Dogpatch Press

Furclubbing: “A repeat/regular nightclub event by furries for furries.” The concept has been spreading since the late 2000’s. It’s a dance party independent from cons. It builds on their growth but takes things farther. It’s more ambitious than informal meets and events that happen once. Those can stay inner-focused, but this brings partnership with new kinds of venues, and new support for what they host. It crosses a line to public space, so a stranger can walk in and discover their new favorite thing. It encourages new blood and crossover to other scenes. It makes subculture thrive. It’s a movement!

Parties that give a Q&A get a featured article. See The Furclub survey for questions and party list. Here’s Fluff Party in Salt Lake City, from organizer Oaken.

The party launch: 

Fluff Party was started on April 28th, 2017, at Club Try-Angles then known as “Bar Night” in the local Utah Furry group. Fluff Party started out with a sizeable furry group, for a small major city, of around 25 attendees. During the 2017 AWU Convention in downtown SLC, “Bar Night” transformed into Fluff Party. The event, held on October 27th, ended up being the largest to date with nearly 75 attendees from Washington, Colorado, and Idaho. This was later eclipsed by the January 2018 Fluff Party which had nearly 100 attendees. In February 2018, the Party extended the weekend to include a Saturday event with its first ever After Party, held at Area 51 Club in Salt Lake City, an 18+ dance club.

Who is involved: 

Inspired by Tail! Party in California, Fluff Party was started by Oaken. Fluff Party uses the house DJ at Try-Angles. During the AWU Fluff Party, DJ zeroføx played.

What kind of party:

Fluff Party is a bar atmosphere with billiards going on all evening, fursuit dancing to DJ music. Styles of music depend on the DJ but range from old to current pop, electronic music.

When:

Fluff Party occurs every fourth Friday of the month. Originally, the party was coupled with Club Try-Angles’ “Leather & Gear Night”; however, due to lack of participation from the local leather community and immense support from the local Furry community, club ownership granted the furs their very own night. The first event occurred on April 28th, 2017.

Where:

Fluff Party is located at Club Try-Angles (251 West Harvey Milk Boulevard, Salt Lake City, Utah). Fluff Party’s After Party is located at Area 51 (451 South 400 West, Salt Lake City, Utah). Furries attend from Salt Lake and surrounding cities (Ogden to Provo). Several out of state furs have come in from Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Colorado.

How: 

Oaken first danced in fursuit at 2016 RMFC, and became inspired to provide an event for the local Utah Furry group– which already organized general regular monthly events at public location– that was geared more towards the adult furry crowd. After being convinced to finally overcome his fears of going to a gay club’s Underwear Night, Oaken found Club Try-Angles and the local gay community to be a welcoming one to all walks of life. Wearing his tail to the club a few times and getting a very warm response from the locals at the club, Oaken approached club ownership about having fursuiters come to the club. Many years prior, a few locals had gone to the club in fursuit but never in large numbers nor the immense support that Fluff Party has received from the local furry community. Fluff Party continues to grow and expand.

Vibe:

Unique to most major cities, Club Try-Angles is one of two identifying gay clubs in the entire state of Utah. Club Try-Angles plays host to many lifestyles, kinks, and fetishes. Supporting nights such as Drag events, Bear, Underwear, and Leather nights. The general public has received furries at Fluff Party in very good light. A review was even posted to the club’s Google page stating how they were going to attend Furry night! Local furs have mentioned going to events such as Pride events in SLC in fursuit and having the public mention the furry event at Club Try-Angles. Many general public attendees have become regulars at Fluff Party!

Promotion: 

Initially, the event started out as a member meet, “Bar Night”, hosted by Oaken who is an administrator and event coordinator for the local furry community. Meets were created on the groups Facebook and Meetup pages as well as word of mouth due to the disjointed nature of the local community at the time. It later became named Fluff Party during the AWU convention where it was promoted with fliers and promotions. Before the January 2018 Fluff Party, a twitter account @FluffParty was created, which resulted in the event having the largest turnout to date. As well as increased exposure to nearby communities.

Follow @FluffParty on Twitter for most updated news. Thanks to Oaken for giving great responses and organizing this for the community!

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