Fantastic Fest 2010 Venue Guide

One of the charms of Fantastic Fest, since it started in 2005, is that it's based out of Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar: a multi-screen venue with a parking lot, food options right there in the theater, and  communal areas for chatting and hanging out. After running around town like a crazy lady for other fests, I love being able to park my car and my butt in a single location.

Over the years, the chatting and hanging out has moved out to the "porch" outside the theater and into The Highball, which is about 100 feet away in the same strip mall; and big gala screenings have moved downtown to the Paramount. In addition, some special events are taking place at Alamo Ritz, which is a short walk from the Paramount.

Therefore, we at Slackerwood decided that Fantastic Fest should have the same kind of venue guide we publish for SXSW and AFF each year. The venues are listed below -- click the links for details on theater amenities (and drawbacks), nearby dining options, and transportation options. Alamo Drafthouses serve food and drink, but for a whole week of festgoing, you may want to try other restaurants ... even food trailers, which range from cheap to gourmet in this town. We've also included listings of nearby places with free wireless access (although it's always polite to buy something while you're there).

Fantastic Fest has no shuttle service, so if you want to travel to venues other than Alamo South and The Highball and don't have a car here in Austin, you need to find transportation. Bum a ride off another festgoer with a car, call a cab, try a Capital Metro bus ... you also even rent a bike if you're feeling especially energetic and healthful. If you're downtown, a cab stand is located on the southbound side of Congress and Sixth, a couple of blocks down from the Paramount.

Bear in mind, when traveling downtown on Saturday, that Austin is also hosting a University of Texas football game that day (which means a crowd of people downtown that night) and the Pecan Street Festival, which closes Sixth Street entirely from Congress Ave. to I-35. Pecan Street Festival is a lot of fun and you might even want to spend some time there shopping for Austin arts and crafts, hearing live music, and eating funnel cakes. What this does mean is that traffic will be very slow and parking will be scarce, so allow extra time to get to/from downtown and extra money to pay for parking.

Fantastic Fest runs from Sept. 23-30 this year, we hope to see you there at one or all of the following venues. If you have any advice to contribute to the venue guide, please post a comment. We're always looking for improved information for Austin venues.