Wednesday, September 4, 2030

hello from the Fantasy Fairs of days past

The Atlanta Fantasy Fair, known at first as the Atlanta Comics & Fantasy Fair, was a comics and SF convention that took place yearly at various locations in and around Atlanta, Georgia from 1975 until 1995. For several years it was the largest fantasy, comics, SF, and related media gathering in the Southeast, bringing together people from across the region and the nation. As an attendee and a staffer the AFF holds many memories for me, and I'm sure others remember it fondly or (not-so-fondly) as well.

A few years back, I noticed that information on the AFF seemed to be almost nonexistent on the internet. It's the goal of this blog to rectify that situation by posting any and all data available on the AFF, in addition to information and images of other now-defunct Atlanta conventions and fan organizations from the same era, such as Phoenixcon, Dixie-Trek, etc.

If you have any images, information, stories, rumors, tall tales, or legends about these conventions, please don't hesitate to send them to me at terebifunhouse@gmail.com or post them here in the comments.


10 comments:

McKinley said...

I think I have most of the program book for the middle years of the Con. I know that I had a great time running Gaming and Security years I was there. And I think I have most of the Con Shirts as well. Will have to look.

McKinley

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Unknown said...

As they say,"a blast from the past". I was one of the many people who were responsible for making sure that The Atlanta Fantasy Fair happened each year. I loved my time working with the many volunteers who were very loyal to this convention. Without them, The Atlanta Fantasy Fair would have never happened. Organizing the guest line-up, dealers, artist, events and more was a lot of fun. I think my favorite event was the costume contest. What a great way for fans to express their talents and creativity. I don't think there is another convention that can compare to this one. Of course, I'm a little prejudice since I was actually the president of this convention for many years. I have many great memories. If you would like to go back in time and talk about the Fantasy Fair, I would love to hear from you. Terry terry6853@gmail.com

Dennis said...

What memories. I went to the AFF from 1981 to 1987. Those were was really good times. I still have my programs and con shirts. The costume contest was the best.
Thank you

DancingBookworm said...

There was one costume presentation that sticks in my mind as the years go by. I wonder if you recall which one this was held at?

It is where the guy dressed up top half in a Star Trek uniform and bottom half in a pair of undies a 'la Risky Business. Any thoughts?

Unknown said...

This page is fantastic! My buddies and I went in 1987. We were 17 years old and it was our first road trip, up from South Florida. I've been very nostalgic for old cons lately, since as of late, I've had some bad con experiences and don't think cons are what they used to be. A couple of months ago, I picked up an old graphic novel called Lightrunners and in reading the author's notes, he stated that it was serialized in Visions magazine. Then coincidentally, for the first time ever, I picked up an issue of Flaming Carrot and see that it too began in Visions magazine. Now I've been obsessed with picking up some issues. Obviously they are hard to find and pricey. I still have my program from '87 and cherish it. I found this site looking for issues of Visions and as I said, loving it! Thank you so much for the wonderful slice of nostalgia!!

Kristin said...

I happened upon this site and can not believe it!! My parents ran the Atlanta Fantasy Fair during the mid 80s. Has been amazing looking at all the images my brain has long forgotten! As I kid, this stuff was laying everywhere, omnipresent! Wow. I can still feel my hurt tailbone the time I slid down the middle of the Omni's escalator! Thanks so much for everyone posting so many images!

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Chris K. said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Chris K. said...

Hi David! This brought back some warm fuzzy, and just some really fuzzy memories from my years at AFF! I have ALBUMS full of photos and a few videos if you’re interested! Matt does too! I was a volunteer nurse for some years at the fair! Now there are buckets of stories from that alone that I could share! There was a lovely evening when I was called at some odd hour of the AM because a 15 year old who stole into the adult dance, mooned another person who was, as I was told, drunk and wound up with a pretty severe human bite on his butt! Yeah, fun times! We had a pretty special group of folks there! I have a couple of stories about Bob Burden, Julie Schwartz, Chris Clairmont, Butch Patrick and a few others! I’m female. Guess where those stories went! I did a costume often in a group for years and a few alone. We had an after the Costume Contest crash party on the Saturday night of the fair. We filled the bathtub up with ice and soda pop cans! The year I did Belle, Colm Meany and his Daughter (Brenda, I believe) were coming around a corner. The little girl ran directly into a very apologetic Klingon holding a sturdy bat'leth and got an impressive nose bleed. I was called as I was the nurse on call. Colm Meany stated, laughing, “You know you’re at a con when your kid gets taken out by a Klingon and gets taken care of by Belle!” Thanks for the memories and a lovely place to share a few of my own! And, thanks for showing me that I have a Vimeo account of which I was oddly not aware! Knew about YouTube! Thanks again for all the surprises!