{"id":18036,"date":"2021-04-01T12:20:36","date_gmt":"2021-04-01T10:20:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cosplayers.gr\/?p=18036"},"modified":"2021-05-09T12:12:06","modified_gmt":"2021-05-09T10:12:06","slug":"fantasmagoria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cosplayers.gr\/en\/main\/fantasmagoria\/","title":{"rendered":"Fantasmagoria! The big extraordinary Fantasy Festival of Thessaloniki talks to us about everything!"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Fantasmagoria! Thessaloniki’s  big Fantasy festival talks to us about Cosplay, the event and its work!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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A WORLD OF FANTASY !<\/span><\/strong><\/h1>\n
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The world of Fantasy <\/span><\/strong>in a big festival in Thessaloniki<\/span><\/strong>! From 2017<\/span><\/strong> until today, every April and for  two days<\/span><\/strong>, it gathers thousands of fans of Fantasy under one roof!<\/p>\n

Starting on April 1, 2017<\/span><\/strong> at Thessaloniki’s City Hall<\/strong><\/a>, it counts three annual two-day events<\/span><\/strong> by now, with the exception of 2020 and 2021, due to the pandemic! Literature, comics, board games, artists, exhibitors, collectibles<\/span><\/strong>, everything is there!<\/p>\n

Among them, our favorite Cosplay<\/span><\/strong>, which started to make their gradually increasing appearance from 2018<\/span><\/strong> onwards, reaching 21 Cosplays<\/span><\/strong> ( besides 14 extra fantasy themed costumes ) during the last physical event, Fantasmagoria 2019<\/strong><\/a>!<\/p>\n

Multiple book presentations, seminars, events for children, panels, interactive events, art, concerts, screenings, performances, workshops, dance, stand up comedy and much more<\/span><\/strong>, compose an extensive program, covering tastes a visitor might have! Among them, the two Cosplay Parades<\/span><\/strong> one can watch during the event’s 2 day run! Cosplayers\/\/GR<\/strong><\/a> was present until its last event with its own booth, providing a Cosplay Photo \/ Video Booth, Cosplay Photo Albums \/ Galleries, Cosplay Repair Station, Giveaways, Freebies and Cosplayer Luggage Storage<\/span><\/strong>!<\/p>\n

Let’s talk about everything , with Fantasmagoria<\/span><\/strong>‘s chairman of the board of directors, Savvina Kotseridou<\/span><\/strong>!<\/p>\n

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Find Fantasmagoria on the following media!\r\nPage<\/a> - Facebook<\/a> - Youtube<\/a> - Twitter<\/a> - Instagram<\/a>\r\n\r\nCheck out the organizer's profile and events, with all their info and thousands of photos & videos, on our website, HERE<\/a>!\r\n<\/strong><\/pre>\n

