Fragapalooza (also referred to as Frag or Fraga by participants) is an annual video game festival/LAN party that takes place in August currently in Leduc, Alberta, Canada. The name Fragapalooza was derived from the Military Slang "Frag" and "palooza" which is the suffix for any type of named festival or gathering, such as Lollapalooza. Traditionally held in the summer, Fragapalooza runs over a period of four days and lasting 24/7 for most of that time. In 2008, it was Canada's largest LAN party event, having reached approximately 900 attendees at its peak and is still one of the larger gatherings in western Canada..A Tech Zone article 1 retrieved 24 January 2008nVidia article retrieved 12 February 2008 It is also one of the longest running annual LAN parties in Canada.
History and background Fragapalooza started in Edmonton, Alberta in 1997 by a group of computer game players playing the game Quake by ID Software. The first event consisted primarily of the first-person shooter game Quake and was held in an old airplane hangar at the Edmonton Municipal Airport. It has since evolved into a larger, annual gathering, drawing attendees mostly from across Canada but has included participants from as far as Asia, Europe, Australia and the United States.FutureLooks article retrieved 5 May 200
Fragapalooza is a nonprofit event, where proceeds from seat sales and sponsorship are rolled into the event itself to cover prizing, rentals, and various other event costs. The event is also volunteer run which includes many long-time attendants.
This event currently requires participants to "Bring Your Own Computer/Console" (sometimes referred to as BYOC).
Fragapalooza hit its 30-year milestone in 2026.
Sponsors Fragapalooza has had many notable sponsors including Intel, and NVIDIA who have both previously supported the gaming convention. In 2004, NVIDIA sponsored Fragapalooza offering 20 GeForce FX 5950 Ultra graphics cards to winners and runners-up of the official LAN game tournaments.nZone Web site retrieved 24 January 2008 In late 2002, companies such as Sympatico, Intel, Cisco Systems, ATI, Microsoft, E-Compu-Vison, and Digital Extremes sponsored the 3 day gaming festival billed as Fragapalooza East.MTB online article retrieved 24 January In 2007, a professional gaming store, Razer, was invited to sponsor Fragapalooza with the company offering a product prize pool of approximately $600.Razerzone Website retrieved 4 April 2008
Activities and competitions Besides the opportunity to win prizes in the events official video game tournaments, gamers are given the chance to win "impromptu" competitions. In 2006, during Fragapalooza's 10th anniversary, a dodgeball tournament was arranged. The organizers attempted to break the record for the largest dodgeball game ever at a LAN party. The record, at the time, was held by an event that occurred in Portland that had 200 participants. Crucial technology, a sponsor of the 2006 Fragapalooza event, attempted to break the record with 300 gamers taking part. Bad weather, specifically rain, caused the withdrawal of most of the participants resulting in the record not being broken however the match went ahead with three winners each gaining 2GB of Crucial DDR2 RAM.
Another non-video game competition organized at the Fragapalooza 2006 event was a "crab walk" race across the west side of the Mayfield convention centre. The participants were instructed to crab walk across the centre floor and all the way back again. The three selected winners of the race received free computer hardware from Cooler Master and Memory Express.A Tech Zone article 2 retrieved 24 January 2008
Currently the most popular events include the paper airplane toss, Rock-Paper-Scissors event as well as a number of ad-hoc events such as a LAN party themed scavenger hunt.
