARRIVE AT STAGING ON TIME AND RISK LOSING YOUR PLACE IN THE PARADE.
WEAPONS as part of your costume must be peace-bonded by Dragon Con Saftey BEFORE the parade. There will be part of the Safety team at parade staging. Please see one of them prior to the start of the parade to have your weapons peace-bonded if you have not done so prior.
Masks are not required to march in the parade per the current City of Atlanta and CDC Guidelines. It is up to each marcher and/or group if you need to wear a mask during the parade. Please be kind to other people's choices to wear a mask or not. However, once you enter ANY hotel at the end of the parade, you will be immediately asked to put a mask on, so you probably want to carry one with you.
IF YOU ARE WALKING IN THE PARADE: Plan on arriving around 9:00 AM and NO LATER THAN 9:40 AM. Parade team members will direct you to the location of your parade section. If you are the first in the section to arrive in the staging area, you may be asked to hold the place marker sign for that parade unit so others can find the section. Please note that if you arrive after 9:40 AM, you run the risk of not being in the parade or not being able to march with you section. Once we start moving the parade out of the parking lot, the exit becomes one-way and that’s out onto Peachtree.
Section Signs: These are meant for staging use only and should not be taken out on the route. Please do NOT leave the sign where your section was lining but rather hand it off to the parade team member collecting them as you leave to get onto the route at the Peachtree gate
There are two staging entry points for participants at the parking lot gates, one on Peachtree Street and one on Courtland Street. Wristbands and badges are checked and must be visible when you enter.
We set up staging in the order you will be marching so all you'll need to do is move with your section from the parking lot onto the street.
Once in the staging area, please follow the directions of the Parade team. One of us will tell you where you should stand (where your assigned parade section is being staged) if marching or where to park your parade vehicle (drivers, please stay with your vehicle). Dragon Con Security and the Atlanta PD are also on the ground to assist.
It's noisy and often hard to hear what's being said while we're staging and then moving the parade out. We sometimes yell telling you to "move!" or something similar. Please be assured we aren't yelling because we're rude or cranky or angry...it's just so you can hear us, especially when there’s a sense of urgency and something needs to happen quickly. We love, appreciate and value the safety of you all, honest!
Once your parade section has been called, please proceed from the church’s parking lot onto Peachtree Street and into the far right lane (basically the one all the way across the street from the gate you exit). DO NOT try to line up around any vehicles – they will be integrated into your section on the street as we launch at Linden Avenue.
FACILITIES & AMENITIES in Staging:
Port-a-potties are located to the right of the participant entrance from Peachtree Street. Please make sure you tidy up after you use one.
The Boy Scouts are providing bottled water in the staging area and at the end of the parade route. Please take only ONE bottle of water to ensure all parade participants can have some water. If possible, bring your own or have a supply waiting for you at the end of the parade.
There is no storage for personal items in the staging area. You might need to improvise a pocket or other carrier hidden in/on your costume to carry room keys and other essentials you might want to bring
Please be aware of and appreciate that the church graciously allows us to use their property each year. Take time to make sure you do not leave any personal belongings, trash or other discarded items behind. There are several trash cans in the parking lot - find one of them and use them, please!
EMTs are on duty all morning and accompany the parade.
THE PARADE
START TIME: 10:00 AM
The route is a little over one mile long. There is a slight incline on Peachtree Street. There is one downhill on John Portman (formerly Andrew Young International Blvd). The parade ends at the Marriott Marquis on Peachtree Center Avenue.
The CW Atlanta and DCTV are broadcasting us live! Be yourself, do what you’ve always done that makes the parade so incredible. More information regarding these broadcasts is attached to this email.
At the end of the parade route, marchers will be directed into the Marriott via the front driveway and vehicles will be directed to continue on Peachtree Center Avenue.
Do NOT stop in the block in front of the Marriott, please. Parade vehicles can proceed to the next block where they can temporarily park to offload or tear down, if needed. If you do not need to change anything on your vehicles, please continue on Peachtree Center and follow the directions of the APD as they move you out of the area.
The parade is usually over - last person in the parade arrives at the Marriott between 11:30 & 11:45 AM. Depending on where your parade section is in the line-up, you should get there between 10:30 and 11:30 AM.
Please do not designate the end of the parade area as a meet-up spot for friends. It’s crowded and crazy and we’re trying to get literally thousands of parade participants through the area and off the street.
