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Anthro New England 2026 Wrap-Up!
14 hours ago
General
Howdy, partners! This here wolf found himself moseying on over to that old boomtown known as Boston in early January to settle down at the saloon for a spell. When he arrived to rest his spurs at the watering hole known as the Westin, he didn't find any spittoons' or shady characters, but a whole lot of furry folks dressed for the occasion; that occasion being Anthro New England 2026 - It's a Western!
This hoe-down took place from January 15th-18th, 2026! I believe that this year's theme proved to be a smash hit with the attendees, and while I didn't dress up myself (beyond being a circular wolf), I saw a TON of folks dressed with their ten-gallon hats, vests, boots, and one-stick-ponies! Just like a well-attended cantina, everywhere you looked, something awesome was happening this weekend! So, don't be shy! Sit on down at the table, kick your spurs up, and let this wolf weave you his tale of his weekend at Anthro New England, 2026!
Similar to last year, my plan for getting to Anthro New England this year was to get there as early as possible. Events at ANE don't typically begin until the very evening of Thursday, and only after Registration opens (though you do not need a badge to go to these events that night!) I like arriving to cons early if I can, just to give myself some time to unpack, and hopefully to beat the crowds! Driving into Boston wasn't as smooth sailing as it was last year due to congestion on the turnpike caused by accidents, but I still made fairly decent time! I got there early enough to beat the crowds, check-in, unpack, and plan out my day. Boston is a city of history, museums, and points of interest around every corner. Last year, I decided to walk up the Freedom trail and up to Bunker Hill monument. This year, I decided to head back to places I hadn't been to since middle school! I started out by riding over to the New England Aquarium! One of the things I think is marvelous about the aquarium is the giant multi-species fish tank in the center of the main exhibit, and the spiral ramp that wraps all the way around it. The museum is as much a work of art as the brightly-colored, spotted and speckled fish and amphibians that line all the tanks! My favorite exhibits in the museum had to be the Freshwater Gallery and, of course, the Harbor Seals! One of the things I didn't remember from when I visited many many years ago was the electric eel tank that actually has a voltmeter that measures the voltage the eel gives off! You could say, I was shocked! The penguin exhibit that dominates the ground floor of the museum was closed for renovations while I visited, but honestly, I didn't mind. It at least kept the smell down while walking up the ramps! After checking out all of the exhibits there, I took the infamous Green Line to the Boston Museum of Science! After riding on the Green Line, I can certainly see what makes that particular branch of the MBTA so notable, it is like stepping back in time! The metro model was several decades old, and it looked more like a trolley exhibit than a subway! Not to mention it is incredibly loud. These things didn't quell my enthusiasm for the museum, however! Upon arriving at the museum, for whatever reason, I remembered it being smaller than it looks from the outside. Upon walking inside, I realized that couldn't have been further from the truth. The museum is an absolute labyrinth of exhibits, spanning from natural to machinery, and absolutely everything in-between! If you can think of a scientifically-related topic, you can find an exhibit for it at the museum! Walking through this massive menagerie of science took twice as long as I had expected, and as I looked into each of the exhibits, I realized that little Ringgar had probably only been allowed to see a portion of the museum. To explore this in its entirety would take a few trips! I even got lost between floors, as every time I turned a corner I saw a new exhibit I hadn't seen before! When people say they like to get lost in research, I find the museum to be a physical representation of what they mean!
After exploring as much of the museum as I could, I walked out to find dinner, and found a restaurant called The Warren along the Freedom Trail. I had to finish my dinner rather quickly though, as I had lost track of the time I spent in the Museum of Science, and took a metro ride back to the Westin. This year, I was given the opportunity to host my Smashbooking Panel at the convention, and the convention was hosting a panel at the same time registration opened for panelists to attend. There, I figured out how to set up for my presentation, so while it wasn't necessary to attend, it was helpful in saving me a bunch of time later. Unfortunately, by the time the panel ended, the reg line was absolutely MASSIVE. The regular attendee reg line was closed as it crossed the entire hotel and wrapped around the lower floor hallway multiple times. Right then and there, I realized that this would be a record-breaking convention. Fortunately, I didn't just go back to my room for the night, and decided to walk around to find friends in the line. What I didn't realize until I saw it, is that right outside the Harbor Ballroom was the reg line for sponsors and up! Despite the separate line, I still wound up waiting for 2 hours to get my registration. At least I got to chat with some wonderful furs, and see some folks I recognized, while waiting in line! After getting my badge, I decided to partial as Ringgar in the lobby to say hello to friends for about an hour before turning in for a snooze at midnight!
