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2 Cons: 2 Weekends
a year ago
It's weird to think that it's basically one week since I began my return trip from TTFC in Tulsa, OK, and two weeks since I left DenFur for a resort in the mountains. What a whirlwind of a ride!
My experience at these two cons was very different. In truth, though it was almost 3 times bigger, DenFur did not feel quite as con-like to me. Don't get me wrong, I still had fun. I got to fursuit for the first time and sat in on my first ever fursuit dance comp. And I met several interesting people there as well. But something about the whole atmosphere just seemed a little anemic, like there was too much space for how little seemed to be going on. And what's more, I think everyone there felt it even at the time. I'll give the staff credit for doing their best with what they had, but the lack of reg line Thursday coupled with having to wrap everything up by 4:00 Sunday (a tad earlier for me) just made the whole thing feel foreshortened. I also can't deny that, while most eateries etc. were within walking distance (didn't have to move the car out of the parking garage once!), the city of Denver itself was honestly not my cup of tea. Perhaps it was just all the construction going on in the area that ruined the vibe, or perhaps DenFur was a foreshadowing of things to come. A sign that the golden age of furry is indeed behind us, never to recover despite the apparent growing numbers everywhere else.
My stay at the mountain lodge for a couple nights was nice. It was the first time I or my boyfriend had ever stayed at a nudist lodge, though I've been a naturist for over a decade now. But I would highly recommend it either way: Mountain Air Ranch is well worth the extra effort.
Then came Tails and Tornadoes, which felt like a breath of fresh (if not mountainous) air. Despite its smaller number of attendees, it felt like a proper con. I had a lot more fun there with the people I knew (including my dad!), and got to meet a ton of other interesting, friendly people, including one of the guests of honor. What's more, I got to participate in my first ever fursuit parade and group photo--2 things big con DenFur didn't even have this year! And the raves were great too. Whereas Friday night at DF was a little dead, Friday night at TTFC was happening, and of course, it didn't slow down Saturday or even Sunday for the dead dog dance. So, we are left once again with the old adage that bigger is not necessarily better.
Would I go back to TTFC again? Absolutely! I look forward to it next year, assuming the world doesn't come crashing down in the meantime. Would I go back to DenFur? Uhh...Maybe. If they can restore the confidence people had in them last year (when they had 600 more attendees) and AEIOU can settle down and stop having internal issues, it might be worth making the 10-hour sojourn again someday. In the meantime, though, my congoing will be focused southward and eastward rather than westward. That's all I got for now. Con vlog for DF and slideshow for TTFC will be coming sometime. Until then, as our TTFC GOH Finn the Panther woukd say, "Stay wild out there!"
My experience at these two cons was very different. In truth, though it was almost 3 times bigger, DenFur did not feel quite as con-like to me. Don't get me wrong, I still had fun. I got to fursuit for the first time and sat in on my first ever fursuit dance comp. And I met several interesting people there as well. But something about the whole atmosphere just seemed a little anemic, like there was too much space for how little seemed to be going on. And what's more, I think everyone there felt it even at the time. I'll give the staff credit for doing their best with what they had, but the lack of reg line Thursday coupled with having to wrap everything up by 4:00 Sunday (a tad earlier for me) just made the whole thing feel foreshortened. I also can't deny that, while most eateries etc. were within walking distance (didn't have to move the car out of the parking garage once!), the city of Denver itself was honestly not my cup of tea. Perhaps it was just all the construction going on in the area that ruined the vibe, or perhaps DenFur was a foreshadowing of things to come. A sign that the golden age of furry is indeed behind us, never to recover despite the apparent growing numbers everywhere else.
My stay at the mountain lodge for a couple nights was nice. It was the first time I or my boyfriend had ever stayed at a nudist lodge, though I've been a naturist for over a decade now. But I would highly recommend it either way: Mountain Air Ranch is well worth the extra effort.
Then came Tails and Tornadoes, which felt like a breath of fresh (if not mountainous) air. Despite its smaller number of attendees, it felt like a proper con. I had a lot more fun there with the people I knew (including my dad!), and got to meet a ton of other interesting, friendly people, including one of the guests of honor. What's more, I got to participate in my first ever fursuit parade and group photo--2 things big con DenFur didn't even have this year! And the raves were great too. Whereas Friday night at DF was a little dead, Friday night at TTFC was happening, and of course, it didn't slow down Saturday or even Sunday for the dead dog dance. So, we are left once again with the old adage that bigger is not necessarily better.
Would I go back to TTFC again? Absolutely! I look forward to it next year, assuming the world doesn't come crashing down in the meantime. Would I go back to DenFur? Uhh...Maybe. If they can restore the confidence people had in them last year (when they had 600 more attendees) and AEIOU can settle down and stop having internal issues, it might be worth making the 10-hour sojourn again someday. In the meantime, though, my congoing will be focused southward and eastward rather than westward. That's all I got for now. Con vlog for DF and slideshow for TTFC will be coming sometime. Until then, as our TTFC GOH Finn the Panther woukd say, "Stay wild out there!"
