Sharing a room with total strangers is (as Forrest Gump so wisely put it) like a box of chocolate – you never know what you’re gonna get.

During the past 2 weeks we received some very interesting videos from those wanting to stay in the CON*tourage Suite. Those wanting to enter the contest to try and win a space were asked to submit a short YouTube video introducting themselves to CON*tourage and also explain why they wanted to stay in the coolest, most happenin’ space in the Hyatt. Overall we received 12 video entries. We’d like to thank each and everyone one of you who took the time to film, upload and then share it with us. Unfortunately, we could only pick 1-3 people. And…unfortunately…we also promised all that submitted videos that we wouldn’t publish them online

Michael and Lauren, based out of Atlanta, GA were choosen as the lucky winners! Their video was very informative, with both telling us their geek-related hobbies and why they love coming to Dragon*Con. They also were very enthusiastic about helping with party set-up and meeting new people which we can gaurantee will happen Another part of their video that helped win points with us is that they said they tend to wander around the Con…looking for people they know and to meet new people…which is the main reason CON*tourage was founded back in 2008. We wanted to give like-minded creative geeks an outlet and place to find friends at Cons that they’d feel comfortable with and return in the future. And of course to party with.

So…CON*grats to Michael and Lauren for securing the coveted spot in the CON*tourage Suite for Dragon*Con 2012. All of the CON*tourage CRUE looks forward to meeting you both in just over a month! Below is a screen grab from the YouTube the couple submitted.

Suite CON*test Winners: Michael and Lauren

Reserved Regular Party Passes are still available

In 2011, it happened at the beginning of August. In 2012, it happened three weeks sooner, on the 12th of July.  Yep…that’s right. All of the  reserved CON*tourage VIP Party Passes for Dragon*Con 2012 have been snatched up. If you didn’t have a chance to reserve a VIP Party Pass you aren’t out of options as there are still Regular Party Passes available for reserving. Remember, both the VIP and Regular Party Passes are required for entry to our 2012 late-night events which you can read about HERE.

What’s the difference between a VIP and Regular Party Pass (both required for entrance)? Well, the CON*tourage VIP Party Pass allows attendees (21+) access into our late-night events 1 hour early, and also provides some great perks like a commemorative 2012 t-shirt, party cup, premium lanyard, a collectible CON*tourage button (new this year) and keepsake laminated Party Pass. So if you’d wanted to get access to our exclusive late-night events, a Regular Party Pass is still a great option BUT we will soon run out of those also….so don’t say we didn’t warn you. We will have a VERY limited amount of Party Passes available while at Dragon*Con but being in the right place at the right time might be more of a challenge than you’d want to take on as we all know how busy and hectic this awesome Con can be. NOTE: VIP Party Passes will be available to future Sponsors for our events at Dragon*Con 2012 (if interested in becoming a Sponsor, please email contourage@gmail.com).

2012 CON*tourage T-shirt

If you had your heart set on a VIP Party Pass(es) we will still have a few options before now and Dragon*Con 2012 for people to win them. The most notable is the CON*tourage Monthly PHOTO CON*test which awards winners with VIP Party Passes. Interested in entering? All of the info. you need to enter the Monthly PHOTO CON*test can be found HERE. We’ll make announcements on the CON*tourage Facebook Fan Page about where you might also be able to secure a VIP Party Pass, other than the PHOTO CON*test…if a VIP Party Pass is what you had your heart set on. But as we said, we still have Regular Party Passes available for reserving if you are wanting to get access to our late-night events. All of the info. you need to reserve a Regular Party Pass can be found at www.CON-tourage.com/dcon2012.

And remember, if you are wanting to pre-order our Commemorative 2012 t-shirt, designed exclusively for us by zombie artist Billy Tackett, orders must be submitted by deadline July 31st, 2012. We won’t be selling these at Dragon*Con but will be shipping them BEFORE Dragon*Con in case you want to wear them Labor Day weekend (why wouldn’t you?). To see the t-shirt design and place an order, please visit our Merchandise page, located at www.CON-tourage.com/merchandise. REMEMBER…each Commemorative t-shirt ordered also comes with a Regular Party Pass!

Thanks so much to all who submitted a photo for our third month of doing the CON*tourage PHOTO CON*test. This was by far the best entries we’ve received so far so BRAVO to all who took time to submit a photo. You can check out all of the June entries by clicking HERE.

Voting members of the CON*tourage CRUE picked a “Best Photo” – which won a PAIR (2) of VIP PARTY PASSES to our Dragon*Con 2012 parties — more info. on the parties at www.CON-tourage.com/dc2012 — this month we did things a little different. The photo that we picked as the “Best Photo” also received the most “Likes”. Therefore we gave the most popular photo with “Likes” award to the 2nd runner up. We also gave an award for “Best Use of Food”. Both of these photos won one (1) VIP PARTY PASS to our Dragon*Con 2012 parties.

Interested in submitting your own photo for our MONTHLY PHOTO CON*TEST? Next deadline is July 31st at 11:59 p.m. EDT. Complete info. on how to enter can be found HERE. If you entered this month and didn’t win…try again! Be creative…ANYTHING GOES!

On with this month’s winners…

Model: Yoko; Photographer: Mike (Birmingham, AL)

A big CON*gratulations to Yoko Mizuhara out of Birmingham, AL for winning the “Best Photo” for her entry. Voting members of the CON*tourage CRUE really liked how she used the leaves to spell out CON*tourage, in addition to the great photo work by Mike Vickers. Mike commented on their photo by saying  “Yoko just found out about this Thursday night and we shot these photos last night after work. The photo was taken inside bouncing a single strobe off the ceiling. Very little time was available when we found out about this contest.” For winning “Best Photo” Yoko will received TWO CON*tourage VIP PARTY PASSES for our Dragon*Con 2012 events/parties.

Julie (Atlanta, GA)

…and for getting the 2nd most “Likes” on Facebook, Julie out of Atlanta, GA wins ONE (1) CON*tourage VIP PARTY PASS  for our Dragon*Con 2012 events/parties. When asked about this photo, Julie commented “I was excited to enter this photo contest since Dragon*Con is the biggest thing I have to look forward to every year. I was just about to print the CON*tourage logo, when I saw this magical little photo-op appear before my eyes. Elvie (my cat) was dressed up to be my model, and decided to lay on my computer desk and I just couldn’t resist the cuteness of her in her Star Wars surroundings.”

Heather (Delaware)

CON*tourage decided to mix things up this month and give an award for “Best Use Of Food” after seeing this tasty entry. Heather out of Delaware wins ONE (1) CON*tourage VIP PARTY PASS  for our Dragon*Con 2012 events/parties. When asked about this photo, Heather commented “The attached image is what I like to call a “CON*tourage Calzone” stuffed with delicious meat and cheese. Enjoy!”

If you are interested in entering a photo all the details you need to know can be found HERE. The next deadline is July 31st, 2012 at 11:59 p.m. EDT.