I woke up from my 'Z' chasing marathon earlier than I had expected! I accidentally left my regular work hour alarm on, but I was able to grab one more hour of winks before getting ready to start the day! This year I brought breakfast with me for each morning, which wound up being a big benefit, as I was on one of the higher floors, and didn't have to go through an early morning elevator con with folks going to the Starbucks in the lobby. I went to opening ceremonies in the morning to kick off the day, then went right back up to my room to wear Ringgar in full for the first time that weekend! Main events at ANE happened a little differently this year!. Most of the main events were shifted up a day from when they have historically occurred, and the first one of those was the fursuit photo and parade, which now happened on Friday! While walking around and waiting for the doors to open for the parade, I was given quite the surprise: my friend
afurryjinx was here! I had absolutely no idea that he was going to be at the con, and was very much taken aback when I saw him! We chatted for awhile before I had to get in line for the Fursuit Photo. One of the changes they made to the photo this year were, due to room capacity limits, only a certain amount of fursuiters were allowed into the photo, and tickets were issued for folks to be allowed into the room. Despite this, the room was still quite crowded, but I was at least standing next to many, many of my local friends, and I got to chat with them and make plans for meeting up later in the afternoon! The parade kicked off immediately afterward, and the full force of mother nature made itself known on the route outside: It was WINDY! My scarf and badge were whipping all around, and I had to check a few times just to make sure my badge didn't get carried away! The wind could not break this wolf's stride though, and I went up and down the parade without too much trouble! I chatted with more friends at the termination point for the parade for a little while as the room cleared out, but due to a planned photoshoot with our Starcane family a few hours from then, I decided to continue being a wolf for awhile! This gave me the opportunity to pass the time with one of my favorite con activities: The Bucket Brigade! I try do bucket brigading at every con I am able to, and this was just the first of several outings I did this weekend! Being silly, friendly, and goofy while dressed as a circular wolf is one of the great joys in my life, doing so for two good causes makes it even more worthwhile! I trolled up and down the line for, and inside of, the Dealer's Den for an hour (which was so massive that it had to close, just like the reg line yesterday!) I met the charity reps for the year, Queer Scouts and Wings of the Dawn in the Dealer's Den, then turned in my bucket and moseyed on up to the Mezzanine to meet my Starcane family! This year, Hannu, Ripley, Coal, and Axel from our family were in attendance! Coal and Axel were busy doing other things at the con, but Ripley, Hannu (and their coworker, who wore their Questing Beast suit), and I took some photos by the window of the Mezzanine together! Our meetup was small, but very heartfelt to me! These are all wonderful people that I have, and will continue to cherish!
