Someone at a FACT gathering asked recently, “Why ArmadilloCon? What’s the SFF connection?” (FACT is the group that sponsors ArmadilloCon.)
At the time this thing was started, the Armadillo World Headquarters was still active. So maybe “armadillo” was probably pretty trendy? And, hey, according to the Google Books Ngram Viewer, there was a spike in the usage of the word “armadillo” in 1978!
There are some cool Austin things older than ArmadilloCon, for sure. Peter Pan Mini Golf has us beat (1948). Willie Nelson’s first Fourth of July Picnic was in 1973. The first Amy’s opened in 1974. The Austin City Limits TV program started broadcasting in 1976. ArmadilloCon didn’t show up until 1979, when it convened at the once-swanky, long-gone Villa Capri Motor Hotel.
But we have been around longer than Steve Jackson Games (1980; also, Jackson was a FACT officer), Whole Foods (1980), the Austin Chronicle (1981), the Austin Film Society (1985), SXSW (1987) and ACL Fest (2002). Wow.
Do join us this September for the 47th edition of ArmadilloCon, and help us keep this thing going and growing!
