San Francisco’s original furry dance party is a thirsty place. Besides for watching Fluke Husky and panting. (Or being pantsless… like an innocent toon character of course). Every first Saturday at The Eagle, I get sweaty from jumping around in a big rug with sweet tunes. It makes me need a Squirrel Pop or five to cool off.
Then it’s drunken feasting time. That’s when food tastes like it looks in cartoons, where mice dive into bowls of jello and eat cheese wheels from the inside out.
At 2 A.M. when you’re still bouncing out the door, if the booze in your belly needs a friend, Crepes A Go Go is the go-to place. (Or was.)
The countdown is on for an amazing furry dance party – one day left!
Space Camp is bringing dancing, DJ’s, fursuiting and costumes, craft beer, and waterfront views on San Francisco and the Bay Bridge. It happens at a massive 1200+ person hangar converted to a brewery. There’s 10,000 sq. feet of indoor fursuit-friendly naturally cooled space, free secure parking, and a huge outdoor patio with food trucks.
It joins Frolic party, Wild Things, and Party Animals as events for SF Bay Area furry night life. Those happen as often as monthly, but this is the first annual Space Camp that won’t come back until 2019. So don’t miss it!
Furclub: “A repeat/regular nightclub event by furries for furries.” It’s a dance party independent from cons. The concept has been spreading since the late 2000’s. It’s a movement! See the list of parties at The Furclub Survey. Featured here is a new event in Alameda, CA.
Space themed costumes, dancing, DJ’s, fursuiting, craft beer, and waterfront views on San Francisco and the Bay Bridge! This is happening at a massive 1200+ person hangar converted to a brewery. There’s 10,000 sq. feet of indoor fursuit-friendly naturally cooled space, free secure parking, and a huge outdoor patio with food trucks. Space Camp joins Frolic party, Wild Things, and Party Animals as events for SF Bay Area furry night life.
For San Francisco Pride 2017, I organized with the Burning Man art car “Unaverz” to be our furry float in the parade. They’re coming to Space Camp as a mobile sound system with DJ and upper deck hang out space. Not just furries, but Burners and anyone who wants an amazing party should come check this out. Tell your friends!
@NachoHusky (contact on Telegram or Twitter) is the organizer. Roman Otter, the volunteer coordinator, wants to hear from anyone interested in volunteering. (A short shift gets free entry – sign up on the main site). Those interested in doing photos or videos should get in touch.
The future is as dim as the lighting at The Stud, one of San Francisco’s most loved dive/gay bars. The property is being swept up in a wave of real estate speculation and gentrification that shows no sign of ebbing. Some luminaries of local culture are just treading water, while many are sinking under. They just can’t afford to live in their own city any more.
One by one, the lights of San Francisco night life are going out. Now the Stud is set to close.
On every second Saturday each month, furries flock there for Frolic dance party. It’s the premiere event for their thriving local scene. The venue loves furries as much as they love each other, so Frolic has been steadily supported since 2010. Their success bore a litter of furry club events across North America that look up to it for inspiration, from Foxtrot in Denver, to Suit-Up Saturday in Minneapolis.
Calling it “the Original” furry dance party may be debatable (credit may be due for a few rave-type events outside of North America) – but there’s no debating its influence. It will be very sad if Frolic loses it’s home.
It’s a local story, but in spirit, it touches furries anywhere who love to dance and have their own paw-hold in the nightlife. Having their own established club doesn’t happen easily for an isolated niche of maligned yet super loveable young people. Frolic set the bar high for that. It isn’t your average family-friendly daytime convention – its power comes after dark. Talking animal-people look and feel better to dance with in the magical murk of a club from an alternate fantasy dimension. Have a drink and hug one for an experience better than drugs. Or pick one up. Say: “knock knock” – “who’s there”? – “knot me…” Read the rest of this entry »
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 ambitious than events that happen once, house parties, or informal meets. Those can stay inner-focused for friends who already know each other. This brings partnership with new kinds of venues, and new supportive interest in the kind of events they host. 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. It makes subculture thrive. It’s a movement!
See the list of parties atThe Furclub survey. Any party that gives a Q&A will get a featured article. Featured here is a new event in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It’s yet another one inspired by Frolic in San Francisco, the seed for many new ones across the USA. Organizer Rachel introduces the party:
My name is Rachel, that’s my real name and furry name too. I’ve been a furry for about 15 years now, and I recently moved back to Minnesota from San Francisco, where I lived for 10 years and went to college. When in San Francisco I frequently went to FROLIC, which is run by some friends of mine, and I began to miss it.
While Minnesota has an amazing team running all the PG, all ages events (mnfurs.org, and DRAKE in particular)… There was nothing serving the adult, kink or 18+ community. Up until that point, any kinky or adult events were held in private homes or we would loosely organize a bar event. Even so, events were sporadic and lightly attended, as there wasn’t even a good way for kinky furs to even connect with each other in this state.
At my current job I do club promotions and events occasionally, so I had a few contacts. I picked a bar that most reminded me of the STUD in San Francisco (where Frolic happens every month), a bar called the EagleBolt here in Minneapolis. I spoke with the owner and manager and they allowed us to throw a trial basis party on January 31st. If that went well, they would be willing to host us every 5th saturday, or more.
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 atThe Furclub survey. Any one that gives a Q&A will get their own article. Raverfox tells you more about his party…
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!
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 atThe Furclub survey. Anyone that gives a Q&A will get their own article. Kelar tells you more…
Furclubbing: “A repeat/regular nightclub event by furries for furries.” The concept has been spreading since the late 2000’s. This kind of dance party is independent from conventions. It builds on their growth but takes things farther. It’s more established than informal meets or events that happen once. Those can stay inner-focused for friends who already know each other, but these events bring partnership with new venues that support and host furries. They’re a gateway to the public, so a stranger may walk in off the street and discover their new favorite thing. It encourages new blood and crossover. It makes a subculture thrive. There are connections to DJ and rave scenes. But this is its own unique movement!
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The Survey Questions
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Any party that responds will get their own featured article! (Check back for new responses linked with party names below.)
Do you know any others? Please share these questions to them, and send responses or tips to patch.ofurr@gmail.com.
Casual answers are fine (they will get partnership to create and boost an article). Please include graphics, pics or vids. What can you tell the fandom about these?
I think society in general, especially when we have the internet and different ways of finding very specific niche culture- I think subcultures are taking off. People like to party, socialize, and be around each other – and use the internet to find new ways to get together and be together in person, not just on the internet. The internet makes us feel a little isolated, and we try to balance that by going to these crowded events… It’s changed in the last 10-20 years, and more and more people are seeking these crowds rather than getting away from it all. It’s why countercultures are thriving. It’s about events. Whether it’s a Furry convention, or Frolic, or other get togethers, it’s about events.
“Furclubbing” is the New Thing that I see becoming a trend since the late 2000’s. It’s been spreading by furries influencing others to start formal events independent from cons. This builds on the growth of cons, and takes things farther.
Neonbunny defines it as: “A repeat/regular nightclub event by furries for furries. There’s probably a half dozen events. Then there’s probably been a couple hundred one off furry events done in a bar or other legal (non house) venue.” As Howl Toronto puts it: Con dances happen once a year, and “that’s just not enough to fill the need!”