After 6 consecutive hours of suiting, I was absolutely exhausted, but felt very fulfilled! I took a little bit of time to take care of Ringgar, but had to run back down to the lobby to meetup with the same friends I met at the fursuit photo for a special occasion, the occasion being Ripley's Birthday! We went to the South Street Diner to celebrate over dinner together, had a wonderful meal, made sure to embarrass Ripley by singing happy birthday, and chatted before walking back to the hotel as a group. We went out to the diner last year for Ripley's birthday, and this year, I was especially happy with our waiter, who absolutely loved us! (If he happens to be reading this, we love you back!) Upon reaching the hotel, I had to make a quick dash to the next event I had planned for the evening: The Western Mass Furs panel! Western MA furs is simply a group of furs in the, you'll never guess, the Western Massachusetts area that I have been a part of since the group's inception! As such, I went to introduce myself to others who were looking for friends and meetups in the area! I also went to be the most annoying person in the room by hooting and hollering every time someone mentioned they were from Connecticut. I regret nothing. After the meet was over, I took some time to decompress and refresh in my room after all the running around I had done today, but Friday wasn't through for this wolf yet! A little while later, I suited up once again to walk around and do another round of bucket brigading! I felt an opportunity itching with the large line of folks waiting for the night market, and I played 'Mass Turnpike Toll Booth' for a couple of hours! Things worked out well, and with cash, and a stick of DDR4 RAM in paw (or, in the bucket rather,) I turned it in before heading to the last event I wanted to do for the night:
heathclaws's Furry Improv! (Side note, Heathclaw is the first person I saw when I walked in on Thursday!) This year, the improv panel was at an EXTRA late time slot, going from 12:30AM-2:15AM, but despite the incredibly long day, the chuckles were bound to ensue, and ensue it did! My favorite bit from the night was during the game "Excuses Excuses," which is a game where two fursuiters have to mime out an action and a place for someone who is trying to guess where they were and what they were doing that made them late to work. The funniest part about this particular game is that the fursuiters were trying to mime out the International Space Station, and the person doing the guessing had no idea what that was. It was also at this moment that my bones crumpled to dust, because I remember when the ISS was launched. I got to play the part of an OSHA field agent during one game that was definitely not culpable for 'The Accident.' The rest, as they say, is history. I wound up going to bed around 3AM, completely spent from the hilarity and eventfulness of the day, as well as the marathon suiting sessions I did!
Before I knew it, it was time to get up for my first panel of the day: My friend Mey's Furtography 201 panel! Due to my disregard for the 6 in the '621' rule, I was feeling quite groggy in the morning. Still, I made it down in time for the panel, and despite the technical difficulties Mey had without a projector or screen, they were still able to make their panel a great one! I really enjoyed listening to people pitch ideas and questions about Furtography, and I'm glad I attended! After having a late breakfast, I wore Ringgar as a partial to go see another recent favorite panel of mine, Game Changer! Essentially, It is a furry version of famous Game Changer episodes (which I have seen none of, and honestly, I think that makes it funnier!) Quite a few of my friends were either taking part or putting on the show! I can see myself going to this panel at every con, because one liners and silly fursuiters are two bits that never get old! I had the chance to do some audience participation as well in the latter half of the panel, where one of the contestants, CD, had to find my name tag, but he wound up walking right by me after looking directly at me! I couldn’t help but grin ear to ear after that snafu!
Once the panel wrapped up, I went back up to my room to wear Ringgar’s full-suit for the first, and only time that day, in preparation for the Fursuit Games! My historical experience with the Fursuit Games at ANE has been that the games are a very well attended event, so spots for participation are limited. Still, I was in suit well ahead of time, so I spent the intermission hour by doing another round of bucket brigading! I believe this particular round was my best for fundraising for the entire weekend, as the folks in the grand ballroom watching the Animal Music Concert were particularly generous! I dropped off my bucket with the Safety booth before heading over to get in line for the Fursuit Games. As expected, there was a large number of hopeful attendees looking to participate, and I was one of them! Last year, the folks who were picked to play were done so in an arbitrary manner, but this year it was a little bit fairer: They had us play Red Light Green Light for the limited number of spots. I was placed on the red team for making it up to the front! The games this year were a mixed bag of fun, chaos, and a little bit of danger, all threaded together to fit a loose story around the con theme. My favorite of these was the 1 on 1 ‘duel’ with little plastic balls. It acted more like a snowball fight, but I was able to put on the cowboy flair for the theme! My least favorite was a rehash of last years game - Tug of War. One of my teammates actually had their handpaw rip as a result, which is what I was primarily afraid of in this game. They were able to fix it, but this still remains a major pain point for me. Our team came in last overall, but when it comes to fursuit games, isn’t the real victory being a goofy animal for the audience? I sure believe so!
