Conventions Cancelled By Corona Contagion — On March 20-22, Log On For KeepCalmCon

by Arrkay

Welcome to Arrkay from Culturally F’d. See their tag for more.

Furry con status updates via furrycons.com:

Cancelled: Furnal Equinox (Canada), Gateway Furmeet (Missouri), FurDu (Australia), Furry Weekend Atlanta (Georgia).

Postponed: Biggest Little Fur Con (Nevada), Otterdance (Netherlands), Golden State Fur Con (California), Fauntastic (France), Thaitails (Thailand).

BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY 

Conventions the world over are cancelling or postponing in every fandom. The COVID-19 (Corona virus) preparation has many in isolation the world over. Travel is becoming more restricted between countries, and preppers are bulk-buying all the toilet paper. These quarantines and lock downs being so wide spread, it’s actually kind of an impressive feat of social engineering that hasn’t caused this much panic since Y2K. The purpose of isolation is to take the place of herd immunity that doesn’t exist for a new virus. Yes, healthy young furs probably won’t get very sick if they catch it, but these proactive measures are to protect the more vulnerable, elderly, and immune-compromised. It’s drastic, but the virus would spread alarmingly fast if we continued attending concerts and conventions.

You can help these conventions by:

  1. Donating your registration to the organization
  2. Sharing the information, store fronts, and art streams of artists and dealers affected by closures and postponements
  3. Donate to the charity of the event
  4. Be patient with event organizers, venue and hotel staff, and workers who cannot take the time off to self-isolate.

Social Distancing Does Not Mean Anti-Social! Get online! Get involved in your community the way furries used to, through message boards, chats, and MMO’s. Did you know FurryMUCK and furry IRC are still active? Find multi-player games that you can play remotely with your friends. Find telegram chats that cater to your unique interests. Make your own! Furries create their culture in real-time, like this…

MAKING A VIRTUAL CON 2020

When my local con, Furnal Equinox, was cancelled, a solution jumped on stage nearly as soon as it was announced. Within hours local artists rose to the occasion. Eevachu and Nicnak began organizing artists, dealers, panelists and DJ’s to create a networked, virtual convention. The idea is to make up for lost funds from cancellations and raise money for both Furnal Equinox, a non-profit seeing a huge loss this year, and the con charity, Hobbitstee Wildlife Refuge.

MARCH 20-22: KEEP CALM AND CARRY CON #KeepCalmCon #FurnalIsolation

Most up to date information on Eevachu’s website. The full schedule will be updated using Furnal Equinoxes Sched.com account.

Arrkay: Who’s all presenting?

Eevachu: We reached out to Furnal Equinox dealers primarily, but on the schedule, we basically have anyone who can stream.

A: Is it too late to get involved with a stream?

E: We technically closed out submissions to give us time to process everyone, but if people from Furnal Equinox ask nicely, we can accept more streams.

A: How can regular furries help?

E: Attend! Spend money on commissions and online stores! Tip dealers through Pay Pal and Ko-Fi! RT and share streams and Keep Calm Con in general!

A: What got you involved so quickly?

E: I had just gotten back from VancouFUR and had been watching news of cancellations of other conventions roll in, so I’d sort of seen the writing on the wall. By the time Toronto Comic Con cancelled I’d had the idea to do a small selection of artist streams, since I knew a lot of locals that streamed already. When Furnal Equinox cancelled, I was facing losing a lot of money and knew others would too, so I sprung into action with Nicnak.

A: Any advice for furs who’s events were cancelled, thinking of starting their own Virtual Con?

E: Start planning more than a week before. Haha. Feel free to contact Keep Calm Con, we have the framework to run an event like this now, so we’ll definitely be looking into future events. Having convention staff supporting us has been invaluable, get in contact with your intended event’s staff, they’ve got unexpected sunk-cost resources they might lend.

A: Is there anything you want to share with the greater furry community?

E: Wash your paws. Stay home if you can. Look out for elderly and immunocompromised in your life and directly in your neighborhood. Vote for policy makers that care about you and won’t defund the social safety nets we need right now. Take only what you need (in regards to everything, not just toilet paper). Consider investing in a bidet.

Big hugs to Eevachu and Nicnak for pulling this together! Check out my own contribution to #KeepCalmCon where me and a friend make a fursuit from scraps in my basement version of The Great Fursuit Make Off:

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