Midwest FurFest was hit by poisonous gas. I rushed out a short notice, and had tips sent in by friends like Mordi. Soon, the news was everywhere.
It's the biggest wealth of #furrynews for the worst reason this week... yeah I won't even attempt to wade into this. http://t.co/BSYfXigbX2
— Dogpatch Press (@DogpatchPress) December 9, 2014
Please help answer the question at the end of the story!
“Furries & Despair” happened on 11/7/14. It was super successful. It featured portraits of fursuiters from Further Confusion by Ron Lussier, and Bobby Pin’s urban decay photos from Detroit. The show was packed with people having fun in and out of costume. You don’t often see such energy at a gallery.
Courtesy of Bobby Pin:
Thank you again for everybody that came out and supported our work. We hope you guys had a great time. It was great seeing everyone.
BAMM did an amazing job filming the opening night. Please give them some love.
Check out the wonderful video they did for the Furries & Despair Show:
Headlines, links and little stories to make your tail wag. Story tips are always welcome.
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Midwest Fur Fest evacuated by chemical spill. Fursuiters: stick to good old fashioned rug cleaner!
Initial report: Chemical leak prompts evacuation during Midwest FurFest at Rosemont Hyatt.
Several people could be seen in animal costumes waiting outside of the hotel. Ambulances from area suburbs were on scene helping transport people.
More: Glass Jar with White Substance, Strong Chlorine Smell Causes Firefighter, EMS Hazmat Response, Evacuation. Man, that’s a hell of a party foul.
On November 15-16, 2014, Pacific Anthropomorphics Weekend brought a second Furry convention to the San Francisco Bay Area. PAW’s official attendance was 213. It was the result of much hard work behind the scenes.
If only con organizing was always as serene as the palm trees on the website.
I’m sorry not to post pure sunshine here: I think it’s an OK time for honesty, shortly after the con. Next year offers a clean slate.
Conflict came even before a con plan, in early 2014. Staff changes with January’s Further Confusion con caused discord among watchers close to the action. Like most things in life, it was complicated. Sides were taken for private debates not qualified to air. (It wasn’t all personal: a long-standing supporter was left frustrated by hotel union regulations, that couldn’t allow some volunteers to “work” for the event.)
A faction of former Fur Con supporters and friends acted to start a new convention. It would compete to take Fur Con’s place. Watchers knocked the “revenge con” plan, noting that a negative reason was a weak draw, diminishing positive reasons to persist. It was ultimately resolved by abandoning a conflicting date, to simply offer a welcome new option at a harmless time.
Harley (bandana) and Spottacus (glowing eyes) at “Furries & Despair”
San Francisco had a series of furry events last week. Before it, I posted: “Independent shows and festivals offer new concept for furry events”. After, I posted about the enthusiastic response. The creativity and demand for more couldn’t be contained in one event. Here’s further developments that spun off from the successful gallery opening of Ron Lussier and Bobby Pin’s “Furries and Despair” photo show.
Donate at least $25 to Ron Lussier’s cause for Movember – and receive a 5′ x 5′ Signed Furry Portrait from his ‘Furries & Despair Show’!
Just your average San Francisco art gallery opening! pic.twitter.com/dhuUmbi2Qr
— Further Confusion (@furcon) November 8, 2014
Last week, San Francisco had a series of back to back events: a street fursuiting “crawl”, a furry photo gallery opening, a fetish party, (a private special interest thing not representing others), and Frolic dance party. The series drew more furries than my butt attracts fleas.
It was first-time fursuiting for Sketchywolf. He attended all of the events, and posted about it:
I’ve never seen so much love for furries from random strangers! So many photos! So many smiling faces! … Fursuiting turned out to be even more fun than I imagined it to be! I love the reaction of others when they see a suit. Walking over to Frolic suited, and back to the hotel and the end of the night, I was stopped by people wanting to take pictures! I danced, I partied, I hugged EVERYBODY. Oh! I had SO MUCH fun!