After returning to my room to de-suit, I had previously made plans with Jinx, Mizu, and Azrael to go out to dinner together that evening. We had to push our plan back an hour, so I had the opportunity to catch a bit of the dance competition (another main event that was moved) in person! The rest of the dance competition I watched over stream on the way to meet my pals. This year was notable to me because of the variety in performance and dance styles. Showtunes, Hip-Hop, Ballet, and a whole lot more were on display this year, and I am very happy for my all friends who participated in prelims and the finals! Y’all rock this wolf’s world! Once I met up with my pals, the three of us went to a (very small) ramen restaurant called Yume Ga Arukara. It was a rather long wait as the restaurant is essentially just a store front, but very much worth braving the cold for! The menu essentially consisted of either hot or cold Udon noodles with shrimp or beef. Personally I’m more of a Pho person, but I rather enjoyed the meal and I can see why some folks at the con raved about that place! Once I said bye to my friends for the time being and reached the hotel again, I didn’t have any particular plans for the rest of the night. I wasn’t quite ready to fullsuit, but I did decide to partial and to bring my Beyblades down to the lobby to blade with folks outside the Harbor Ballroom! I wound up getting a lot more interest than I was expecting, and spent a good portion of the evening either blading or walking and talking to friends and strangers! On the walk back from dinner earlier, Mizu suggested I try to do karaoke, as that was opening at midnight! Karaoke is something I’ve grown to love doing, once I had found songs that I could really get into and memorize the lines for, but never really have the opportunity to do at a con because the line is always MASSIVE. This time however, I was able to line up early and get ahead of the curve! When it was my turn, the song I sang was “Near Wild Heaven” by R.E.M. I think I did OK, and my pals Rags and Artimio took a nice video (both of whom also sang before me), and upon hearing it back, I feel like I should have sung the background vocals. I really put on my church singing voice, and I don’t quite know if that is good or bad. Still, I’m happy I was finally able to sing for my friends for once, and I hope I can do so in the near future! I certainly have a few more songs I’d like to sing! After watching more of my friends sing into the early morning, I returned to my room for the night and crawled under the covers for some rest, as the last day of the con would be a rather important one for me!
The last day of the con is often a bittersweet affair for many, but I woke up firing on all cylinders Sunday morning! Today was the day I would host my Smashbooking panel, and for the first time at ANE! My excitement levels were through the roof. Unlike the prior cons I had hosted this at, my panel would be in the afternoon rather than Sunday morning! As a result, I had the whole morning free for unplanned activities. I decided that, not knowing when I would be able to do so again for the con, I would full-suit early and get one more round of bucket brigading in! I wound up with a rather heavy bucket this time around (likely on account of the change people threw in,) and after each donation I was bowing, acting silly, or giving out headpats to those who were charitable! Though folks couldn’t see it on account of me being in suit, I was smiling the whole time! Although, perhaps through Ringgar’s grin they could tell! I spent a couple of hours in suit before turning in my bucket for the last time, then let Ringgar rest in my room while I prepared for my panel at 2 in the afternoon! The time change from being in the morning to being in the afternoon, plus the large amount of attendees at the con in general, made a huge difference in the attendance at my panel. Though folks peeled out during the presentation, we started out by filling the room, meaning about 40 people showed up! In the future, I think I’ll need to practice keeping my thoughts on track and keeping people engaged during the presentation portion, although the technical difficulties with the audio didn’t help much. Still, I think my panel was a great success, and one of the attendees was
Tofutheferce! Her and I talked about our plans for the afternoon, and I had mentioned I wanted to do the Kaiju Clash panel like I did last year. We decided there to be partners (or mortal enemies) during the Kaiju Clash! That panel was just an hour away from mine, so after my panel concluded, I ran back up to my room to don Ringgar in his entirety for one more time! I then walked over to the panel to find Tofu, and the two of us went to the staging area (which was the headless lounge next door) to plan our bout! After deciding who would be the Hero and the Villain, (Tofu very enthusiastically volunteered to be the latter,) we waited for our time to enter the stage. We were called up, and Tofu started destroying the city made of boxes and foam mats. We pushed, grappled, and threw buildings at each other in a battle of epic proportions, and while I was on my last legs, I pulled out my scarf to use as a flail and issued a challenge! With three strong strikes of my ‘flail’, I was victorious! If this all sounds incredibly silly to you, then we played our parts!