Past events All events within Leduc, Alberta or Edmonton, Alberta unless otherwise specified
Year Location Approximate Attendance Official Tournaments Notes 1997 Hangar at the Municipal Airport 70 Quake July 16-19, 1998 Hangar at the Municipal Airport 150 Quake 1999 Hangar at the Municipal Airport 300 Quake 2 2000 Hangar at the Municipal Airport 400 Counter-Strike, Quake 3 2001 Mayfield Inn and Convention Centre 700 Counter-Strike, Quake 3 2002 Mayfield Inn and Convention Centre 750 Counter-Strike 2002 (East) International Center, Mississauga, ON 350 Unreal Tournament 2004 One time east event 2003 Mayfield Inn and Convention Centre 800 Counter-Strike 2004 Mayfield Inn and Convention Centre 800 Counter-Strike 1.6, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, Unreal Tournament 2004 2005 Mayfield Inn and Convention Centre 800 Counter-Strike 1.6, Counter Strike: Source, Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne 2006 Mayfield Inn and Convention Centre 800 Counter-Strike 1.6, Counter Strike: Source, Warcraft III, Quake 4 2007 Mayfield Inn and Convention Centre 800 Counter Strike: Source, Halo 2, Supreme Commander, Unreal Tournament 2004 2008 Northlands Sportex 500 Call of Duty 4, Counter Strike: Source, Defense of the Ancients, Team Fortress 2, Unreal Tournament 2004 2009 (Winter) Holiday Inn, Grand Prairie, Alberta 100 Call of Duty 4 Smaller regional LAN, format slightly different than main event. 2009 (Summer) DOW Centennial Center, Fort Saskatchewan 450 Counter-Strike 1.6, Call of Duty 4, Unreal Tournament 2004, StarCraft, Rock Band 2 Fort Saskatchewan is a suburb of Edmonton. 2010 Leduc Recreation Center, Leduc, Alberta 320 Call of Duty 4, StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, Rock Band 2 Leduc, Alberta is a suburb city in the Edmonton Proper 2011 Leduc Recreation Center, Leduc, Alberta 270 StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty Leduc, Alberta is a suburb city in the Edmonton Proper 2012 Leduc Recreation Center, Leduc, Alberta 300 StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, Team Fortress 2, League of Legends Leduc, Alberta is a suburb city in the Edmonton Proper 2013 Leduc Recreation Center, Leduc, Alberta 320 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Team Fortress 2, League of Legends, TrackMania Leduc, Alberta is a suburb city in the Edmonton Proper 2014 Leduc Recreation Center, Leduc, Alberta 325 Call of Duty, StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty, League of Legends, TrackMania Leduc, Alberta is a suburb city in the Edmonton Proper 2015 Leduc Recreation Center, Leduc, Alberta 260 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Super Smash Bros., Battlefield 4, Left 4 Dead 2, StarCraft 2 Leduc, Alberta is a suburb city in the Edmonton Proper 2016 Leduc Recreation Center, Leduc, Alberta 345 League of Legends, Super Smash Bros. 20th Year Event 2017 Leduc Recreation Center, Leduc, Alberta 326 League of Legends, StarCraft 2 Leduc, Alberta is a suburb city in the Edmonton Proper 2018 Leduc Recreation Center, Leduc, Alberta 377 Team Fortress 2, StarCraft 2 Leduc, Alberta is a suburb city in the Edmonton Proper 2019 Leduc Recreation Center, Leduc, Alberta 386 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Overwatch, Super Smash Bros., and more Leduc, Alberta is a suburb city in the Edmonton Proper 2020 Streamed Live on Twitch.tv/FPevents Peak Viewership Online: 138 Assetto Corsa, Super Smash Bros. Virtual Only due to Covid 2021 Streamed Live on Twitch.tv/FPevents Peak Viewership Online: 123 Super Smash Bros. Virtual Only due to Covid 2022 Fulton Place Community League Streamed Live on Twitch.tv/FPevents In-person: 50 Peak Viewership Online: 130 Super Smash Bros. Limited in-person due to Covid2023Leduc Recreation Center, Leduc, Alberta Also Online at twitch.tv/FPeventsIn-person: ~400 Peak Viewership Online: 180Counter-Strike 2, Overwatch 2Leduc, Alberta is a suburb city in the Edmonton Proper2024Leduc Recreation Center, Leduc, Alberta Also Online at twitch.tv/FPeventsIn-person: ~400 Peak Viewership Online: 250Counter-Strike 2, Overwatch 2Leduc, Alberta is a suburb city in the Edmonton Proper2024Leduc Recreation Center, Leduc, Alberta Also Online at twitch.tv/FPeventsIn-person: ~400 Peak Viewership Online: 250Counter-Strike 2, Overwatch 2Leduc, Alberta is a suburb city in the Edmonton Proper2026Leduc Recreation Center, Leduc, Alberta Also Online at twitch.tv/FPeventsIn-person: ~400 Peak Viewership Online: TBD30th EVENT ANNIVERSARY Counter-Strike 2, Overwatch 2Leduc, Alberta is a suburb city in the Edmonton Proper
References
External links Fragapalooza.com, The official Fragapalooza website