Dogpatch Press

Fluff Pieces Every Week

Furry beach-off: The truth about a fight with a megaphone at a California meet

by Patch O'Furr

Blood was drawn by violence between furries in California’s Huntington Beach, in a story that’s raising hype and misinformation. The hot-button term “nazi” is part of it. So is years of peaceful history for hundreds of members, even when a fight between a few of them is like red meat for media vultures who don’t care about the background. Here’s a story with witness evidence for readers who care.

The setting was the 11th annual Sunset Beach Bonfire meet on August 12, 2023. This event in Southern California is so popular, the attendance rivals entire furry conventions. Members of their nearly 1000-strong chat group go for grilling and fursuiting with so many friends, they need a megaphone for crowd control, like to organize group photos. This is a party for people who are full of love and fun who have been very successful at growing it.

In March, the official update channel announced they had reserved space: “It’s a private location with a volleyball playground.” Remember it was private access. Tents and a fursuit lounge were provided to keep cool in the sun. Nobody expected the chill vibes to heat up with a megaphone being used for a weapon, a scuffle on the ground, and an arrest with charges still to get decided in court.

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Vote now! NorCal Furries shortlisted for Best Contingent award in San Francisco Pride Parade.

by Patch O'Furr

UPDATE: DEADLINE EXTENDED TO AUGUST 15!

Each June, millions of people see the San Francisco Pride parade. Hundreds of thousands of attendees cheer for over 200 contingents. For 2023, five contingents are shortlisted to win the Best Overall Contingent award. Northern California Furries have the huge honor of being one of the five.

You can help win big positive recognition for furries everywhere. Spread the message and get everyone you know to vote!

Voting Poll is here: https://forms.gle/QvVoPoBd82ajMcUV9 – Don’t wait, the poll is open until August 15.

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How to join San Francisco Pride 2023 with the Northern California Furries

by Patch O'Furr

For members who completed an RSVP

Photo: AniMajor

The SF Pride Parade – Sunday June 25, 2023 – General info at SFpride.org

Let’s go! The parade is on Market Street, from Embarcadero to the Celebration area at Civic Center. Spectators will be watching from 10:30 a.m. until late afternoon. ABC7 will be broadcasting the parade to watch from home.

Be there with 150 furries. Be there for the GO moment when the crowd roars. Hundreds of thousands of people will make the street your stage. Many furries will march and interact with watchers, while some will ride the float. It isn’t just for fun and photos, but also to say that we’re not going away. That’s Pride for LGBT people and allies, while we help bring the diversity of it all.

Northern California Furries first joined the parade in 2002, and last year marked their 20-year anniversary. This year brings more interest than ever. Thousands of furries will also join Pride events internationally — see other news and history in the Pride tag.

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The 2023 Ursa Major Awards and Good Furry Award feature the best of furry fandom

by Patch O'Furr

Check out the winners in 14 categories for the 2023 Ursa Major Awards. The awards feature the furry fandom’s favorite media and other anthropomorphic animal creations they love, with popular voting by anybody. This year there were 1350 voters, with their vote count broken down here.

  • Dogpatch Press was voted Best Magazine. Thank you to everyone who votes, and the volunteer team who manages the voting process and sends physical awards. I’ll post a photo when it arrives.
  • The best novel stood out as unlike other furry fantasy and romance nominees; it’s a young adult novel by an author of other non-furry writing with crossover appeal that isn’t locked to the furry scene. Watch for an upcoming article with the author.
  • The best fursuit category had no award due to low participation, but there’s already eligible fursuits listed for the next awards.

See the current Recommended Anthropomorphics List — it is maintained year-round — you can discover and submit this year’s works eligible for the next awards now if you have something to share. This helps make community, discovery for new creations, and opportunity with campaigning. A nominee can win by simply mentioning it, because few do. Consider donating to support this service via paypal@ursamajorawards.org.

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Papa Bear: Indie furry movie nears funding deadline

by Patch O'Furr

If you like making friends laugh and/or wasting company time, and have been on the net for 10-15 years, then you probably know The OnionCollegeHumor, Funny or Die – and Cracked. At one point it was the world’s most visited comedy site.

Papa Bear is a movie in development from heads of the Cracked video department at its peak. It’s about a furry in the family, and its climax will be filmed at a furry convention. Papa Bear promises to be dramatic, funny, daring, boldly LGBT-positive, and full of heart.

There’s a crowdfunding campaign for Papa Bear that ends in a few days, on June 16 – don’t wait to check it out! 