After the panel, I rested in the headless lounge for a little while before walking around the lobby to say bye to the folks who were leaving that night. Closing Ceremonies were just around the corner, so I decided to stay in suit for the last hurrah! In the interim, a local pal who goes by OUTLAWMAN took some time to take photos of me around the convention! It was perfect timing, as it had begun to snow outside before closing, just like it did on Sunday last year! Soon it was time to get in line for closing. I eventually wound up entering the room about half way through the ceremonies, but it was just in time to see everyone’s favorite part: the numbers! This year, ANE had a preposterously large 7,284 attendees, over 1000 fursuiters, and raised $50k+ total, split in half for each of the charities for the year! They also presented the theme for next year’s convention via an animation made by one of the Guests of Honor, Rito Bandito, and their team at Scrungle-Co! Despite the reveal, everyone was awake and on the edge of their seats at the reveal of: Sleepytime! I couldn’t help but laugh at the idea of theming an entire con around going to bed, but after seeing all of the VR content (and the VR animatic in the lobby that weekend), I made the connection between Furality Somna and next year’s theme! In that moment, everything fell into place! Everyone shuffled out of the Harbor Ballroom as the con came to a close, and Jinx and I spent some time hanging out together before I finally took Ringgar off around 9PM that night; another marathon suiting session. After Jinx left, I went out to a Stubbys to get dinner, and while I was walking by, there was a large amount of people in the lobby watching the LA Rams and Chicago Bears play for the last divisional round. ANE has always fallen into that magical time of the NFL world where the last few games of the season are occurring and the Superbowl contestants are being determined! The game ended while I was out at Stubby’s, and even though the snow was coming down, the cheering in the joint and the bars next door could be heard for miles! The Patriots had already played earlier in the day, and the cheering there shook the Westin lobby! Once I arrived back at the hotel, it was late, but this wolf wasn’t ready for next year’s theme just yet! I wore Ringgar once more, bringing my Beyblades down to the Dead Dog Dance, where I saw a lot of my local friends out in the hallway outside! There were actually two dances going on, a giant dance circle in the hallway, and the official Dead Dog Dance event in the next room over! Feeling the vibes, my pal Laz and I took my beystadium in the center of the dance circle and played a few rounds, which caused the folks who were dancing around to collectively lose their minds! I did this with Typo at Furpoc, and after seeing the reaction there and here at ANE, I think this is something I can foresee myself doing in the future at other cons as well! Once we had had our fun, I danced around in the official Dead Dog for a brief time before heading back up to the lobby, saying goodbye to friends, and then (snow)drifting off to dreamland.
At this year’s Anthro New England, several notable things stood out to me about my experience overall. The first thing is the lack of any real downtime I had throughout the entire con! I only had a few moments where I took the time to rest, and even then they were very brief. I was on the move from one thing to the next, and I wound up full-suiting as a red and blue circle wolf a LOT this weekend, with several marathon suiting sessions every single day!
I found myself staying in suit longer to try to connect from one event or meetup to another, and a lot of that had to do with me trying to plan ahead with what I wanted to do. I’m rather glad I took the time before the con to do this, as another thing that I wound up doing a large amount of this con was waiting. I’m beating a well-worn drum here, as if you’ve asked anyone who had attended the con this year, you will have likely heard about the lines for most panels, registration, and especially the dealer’s den. With 7.2k attendees, it’s no real secret that the con is outgrowing the hotel it is in. There have been rumors that the con would be moving, at least in part, to the convention center connected by skybridge next door. During closing, one of the con chairmen, Flint, alluded to such a change coming in the near future. Personally, I expect that either next year or in 2028, the convention will have a portion of the con take place in the convention center, likely registration and the dealer’s den, as those two things were the largest line-creators during the weekend. As for myself, I didn’t have a problem waiting for events and panels this weekend at all, though I was never able to make it to the Dealer’s Den for smashbooking materials. For as long as I have been going to ANE, I have always considered it to be a large con, and adjusted my expectations accordingly. Speaking of, if you were working line control this weekend, bless your heart and soul!
