Fantasia Fair (Replica 1980 Souvenir Tee/Pre-Cursor to Provincetown Trans Week)

Fantasia Fair — Provincetown Tee (1980) Long before mainstream conversations around gender identity became more visible, Fantasia Fair was already creating space for community, expression, and connection in Provincetown. Founded in 1975, the weeklong gathering became one of the earliest and longest-running transgender events in the United States—and today continues under the name Trans Week. Held each year in Provincetown, Massachusetts—a town already deeply tied to queer artistic and LGBTQ+ culture—Fantasia Fair brought together trans women, cross-dressers, gender-nonconforming people, artists, performers, and allies from across the country during a time when such visibility still carried enormous personal risk. By 1980, the Fair had developed its own unmistakable atmosphere: workshops, nightlife, fashion, photography, cabaret, and self-expression unfolding against the backdrop of Cape Cod in the off-season. The original promo artwork and souvenir graphics reflected that same spirit—soft fantasy imagery, hand-drawn illustration, bright colors, and the dreamy theatrical aesthetic of early-’80s queer design culture. Fantasia Fair holds a vital place in LGBTQ+ history not simply as a festival, but as one of the first organized spaces where people could openly explore gender identity and presentation in community with others. Today, under the banner of Trans Week, that legacy continues.