Dragon Days Fantasy Festival A Smashing Success!

On October 3rd, 4th, and 5th, the Gygax Memorial Fund was in Gary's hometown of Lake Geneva for our 2nd annual, Dragon Days Fantasy Festival, a celebration of his legacy of making the town the Birthplace of Fantasy for millions of people around the world.

Our attendance this year was over 2,000, with more than 400 of those adventurers being children under the age of 13!

The local museum broke their all time attendance record (the last one being set at Dragon Days 2024!) with over 491 Dragon Days adventurers, 109 of those children 12 and under!

Similar levels of Dragon Days adventurers could also be found at the local Public Library for activities, literary displays, and readings, Horticultural Hall for Dragon Days Gaming, and Geneva Stage for D&D cartoons and movies.  What other event brings that many people into the local institutions within the city?

There were also over 2,000 adventurers at Library Park for our Fantasy Faire, 475 adventurers, including 100 children under 13 at Center Street Dungeon: Birthplace of DND, and most importantly, over 2,000 adventurers visiting many local restaurants and shops and staying at local hotels--all in the City of Lake Geneva!

As a result we have had over $5k in pledges to this Kickstarter directly from adventurers attending Dragon Days! Thank you so much to all you for joining our party in our quest for the Table of Gygax!

So let's keep the quest going! Reach out to your fellow adventurers and get them to join the party! We can't succeed unless everyone takes a seat at the table!

This is it, the final room, the boss fight! Time to level-up!

Go to Kickstarter!

The Adventure Begins!

Kickstarter to Begin at 12 noon (CST/MEX) October 1st, 2025!

Help us to build the ultimate memorial gaming table for the fans of Dungeons & Dragons®, dedicated to Gary Gygax, the co-creator of the game, in the place where it was written and published, his hometown of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.

Our Kickstarter begins at 12 noon (CST/MEX) on October 1st, 2025, on the anniversary of Gary Gygax founding his company TSR to publish Dungeons & Dragons®--a game that would change the world.

You can see a preview of the Kickstarter by clicking below (be sure to click on the "Notify Me on Launch" button on the right-hand side):

Gygax Memorial Game Table Kickstarter

2025 Project Status Update

2025 Project Status Update

The Gygax Memorial Fund, Inc., a non-profit organization founded by Gary's widow, has worked for many years to get approval to build the memorial in Gary's hometown of Lake Geneva, WI. In 2024, during the 50th anniversary year of the game, the city fully granted the land for the memorial in Gary's favorite place, in his favorite park, and accepted the future donation of the memorial to the City of Lake Geneva.

But how did we get here? Our early fundraising efforts were good but without an approved location and final design for our project, fundraising wasa not the main focus. Instead, the GMF worked toward securing acceptance of the memorial by the City of Lake Geneva and the location Gary wanted in Library Park.

In the initial years of the fund (2009 to 2013) raised $15k from individual fans and $50k in corporate donations (including $18k for the Premium Edition Book sales donated by Wizards of the Coast). Then, in 2012-2013 a wonderful donor stepped in and pledged $175k. We were elated but still had been unable to convince the City of Lake Geneva to permit us to build the memorial in Library Park. Shortly after this time, Gary’s widow became ill, and the project slowed. However, she still succeeded in getting the city to grant a site for the memorial. Unfortunately, after investigation, the site, Donian Park, ended up being restricted from building any such project within its boundaries.

Frustrated by the lack of progress and still recovering from her illness, Gary’s widow decided to bring on a new vice president, Paul Stormberg to begin a campaign to re-invigorate the project. Unfortunately, just before Paul joined the GMF in 2019, our largest donor expressed that they did not think a site for the memorial would ever be approved by the city and, thus, the project, never completed. After a long discussion about a new direction for the fund and new design for the memorial, it was ultimately agreed to return the majority of their donation in 2022, with the hope the donor would rejoin the project when it was clear the city was willing to move forward.

That left the fund with only a small amount of operating funds. Paul Stormberg was then named president of the GMF and immediately began a series of initiatives within the City of Lake Geneva to convince them of Gary's impact on the City and the world: a park bench in Gary's name, proclaiming Gary's birthday as Gary Gygax Day, a walking tour map of Gary’s life in the city, a section of the local library dedicated to Gary, a museum exhibit of Gary’s life, a city-wide festival in Gary's honor, and more. All of these initiatives, and the many presentations to the various local civic councils and boards, led to the City to realize Gary's impact and importance to the world. This all led to the Park Board granting the use of the land in Library Park, the Planning Commission to approving the design, and the City Council to accepting the donation of the memorial in 2024.

Of course, none of this was without cost. Over the 16 years of the fund’s existence, expenses have included: accountants, tax preparation, attorney fees, travel, convention appearances, city presentations, artists, surveyors, architects, sculpture consultants, domain and website management, etc. It all added up to about $4-5k of expenditures each year. It took time and considerable effort but we have accomplished our mission, and secured the site and design for the project. And now we can move forward with fund raising, once again.

That brings us to today, preparing for a renewed fundraising campaign to finally realize what the fans have wanted for years.

Our Kickstarter begins at 12 noon (CST/MEX) on October 1st, 2025, on the anniversary of Gary Gygax founding his company TSR to publish Dungeons & Dragons®--a game that would change the world. All previous donors will receive commensurate rewards to those participating in the Kickstarter.

Gygax Memorial Donation Application Unanimously Approved by Lake Geneva City Council

On March 25th, 2024 the City of Lake Geneva’s Plan City Council voted unanimously to approve the donation application for the Gygax Memorial at the west end of Library Park! Fundraising on Kickstarter to raise additional money necessary to fund project to begin October, 2026.

Gygax Memorial Fund Chairman, Gail Gygax (center) and President, Paul Stormberg (left) after City Council Vote to Accept Donation Application

Gygax Memorial Location in Library Park Advanced by Lake Geneva Board of Park Commissioners

On February 20th, 2024 the City of Lake Geneva’s Board of Park Commissioners voted unanimously in favor of the placement of the Gygax Memorial at the west end of Library Park. A place where Gary would spend his days reading books and dreaming of becoming a fantasy novelist. The City Council will vote on whether to accept the donation of the Memorial to the City of Lake Geneva on March 11th.

Concept Artwork by Harry Quinn

Concept Artwork by Harry Quinn

DRAGON DAYS™ Fantasy Festival Soft Open

On October 13th (Friday the 13th!) we opened the 1st annual DRAGON DAYS™ Fantasy Festival. Heidi Gygax, daughter of Gary Gygax, cut the silver cord during opening ceremonies Friday evening.

This city-wide event was a 3-day festival in the City of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, celebrating the accomplishments and legacy of Gary Gygax and his contributions to Lake Geneva and the world. Our next DRAGON DAYS™ will celebrate the 50th Anniversary of D&D® on September 27th-29th, 2024! Check the DRAGON DAYS™ website for more details by clicking here: DRAGON DAYS™.