EVENT PREVIEW
Walker Stalker Con Atlanta
Oct. 30-Nov. 1. Daily general admission tickets are $35 for Friday, Oct. 30; $55 for Saturday, Oct. 31 (when most of the stars will be there); and $45 for Sunday, Nov. 1. A two-day pass is $90 for Saturday and Sunday (Oct. 31-Nov. 1) and a three-day pass is $120. Georgia World Congress Center, 285 Andrew Young International Blvd. N.W., Atlanta. http://walkerstalkercon.com/atlanta.
The zombie hordes keep getting bigger.
Thanks to the continuing popularity of AMC's 'The Walking Dead," the annual Atlanta Walker Stalker convention has moved to a bigger space in its third year.
Last year, it was at AmericasMart. This Halloween weekend, the three-day fest will be at the more spacious Georgia World Congress Center. The timing is great, with season six of the show airing Sunday nights.
» Keep up with the latest 'Walking Dead' news and recaps on our TV & Radio blog
The convention drew 35,000 people in 2014, said organizer James Frazier. He is hoping for at least 50,000 this year.
“We were blown away last year how many people showed up day of,” Frazier said. “We had to get a bigger space.”
Frazier — a Nashville, Tenn.-based “Walking Dead” podcaster who now puts together 10 conventions nationwide each year plus a cruise — has cultivated good relationships with the show. He is able to attract virtually the entire cast plus a raft of former cast members to the event.
It also helps that the show is still in production down the road in Senoia.
He plans to have more activities for kids, including a trick-or-treat day that Saturday (Oct. 31) where vendors and actors will hand out candy. He also wants more interactive events for the fans. A virtual reality zombie-killing “Walking Dead”-sanctioned game called Overkill and a new “Escape Room” will be added as well.
VIP tickets with special access to the stars quickly sold out, but general admission tickets are still available.
The five original survivors from season one are scheduled to be there: Andrew Lincoln (Rick), Norman Reedus (Daryl), Melissa McBride (Carol), Steven Yeun (Glenn) and Chandler Riggs (Carl).
Other current cast members scheduled to come to the Atlanta convention: Christian Serratos (Rosita), Lauren Cohan (Maggie), Michael Cudlitz (Abraham), Josh McDermitt (Eugene), Lennie James (Morgan), Alexandra Breckenridge (Jessie) and Seth Gilliam (Gabriel).
Several past "Walking Dead" actors are set to be there as well, including Jon Bernthal (Shane), Michael Rooker (Merle), David Morrissey (the Governor), Scott Wilson (Hershel) and Atlantans IronE Singleton (T-Dog) and Steven Coulter (Reg).
How do they manage to get the actors to come back again and again?
“We take care of them,” said Frazier, an attorney. “We try to do everything the right way, not only for the actors but the attendees.”
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