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Fursuit maker Sudoku gets costume adopted by Twenty One Pilots.

by Patch O'Furr

Sudoku has been a fursuit maker since 2015, and was sole proprietor of Strut Your Fluff Ltd. in 2020-2022. That led to something amazing:

“I got my start in costumes in the furry fandom (stumbling across Matrices’ website in 2014!) That foundation helped me to reach my long-term goal of performing as an official mascot. I am Bruiser the Bulldog, NAIA-division, for Concordia University, NE.”

In 2019, Twenty One Pilots made a video featuring a fuzzy creature named “Ned”. As a fan, Sudoku built a mascot costume of him. It was made and worn for personal satisfaction, but as life went on, Sudoku wanted to retire as owner. Recently Twenty One Pilots accepted her gift offer of the Ned costume, so it’s becoming the official property of band members Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun.

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Join now! Nor Cal Furries call for volunteers for the San Francisco Pride Parade on June 25.

by Patch O'Furr

What does Pride mean to you?

If Pride means being authentically yourself and refusing to hide, the San Francisco Pride Parade is one of the best places in the world. It’s so real when you’re there with a group, in the moment when they say GO, then you turn the corner onto the main parade route and the crowd roars. That’s how to BE.

The Nor Cal Furries will march with a parade float on June 25. (Furry is an interest that harmonizes with LGBT members, and many other interest groups participate.) Meanwhile, some people just found out that furries exist and want to attack them; for example, anti-LGBT law has forced Megaplex to restrict attendance due to power abuse by the government. This shows ongoing history where simply existing is an undebatable political statement. But people who oppose LGBT existence and think this is new activism don’t know that furries have been award-winning Pride marchers for 21 years. And the founders of Pride knew that just being there is winning. We can look forward to another 21 years of being there… but it won’t happen by itself.

It’s up to us and YOU. Nor Cal Furries can’t go without volunteer staff, so please answer or spread the call. If you can’t volunteer, come attend and tell a friend.

CALL FOR STAFF – SIGN UP HERE > https://forms.gle/Pb8n1UXDCTLNKaW6A

Let’s meet some of the team you can join (in no special order). Dogpatch Press asked each one: What does Pride mean to you, and why make this event happen?

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Voting For The Good Furry Awards Is Open Until May 5 – Deadline Soon!

by Patch O'Furr

Time is short, go HERE to vote now! The fifth annual Good Furry Awards are closing soon on May 5, 2023. Anyone who wants to vote can do so, with 30 nominees to choose from, including four group nominees.

This award recognizes furries who make outstanding positive contributions to the fandom. The first one in 2019 went to Tony “Dogbomb” Barrett. In 2020 the award went to Ash Coyote. In 2021, Cassidy Civet won and in 2022 it went to Soatok Dhole.

Four prizes will be awarded based on voting. Three honorable mentions will receive trophies. A first-place winner will receive a trophy and a check for $500 from sponsor Uncle Bear Publishing.

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Ursa Majors 2022 Nominees Announced – Voting closes at end of March.

by Patch O'Furr

Ursa art by Foxenawolf.

Go HERE to vote, and don’t wait, the deadline is March 31! 

The furry fandom’s annual Ursa Major awards honor the best and most loved anthropomorphic creations of the past year. They put a spotlight on talent that deserves recognition, and lets fans discover and support it directly with popular voting by anyone.

Nominations for works from 2022 ended in February. Nominees are in 14 categories, and the Ursa Majors site has more details about each one. Music has a new category, but Best Fursuit isn’t active this year due to lack of nominations.

Volunteers run the Ursa Major Awards. Please support them. Since 2001, these awards have been run with unpaid work. They appreciate support to defray costs for a website, making and mailing awards, and more. Click the button to donate >

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Fandom conventions targeted by pedophile activist Mark “Didaskalos” Miner

by Dogpatch Press Staff

Mark Miner’s pre-2005 teacher photo, and screens from his more recent posts on social media.

Infiltration at VancouFur

Few places want to let a vocal pedophile feel at home, and that’s why Evil Unveiled made a page about Mark “Didaskalos” Miner and his endless quest for acceptance of pedophilia/pederasty/Boy Love. He’s been at it for decades, on places like the Boychat pedophile forum (where he posts as ScotusBaby). It gets tiny recognition like a category on a site to publicize “those who don’t demonize” pederasty.

Hopeless causes have their die-hards, and Miner is now trying to run panels at libraries and anime and fandom conventions, where he might reach supple young audiences that have their guard down. As a former teacher, he uses poetry and classic theater as a cover of legitimacy to harken back to his idea of a golden age — when men were men, boys were boys, and abuse between them wasn’t illegal yet.

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