Most important to remember:
1. You MUST be a member of Dragon Con to participate in the parade. Badges and wristbands must be worn and visible on parade morning. (Some exceptions may apply and have been approved prior to the convention.)
2. NO ADVERTISING AND/OR PROMOTION of commercial enterprises are permitted in the parade without prior and express written approval from Dragon Con Senior Management.
3. Masks are not required to march in the parade per the current City of Atlanta and CDC Guidelines.
4. WEAPONS as part of your costume must be peace-bonded by Dragon Con Security BEFORE the parade.
5. REMEMBER YOUR AUDIENCE - we represent everything that is wonderful about Dragon Con. The crowds that watch and enjoy the parade are filled with children waiting for a glimpse of their favorite characters and heroes. We are the very public face of Dragon Con. Please don’t do or say anything that reflects poorly on yourself or the convention.
6. We are a POLITICS-FREE ZONE. No campaigning or protesting or demonstrating - 'real life' political or social issues - is allowed.
7. Dragon Con reserves the right to remove anyone and anything from the parade, at any time and without prior notice, deemed offensive, dangerous, or otherwise inappropriate for the event.
HAVE FUN!!!!!!!!!
IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ASK THEM NOW!
As usual, we want to have 99.999% of people in Halo costumes. We do need a few handlers and again, we want those handlers to be people willing to help everyone, not just the person they are there with, and have some experience in handling. Handlers need to be a little bossy from time to time to keep things going and they need to watch out for members who are in trouble due to costume malfunctions, over heating or bad crowd interactions (although this last one has thankfully never happened). Please keep all of this in mind over the coming weeks so you know that any non-costumed requests may be denied.
RULES FOR THE PARADE
1. Everyone registered MUST have 405th gear.
2. Everyone registered MUST be registered by forum name and real name.
3. You CAN register someone else, but you cannot register them as a "guest". See number 2.
4. We will NOT be registering any handlers at this time. IF YOU REQUIRE A HANDLER DUE TO SOME SORT OF MEDICAL CONCERN, PLEASE SEND ME A MESSAGE SO WE CAN ENSURE YOU ARE LOOKED AFTER IN TERMS OF HAVING YOUR HANDLER REGISTERED.
5. If you are a dual member of the 405th and UNSC Capitol - please state that you are. Rick will be collecting UNSC names and providing them to me. I don't at all mind which ever group you are technically marching with but I do want to ensure that you are only counted once.
6. All those marching must be a full member with 50 posts/90 days and/or be part of a Regiment already. If you do NOT have this, please come talk to me.
7. You do not need to be deployed to march, but we would love for you to take the opportunity to get your deployment going or get your photos taken at DCon to submit on your return. It's also a great time to get some feedback from other members in person.
8. You MUST have a Saturday or Weekend pass for DCon to march. You must also have that pass on you for the parade. It doesn't have to be visible but you do need to be able to show it if asked.
9. At this time, we cannot guarantee that children will be allowed. It will depend 100% on our member numbers. Come talk to me if this is an issue for you. IF we have spares and can add in a couple of kids, we'll need them to be Halo-ified. We aren't supposed to have non-costumed people marching. We make the exception for a few handlers out of necessity but we need to keep that to a minimum. Again, come talk to me and let's see what we can figure out.
Please understand that us holding spots we don't use means that others don't get the chance to march. As well, if you sign up for a spot, DO NOT MISS THE PARADE. I get it, it's easy to stay out way too late and not be in any shape to march. But you will be taking a spot from someone else - potentially even another member of the 405th so treat Friday night as a non-excessive partying night so that you're good to go for Saturday morning. Please do not bail on us for the Parade.
Meet up details for times and locations etc. will be posted much closer to the date. We have for as long as memory serves met in the lobby of the Marriott and intend to continue to do so unless any rules have changed.
If you have any questions or concerns about any of this, please message me asap!
P.S.: I know all of this seems a little harsh, but with the Parade wanting us to be accountable for not only having 100% costumes in the parade (we cannot - we need at least a couple non-costumed to herd the cats) and being accountable for the number of badges we take each year, we are forced to be a little more strict with all of this. The demand to be in the parade grows each year and have no doubt that if they start seeing that we aren't using what we ask for properly, they will start putting a cap on how many we can ask for.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE WITH ALL OF THE ABOVE!!!!