The last thing that I found notable about this year’s ANE is something that isn’t quite tangible, but is something that I felt the entire weekend: it’s spirit! The staff, volunteers, and attendees all love this convention, and it can be seen in the smiling faces of everyone around you. People laughing, playing in the snow, joking around as silly animal people, making new connections and renewing old ones: This is what gives life to a furry convention, and not even the mid-winter cold can chill the love and care that people bring to it. For many people, ANE is like a second home, and I can say for certain that I felt welcomed there. I’m looking forward to my next trip to ANE, and I hope that this year, I was able to share that love and life with everyone at the con as well.
This hoe-down took place from January 15th-18th, 2026! I believe that this year's theme proved to be a smash hit with the attendees, and while I didn't dress up myself (beyond being a circular wolf), I saw a TON of folks dressed with their ten-gallon hats, vests, boots, and one-stick-ponies! Just like a well-attended cantina, everywhere you looked, something awesome was happening this weekend! So, don't be shy! Sit on down at the table, kick your spurs up, and let this wolf weave you his tale of his weekend at Anthro New England, 2026!
Ringgar's ANE 2026 Photo Album!If you have or see any photos of me or with me in them on any social media site or Furtrack, please send me a message and let me know! Thank you!Thursday, the 15thSimilar to last year, my plan for getting to Anthro New England this year was to get there as early as possible. Events at ANE don't typically begin until the very evening of Thursday, and only after Registration opens (though you do not need a badge to go to these events that night!) I like arriving to cons early if I can, just to give myself some time to unpack, and hopefully to beat the crowds! Driving into Boston wasn't as smooth sailing as it was last year due to congestion on the turnpike caused by accidents, but I still made fairly decent time! I got there early enough to beat the crowds, check-in, unpack, and plan out my day. Boston is a city of history, museums, and points of interest around every corner. Last year, I decided to walk up the Freedom trail and up to Bunker Hill monument. This year, I decided to head back to places I hadn't been to since middle school! I started out by riding over to the New England Aquarium! One of the things I think is marvelous about the aquarium is the giant multi-species fish tank in the center of the main exhibit, and the spiral ramp that wraps all the way around it. The museum is as much a work of art as the brightly-colored, spotted and speckled fish and amphibians that line all the tanks! My favorite exhibits in the museum had to be the Freshwater Gallery and, of course, the Harbor Seals! One of the things I didn't remember from when I visited many many years ago was the electric eel tank that actually has a voltmeter that measures the voltage the eel gives off! You could say, I was shocked! The penguin exhibit that dominates the ground floor of the museum was closed for renovations while I visited, but honestly, I didn't mind. It at least kept the smell down while walking up the ramps! After checking out all of the exhibits there, I took the infamous Green Line to the Boston Museum of Science! After riding on the Green Line, I can certainly see what makes that particular branch of the MBTA so notable, it is like stepping back in time! The metro model was several decades old, and it looked more like a trolley exhibit than a subway! Not to mention it is incredibly loud. These things didn't quell my enthusiasm for the museum, however! Upon arriving at the museum, for whatever reason, I remembered it being smaller than it looks from the outside. Upon walking inside, I realized that couldn't have been further from the truth. The museum is an absolute labyrinth of exhibits, spanning from natural to machinery, and absolutely everything in-between! If you can think of a scientifically-related topic, you can find an exhibit for it at the museum! Walking through this massive menagerie of science took twice as long as I had expected, and as I looked into each of the exhibits, I realized that little Ringgar had probably only been allowed to see a portion of the museum. To explore this in its entirety would take a few trips! I even got lost between floors, as every time I turned a corner I saw a new exhibit I hadn't seen before! When people say they like to get lost in research, I find the museum to be a physical representation of what they mean!