\nMYTHS & STORIES !<\/span><\/strong><\/h1>\n
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1) Tell us a few words about Fantasmagoria, its history and contents! When and how did it start? What themes is it about? Are those themes based on the organizers’ personal interests, and if so, when did you start taking an interest in each of them, before your first event?<\/strong><\/h5>\n
Fantasmagoria was born 5 years ago, during a magical moment of synchronized inspiration of its founders ( Giorgos Damtsios, Marios Dimitriadis, Nikos Koumartzis, Valantis Nagoloudis, Evangelia Papanikou and Evlampia Tsireli ), who, recognizing the gradual rising expansion of fantasy literature worldwide, as well as the flourishment of the genre in Greece in recent years, wanted to create an event that would bring the people’s love for fiction and fantasy in all its forms together. Along with the happy circumstance of the public’s warm response, as well as the facts that fantasy was becoming the pop culture of our time, the new organizing committee ( Dimitris Kalogiannis, Christos Keskinis, Dimitris Kolovos, Savvina Kotseridou, Christos Koutsianos, Valantis Nagoloudis and Ilias Tsiaras ) opened up the festival to new fields: to all the arts, to science, to technology, to robotics. The event, which unfortunately didn’t take place due to the health crisis, would have been 2 to 3 times larger in structure, interactivity and thematically. It’s now clear that Fantasmagoria has acquired its own identity, its own character, so it’s impossible to rely solely on the organizers’ personal interests. Of course we are all into and related to fantasy in some way, however, what defines the character and scope of the event are always the trends of our time, the needs of our time and the needs of the people and among all that, we , the organizers, are called to respond. Fantasmagoria shapes us, and not the reverse.<\/p>\n
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Cosplayers\/\/GR<\/a> Cosplay Photobooth Photos at Fantasmagoria 2019<\/a> – Photos by Cassiel Cosplay Photography<\/a><\/p>\n
2) What led you to proceed with organizing Fantasmagoria? How long and what exactly did it take until the first event was possible? What can one find there and how do you think it differs from other events of similar type or theme?<\/strong><\/h5>\n
I feel that a big part of the question has already been answered above. The demands of organizing a festival like Fantasmagoria – the way it is now – are huge! It’s an event with exhibitions, with many rooms and many stages that operate all in parallel, with 2 separate sections ( children’s and adults’ ) that must “run” simultaneously and independently, with a large audience, which we must protect, facilitate , inform, with over 400 artists and exhibitors that we must respect, serve functionally, highlight in the best way. For those 2 days of the festival, we and our partners work every day, all year round. Extremely important, of course, is the contribution of Fantasmagoria’s volunteers, without whom it might not have been possible to do all this. Allow me not to answer the last part of the question, since, in Fantasmagoria, we have chosen to observe and highlight what unites us with others and not what separates us. Where we look alike and not where we differ. It’s an extremely difficult time for events, which has already deprived the scene of people and other similar festivals. It would be a great achievement if Fantasmagoria could embrace those events that had a little more difficult time, but were really worthwhile, and somehow preserve their continuity. In any case, it’s only important and beneficial to have many people and many festivals related to fantasy and it’s our wish that those who love fantasy will visit all of them and come to their own conclusions about their similarities and differences, if any of that concerns them.<\/p>\n
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Exhibitors at Fantasmagoria 2019<\/a> – Photo by Cosplayers\/\/GR<\/a><\/p>\n
3) What was the biggest, but also the most difficult Fantasmagoria you have done so far? What defines them as such?<\/strong><\/h5>\n
Fantasmagoria is getting bigger year by year, so year by year it gets more demanding. The biggest difficulty we face, however, is the acceptance of not holding the event due to covid-19. The postponement of the event cost everyone of us and we were really sad, not so much for our own efforts but especially for the public, who were deprived of the opportunity to enjoy an event of European standards, with international guests, with a continuous flow of workshops that increase interaction, with wonderful concerts and exhibitions – even from museums of contemporary art abroad -, with a dining area for the first time at the festival, which would bring us all closer and would allow the public to stay longer in the festival to watch as many activities as possible. We hope that all this will take place in our next event, as soon as the conditions allow.<\/p>\n
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Dance Act and Stand Up Comedy at Fantasmagoria 2019<\/a> – Photo by Cosplayers\/\/GR<\/a><\/p>\n
4) How much effort, time and money does it usually take to set up <\/strong>Fantasmagoria<\/strong>? What is the usual preparation plan that you follow?<\/strong><\/h5>\n
Setting up Fantasmagoria requires incalculable effort, incalculable time and fortunately not incalculable money, as this would make it impossible to make it a reality, since the event is philanthropic, free and based solely on sponsorships, volunteering and  income based on the cost of participation for exhibitors, which is the minimum possible, so that our purpose can be served, meaning the promotion of new artists related to Fantasy from all over Greece. We are all required to work on it daily and seriously, as if doing a second profession. During the days of setting up and holding the festival no more than 3-4 hours remain for sleep and rest and I want to mention for those who don’t know about it, that none of us receives any financial or any other kind of benefit from all that. Our reward is emotional and moral, but it’s enormous. Culture is what separates man from all other species on the planet and it’s the key to solving all kinds of problems of both man and humanity. It is therefore worth the effort and time and financial contribution of each of us, not as a sacrifice but as an investment for our lives and as an investment for the future of human society.<\/p>\n