Dogpatch Press

Guest post by Kameno -O.

Attendees gather together to hug in Phoenix Bark. Photo Credit: Eberrawolf

NYFurs hosted the first ever Phoenix Bark at the Phoenix Bar

NYC’s furry community continues to grow this year as it hosted its first ever Phoenix Bark event on August 16th.

Hosted by NYFurs, the event was made with the goal to bring furry culture and community in New York City, a city that, compared to other parts of the United States, hasn’t had an established furry scene until this year. To cater to the growing community, Phoenix Bark marketed itself on NYFurs website by claiming “Phoenix Bark isn’t just a bar night, it’s New York City’s furry takeover.”

Phoenix Bark was different from usual furry events hosted in New York City, as this event took place in Phoenix Bar in Manhattan’s East Village, known for its LGBTQ nightlife. Other events they have held such as NYCFurwalks or Round1 furs were for all ages and took place earlier, but Phoenix Bark was a 21+ event that took place late into the evening.

For many in New York City’s furry community, this was a different experience from what they are used to. This rang true for NYFurs’ founder Gamboiuwu, who was in charge of coordinating the event with the bar.

The idea was brought to Gam thanks to a mutual contact, Kahze, who had strong ties with the East Village bar. From there, Gam saw an opportunity to support communities that don’t always get the spotlight. This gave Gam and his staff the boost needed to start coordinating Phoenix Bark.

“The NYFurs team stepped up,” said the NYFurs owner, “Flax, our Arts & Media Director, collaborated with grahmnic and Zorrito to create posters that spread across both the internet and the bar. My partner, Hex.Fuzzy, worked with the owners to create their furry-themed drinks. Meanwhile, the Events Team, with members like Vinegar and Jackary, worked hard to promote the event and make sure people knew this community existed in New York.”

On the night of, Phoenix Bark had reached their registration limit of 120 people early, with little dropouts as the event got closer. The event had around 152 people in attendance during the night, including staff and other acquaintances of Gam. Phoenix Bar hosted the group’s event from 10pm to 2am, providing board games, darts, pool, and an outdoor section for bargoers to gather and socialize throughout the night. The bar was packed with furries dancing and socializing, some with their fursuit heads and accessories on. Alongside the drinks and games, live music was played by DJ Mixed Mutt, his first time playing live in New York City.

DJ Mixed Mutt performing at Phoenix Bar for “Phoenix Bark”. Photo Credit: Eberrawolf

DJ Mixed Mutt has been an active DJ for two years, and has recently played at other furry events such as Furpocalypse and LIFurs’ BBQ meet. For Mixed Mutt’s first time in New York it was nervewracking, as this was also his longest set he’s ever played. Despite this, his nervousness quickly faded away as the night went on.

As a DJ, Mixed Mutt wanted to mix as many genres for the event and incorporated genres like house, pop, DNB, hardcore, and even speedcore. He was complimented by the bartender who stated “I think you’re the first DJ I ever heard play Hardstyle in a gay bar.”

“What was supposed to be a two hour set ended up going for roughly three and a half hours,” remarked the DJ, “When I ran out of songs I had planned out, I just kept going, figuring out stuff on the fly. It was insane, I would watch people stop conversations and just start dancing and groove, and for me as a DJ, that’s the biggest compliment I can get.”

Mixed Mutt looks back at Phoenix Bar as an accomplishment in his career as a DJ. Not only was this event his first time playing for more than one hour, but his first time playing in New York City. Mutt hopes that more opportunities will come for him to perform in New York City, including for Phoenix Bar.

“I’ll remember Phoenix Bar as a memorable, incredible experience for me. I feel like it was once again another milestone for me, the fact that it was in NYC (a place I always wanted to play in and never thought I would), it was my first time playing for more than an hour, and just the overall joy I got out of it. I would do it again in a heartbeat.”

Reflecting on the night, Gam had the same sentiment of accomplishment and pride at the event, as he felt like he was surrounded by friends. Gam was also surprised that an event like Phoenix Bark was hosted in New York City, after highlighting the furry scene being relatively new in New York. “I told myself to focus only on what was happening in the room and enjoy it with everyone else—and it worked,” stated Gam, “I’m not trying to be cheesy, but I really couldn’t stop smiling all night. It just felt like one big celebration with friends.”

NYFurs rode off the success of the event by hinting towards another Phoenix Bark event in October, alongside Fuwa Furry Fest which is expected to take place September 27th in Japan Village.

– Kameno -O

From https://www.instagram.com/nyfurs

Like the article? These take hard work. For more free furry news, follow on Twitter or support not-for-profit Dogpatch Press on Patreon. Want to get involved? Try these subreddits: r/furrydiscuss for news or r/waginheaven for the best of the community. Or send guest writing here. (Content Policy.)