After exploring as much of the museum as I could, I walked out to find dinner, and found a restaurant called The Warren along the Freedom Trail. I had to finish my dinner rather quickly though, as I had lost track of the time I spent in the Museum of Science, and took a metro ride back to the Westin. This year, I was given the opportunity to host my Smashbooking Panel at the convention, and the convention was hosting a panel at the same time registration opened for panelists to attend. There, I figured out how to set up for my presentation, so while it wasn't necessary to attend, it was helpful in saving me a bunch of time later. Unfortunately, by the time the panel ended, the reg line was absolutely MASSIVE. The regular attendee reg line was closed as it crossed the entire hotel and wrapped around the lower floor hallway multiple times. Right then and there, I realized that this would be a record-breaking convention. Fortunately, I didn't just go back to my room for the night, and decided to walk around to find friends in the line. What I didn't realize until I saw it, is that right outside the Harbor Ballroom was the reg line for sponsors and up! Despite the separate line, I still wound up waiting for 2 hours to get my registration. At least I got to chat with some wonderful furs, and see some folks I recognized, while waiting in line! After getting my badge, I decided to partial as Ringgar in the lobby to say hello to friends for about an hour before turning in for a snooze at midnight!
Friday, the 16thI woke up from my 'Z' chasing marathon earlier than I had expected! I accidentally left my regular work hour alarm on, but I was able to grab one more hour of winks before getting ready to start the day! This year I brought breakfast with me for each morning, which wound up being a big benefit, as I was on one of the higher floors, and didn't have to go through an early morning elevator con with folks going to the Starbucks in the lobby. I went to opening ceremonies in the morning to kick off the day, then went right back up to my room to wear Ringgar in full for the first time that weekend! Main events at ANE happened a little differently this year!. Most of the main events were shifted up a day from when they have historically occurred, and the first one of those was the fursuit photo and parade, which now happened on Friday! While walking around and waiting for the doors to open for the parade, I was given quite the surprise: my friend
afurryjinx was here! I had absolutely no idea that he was going to be at the con, and was very much taken aback when I saw him! We chatted for awhile before I had to get in line for the Fursuit Photo. One of the changes they made to the photo this year were, due to room capacity limits, only a certain amount of fursuiters were allowed into the photo, and tickets were issued for folks to be allowed into the room. Despite this, the room was still quite crowded, but I was at least standing next to many, many of my local friends, and I got to chat with them and make plans for meeting up later in the afternoon! The parade kicked off immediately afterward, and the full force of mother nature made itself known on the route outside: It was WINDY! My scarf and badge were whipping all around, and I had to check a few times just to make sure my badge didn't get carried away! The wind could not break this wolf's stride though, and I went up and down the parade without too much trouble! I chatted with more friends at the termination point for the parade for a little while as the room cleared out, but due to a planned photoshoot with our Starcane family a few hours from then, I decided to continue being a wolf for awhile! This gave me the opportunity to pass the time with one of my favorite con activities: The Bucket Brigade! I try do bucket brigading at every con I am able to, and this was just the first of several outings I did this weekend! Being silly, friendly, and goofy while dressed as a circular wolf is one of the great joys in my life, doing so for two good causes makes it even more worthwhile! I trolled up and down the line for, and inside of, the Dealer's Den for an hour (which was so massive that it had to close, just like the reg line yesterday!) I met the charity reps for the year, Queer Scouts and Wings of the Dawn in the Dealer's Den, then turned in my bucket and moseyed on up to the Mezzanine to meet my Starcane family! This year, Hannu, Ripley, Coal, and Axel from our family were in attendance! Coal and Axel were busy doing other things at the con, but Ripley, Hannu (and their coworker, who wore their Questing Beast suit), and I took some photos by the window of the Mezzanine together! Our meetup was small, but very heartfelt to me! These are all wonderful people that I have, and will continue to cherish!After 6 consecutive hours of suiting, I was absolutely exhausted, but felt very fulfilled! I took a little bit of time to take care of Ringgar, but had to run back down to the lobby to meetup with the same friends I met at the fursuit photo for a special occasion, the occasion being Ripley's Birthday! We went to the South Street Diner to celebrate over dinner together, had a wonderful meal, made sure to embarrass Ripley by singing happy birthday, and