Work on the list of science fiction and fantasy settings in Colorado will continue at MileHiCon.

For our next project, we will compile a list of places of interest to DASFA members.  Why?  Because we need to treasure the cool places more than ever in a world where media and books will be streamed and rented instead of owned.  The waning of physical stores came to mind recently when I heard that the game store Attactix closed at the beginning of August, just after we heard that Borders was closing.  I stopped gaming decades ago, but Attactix was within walking distance of Katie’s Japanese class and I would hang out there while I was waiting.  I have strong memories of that place, tied in with memories of my daughters and a pining I felt for my gaming past.  As for Borders, for close to ten years it has been the only reason I ever went to a mall.

I grew up in an era where there were music, book, and game stores everywhere.  My favorite mall, Cinderella City, had a Walden’s, a Dalton’s, two game stores, and three music stores.   I bought most of my music and all of my Michael Whelan posters at the Budget in Cinder Alley.  And don’t forget the arcades and movie theaters.  We got our geek on in malls.

In the 1990s malls added video stores like Suncoast, which more than made up for the decline in game stores and arcades.  Still, the end was coming.  Big-box retailers like Media Play started crowding out chains of smaller stores like Musicland and Walden’s.  Music gave up really fast in the Napster era.  Bookstores in malls held on until Amazon killed Borders.

I loved malls.  My kids have strong memories of Media Play, and they spent a ton of time at Borders. Where will the next generation of fans go to be fans?  I mean, I know, the internet, but it leaves a lot of young people craving a place.  Fans are constantly trying to organize online with meetup and Twitter. We have zombie crawls and pirate parties.  Also, Denver is experiencing a huge expansion in cons.  We have MileHiCon, Starfest, Tacticon, Genghis Con, two anime cons, a steampunk con, a comic con, and maybe a much bigger comic con in 2012.  And a costume con, a romance con (with lots of paranormal), a horror con, a mid-century modern con (rayguns!), and others that I have forgotten.

DASFA is made up of fans.  Where are the best places for fans in Colorado?  Here are some example categories.

Conventions, theaters, museums, coffee shops, restaurants

Stores: books, music, games, videos, second-hand

Natural locations, art, tours, government facilities

Post your responses here, on the Yahoo group, or on the DASFA Facebook. You can also email me at jim_crawford@aupsd.com