Before the events, I posted: “Independent shows and festivals offer new concept for furry events”. Each was organized separately, but with loose ties. They used special venues and locations to add character beyond the “sterile/consumer” vibe of a hotel (like one comment said). I called it a model for growing beyond cons, and proposed a new, free-range fair or festival concept. Judging by the enthusiastic response, the idea was more than hype. It’s a sign of a burgeoning subculture. Let’s look at how things went.
This weekend: Pacific Anthropomorphics Weekend brings a SECOND San Francisco Bay Area convention to San Jose, CA.
The long-established Further Confusion, occurring every January, is now augmented by PAW, a new event offering more than once a year activity. It features: “Photo Shoot, Dealers Area, Gaming and Semi-quiet Social Area, Open Cash Bar During Dances, Fursuit Dance Comp, Fursuit Games… and more!”
Courtesy of Super Jayhawk, from the Bay Area Furries mailing list:
“We’d like to announce that Furry Night Live, “The Greatest Show in Fur”, will be hosting a room party this next Saturday, November 15, at the Pacific Anthropomorphics Weekend Inaugural “Paw-Raiser” Fall Festival! We’ll be there to wish the new con well and will be having a party with a fursuit photoshoot, replays of classic videos from our legacy of all 10 shows since 2005, and throwing around ideas for new projects and videos we’d like to do.
Four events are back to back in San Francisco: Fursuit crawl – Furry portrait show gallery opening – Wild Things fetish party – Frolic dance party.
On Friday 11/7/14 is the “Embarcadero Fursuit Crawl“. The street fursuiting fun will move downtown, to a grand entrance at the gallery opening for Ron Lussier’s Furry portrait show. Ron’s creative partner, Bobby Pin, shares: More Press for the upcoming ‘Furries & Despair Photography Show’!
Saturday has the “art and sex” party – Wild Things. This furry fetish and petplay party has gotten tremendous response. (It’s for a special interest and adult activity doesn’t represent furries in general.) Afterwards is Frolic dance party: the monthly “mini-con” that attracts several hundred attendees, and helped influence spin-off parties across the USA.
The San Francisco Bay Area has so much activity, that furries often have multiple events to choose from at the same time. On Halloween there was a cosplay dance party, a house party, and a street costuming meetup. Consider what it says about developing subculture.
Furclubbing: “A repeat/regular nightclub event by furries for furries.” It’s a New Thing that’s been spreading since the late 2000’s.
This kind of dance party is independent from cons. This builds on the growth of cons, and takes things farther. It’s more established than events that happen once, house parties or informal meets. Those can be inner-focused, or gather cliquish friends to only seek each other. This brings partnership with venues that aren’t hotels, and supportive interest in the kind of events they host and promote. It crosses a line to public space. A stranger may walk in off the street to discover their new favorite thing. It encourages new blood and crossover to other scenes.
See the list of parties at The Furclub survey. Any one that gives a Q&A will get their own article. Raverfox tells you more about his party…
Howl Toronto is active since summer 2014.
Mission:
For Furries, Suiters, and any other member of all fandom communities in the GTA and abroad, Howl is about giving us a place to come to and cut loose with your friends, your mates and your fandoms. Convention dances are annual events, we want to be a heartbeat throughout the year.
For Furry DJ’s, Howl is about giving those who love electronic dance music a chance to experience that thrill of playing to a crowd of shouting fans and community members. Convention dances happen once a year, and it doesn’t matter what side of the mixing board you’re on, that’s just not enough to fill the need!
Furstock! Presented by Fangcon. Nov 7-9th, 2014 pic.twitter.com/24yXHMq1Zn
— Fangcon (@FangCon) August 2, 2014
FANGCON is “the only anthropomorphic convention located within the state of Tennessee”. Draconis submitted an exciting notice about their third annual event, happening this weekend.
Personally, if I wasn’t hosting a paw-print furry Twister game myself this weekend… I’d make like a Husky and pounce on their “largest Fursuit Twister Mat the fandom has ever seen.” Psst… Twister’s slogan is “The Game That Ties You Up in Knots.” Teehee.
