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Anthrocon- A Post Mortem
2 years ago
From the Desk of Jack the Gorilla....
I've put this post off for over a month now. I look forward to Anthrocon each year, it is my favorite furry convention of the three or four that I go to annually. There were a few snags ahead of it this year that were warning signs for me. Getting the time off from work was a little tricky, and the wildfire smoke was also rough on me for my first day of travel.
Usually arriving at my hotel feels like coming home, and I've certainly felt that way immensely a few times when walking to the Westin in past years. However something this year simply felt "OFF".
I disliked the smoke, the rain, and the closure of now Burger King and the Exchange.
As for the convention itself, I give great kudos to the con for expanding the number of shuttle bus lines and number of busses on them. I never waited more than 8 minutes for one.
I was greatly disappointed with this year's parade. Mainly not having a group photo. That was always a big highlight for me in previous years. Also by using the second staging area, people who followed the rules and were early, filled seats like they were instructed. Late comers were standing room only and stuffed against the walls, then when the parade began, those late comers were the first to leave. I don't think this slight and loss of the photo were worth the addition of chairs in the line up.
With that 'off feeling' I took a minute to talk to Uncle Kage about the potential of aging out of the fandom. Is my advanced age, putting me out of touch with the convention's target demographic? He helped allay those fears, but not completely dispel them. Your thoughts guys?
I met a lot of great fursuiters and had a lot of fun with them. Some I wanted to approach and interact with more, get to know them. BUT then I was afraid I was gonna come off as a groupie. That was a hard line to toe.
Zarafra, Quintree, Riffnote and Renegade were all wonderful furs that brought me cheer and I wanted to hang with a bit. Great to meet you all! I admit I fan-boy-ed out a little bit with my quick meeting with Odin Wolf, and I would have loved to talk a bit more. Sunday night at the Westin I met and got to know those furries a bit better. A HUGE shout out to the completely awesome Nikolai Lion, I want to get back in contact if anyone can help me. He made a big impression on me.
Feeling a bit apart, but craving interaction I found myself asking often of several fur suiters if they were okay or needed help. Could my role be assisting, offering help, or does this come off as desperate. I found myself holding props for furs that needed to adjust themselves, helping them tug or realign their suits, searched for fallen and dropped stuff, as well as offering to pour and dispense water. Like I said I wanted to be useful, but worried I was coming off desperate/groupie. Thoughts here would be appreciated.
So not my best Anthrocon, but I don't think I've had a bad Anthrocon. I think I got my feelings out, but would love others' input. Thanks. AND if I mentioned you by name in this, please say hi!
Usually arriving at my hotel feels like coming home, and I've certainly felt that way immensely a few times when walking to the Westin in past years. However something this year simply felt "OFF".
I disliked the smoke, the rain, and the closure of now Burger King and the Exchange.
As for the convention itself, I give great kudos to the con for expanding the number of shuttle bus lines and number of busses on them. I never waited more than 8 minutes for one.
I was greatly disappointed with this year's parade. Mainly not having a group photo. That was always a big highlight for me in previous years. Also by using the second staging area, people who followed the rules and were early, filled seats like they were instructed. Late comers were standing room only and stuffed against the walls, then when the parade began, those late comers were the first to leave. I don't think this slight and loss of the photo were worth the addition of chairs in the line up.
With that 'off feeling' I took a minute to talk to Uncle Kage about the potential of aging out of the fandom. Is my advanced age, putting me out of touch with the convention's target demographic? He helped allay those fears, but not completely dispel them. Your thoughts guys?
I met a lot of great fursuiters and had a lot of fun with them. Some I wanted to approach and interact with more, get to know them. BUT then I was afraid I was gonna come off as a groupie. That was a hard line to toe.
Zarafra, Quintree, Riffnote and Renegade were all wonderful furs that brought me cheer and I wanted to hang with a bit. Great to meet you all! I admit I fan-boy-ed out a little bit with my quick meeting with Odin Wolf, and I would have loved to talk a bit more. Sunday night at the Westin I met and got to know those furries a bit better. A HUGE shout out to the completely awesome Nikolai Lion, I want to get back in contact if anyone can help me. He made a big impression on me.
Feeling a bit apart, but craving interaction I found myself asking often of several fur suiters if they were okay or needed help. Could my role be assisting, offering help, or does this come off as desperate. I found myself holding props for furs that needed to adjust themselves, helping them tug or realign their suits, searched for fallen and dropped stuff, as well as offering to pour and dispense water. Like I said I wanted to be useful, but worried I was coming off desperate/groupie. Thoughts here would be appreciated.
So not my best Anthrocon, but I don't think I've had a bad Anthrocon. I think I got my feelings out, but would love others' input. Thanks. AND if I mentioned you by name in this, please say hi!
Hopefully they'll get feedback on the photoshoot and do something better next year.
I don't think anyone can be "too old" since the whole thing about the fandom is appreciating anthropomorphic art, stories, etc. Now, the community can do better in terms of supporting older furs and having places for them, making them feel more included and wanted.
As for the other thing, just ask. You're playing out worst-case scenarios in your brain, which is never a good thing since brains are very good at overthinking. Ask to help, I'm sure it'd be appreciated. Ask to take pictures--that's why they're in costume!
The age bracket of the fandom is expanding, I don't think there's any danger of aging out. Keep in mind that all these young whippersnappers will end up being our age in a flash the same way us getting to our age felt like a blink. As long as we choose to maintain our creativity and joy, we'll be certain of a place in the community.
The only challenging thing old bozos like us might face when it comes to that is there being a generational gap between us and the average furry congoer. What really fixes the issue is going to panels and interacting with folks you meet at those more specific groupings (especially at a con so huge like AC, it bumps past the threshold into making one lose oneself in the furry crowd).
Heck, ask Kage how he feels about EF. It's minuscule compared to AC but he is always surrounded by all his fanboys everytime he comes to Germany, and always has a good (i.e. inebriated) time.
Always due to the folks he is with.
Maybe next time you hit up a con, you might have a blast if you team up with some real good friends first and foremost. Works for this crocco / owl, at least!