chatted before walking back to the hotel as a group. We went out to the diner last year for Ripley's birthday, and this year, I was especially happy with our waiter, who absolutely loved us! (If he happens to be reading this, we love you back!) Upon reaching the hotel, I had to make a quick dash to the next event I had planned for the evening: The Western Mass Furs panel! Western MA furs is simply a group of furs in the, you'll never guess, the Western Massachusetts area that I have been a part of since the group's inception! As such, I went to introduce myself to others who were looking for friends and meetups in the area! I also went to be the most annoying person in the room by hooting and hollering every time someone mentioned they were from Connecticut. I regret nothing. After the meet was over, I took some time to decompress and refresh in my room after all the running around I had done today, but Friday wasn't through for this wolf yet! A little while later, I suited up once again to walk around and do another round of bucket brigading! I felt an opportunity itching with the large line of folks waiting for the night market, and I played 'Mass Turnpike Toll Booth' for a couple of hours! Things worked out well, and with cash, and a stick of DDR4 RAM in paw (or, in the bucket rather,) I turned it in before heading to the last event I wanted to do for the night:
heathclaws's Furry Improv! (Side note, Heathclaw is the first person I saw when I walked in on Thursday!) This year, the improv panel was at an EXTRA late time slot, going from 12:30AM-2:15AM, but despite the incredibly long day, the chuckles were bound to ensue, and ensue it did! My favorite bit from the night was during the game "Excuses Excuses," which is a game where two fursuiters have to mime out an action and a place for someone who is trying to guess where they were and what they were doing that made them late to work. The funniest part about this particular game is that the fursuiters were trying to mime out the International Space Station, and the person doing the guessing had no idea what that was. It was also at this moment that my bones crumpled to dust, because I remember when the ISS was launched. I got to play the part of an OSHA field agent during one game that was definitely not culpable for 'The Accident.' The rest, as they say, is history. I wound up going to bed around 3AM, completely spent from the hilarity and eventfulness of the day, as well as the marathon suiting sessions I did!Saturday, the 17thBefore I knew it, it was time to get up for my first panel of the day: My friend Mey's Furtography 201 panel! Due to my disregard for the 6 in the '621' rule, I was feeling quite groggy in the morning. Still, I made it down in time for the panel, and despite the technical difficulties Mey had without a projector or screen, they were still able to make their panel a great one! I really enjoyed listening to people pitch ideas and questions about Furtography, and I'm glad I attended! After having a late breakfast, I wore Ringgar as a partial to go see another recent favorite panel of mine, Game Changer! Essentially, It is a furry version of famous Game Changer episodes (which I have seen none of, and honestly, I think that makes it funnier!) Quite a few of my friends were either taking part or putting on the show! I can see myself going to this panel at every con, because one liners and silly fursuiters are two bits that never get old! I had the chance to do some audience participation as well in the latter half of the panel, where one of the contestants, CD, had to find my name tag, but he wound up walking right by me after looking directly at me! I couldn’t help but grin ear to ear after that snafu!
Once the panel wrapped up, I went back up to my room to wear Ringgar’s full-suit for the first, and only time that day, in preparation for the Fursuit Games! My historical experience with the Fursuit Games at ANE has been that the games are a very well attended event, so spots for participation are limited. Still, I was in suit well ahead of time, so I spent the intermission hour by doing another round of bucket brigading! I believe this particular round was my best for fundraising for the entire weekend, as the folks in the grand ballroom watching the Animal Music Concert were particularly generous! I dropped off my bucket with the Safety booth before heading over to get in line for the Fursuit Games. As expected, there was a large number of hopeful attendees looking to participate, and I was one of them! Last year, the folks who were picked to play were done so in an arbitrary manner, but this year it was a little bit fairer: They had us play Red Light Green Light for the limited number of spots. I was placed on the red team for making it up to the front! The games this year were a mixed bag of fun, chaos, and a little bit of danger, all threaded together to fit a loose story around the con theme. My favorite of these was the 1 on 1 ‘duel’ with little plastic balls. It acted more like a snowball fight, but I was able to put on the cowboy flair for the theme! My least favorite was a rehash of last years game - Tug of War. One of my teammates actually had their handpaw rip as a result, which is what I was primarily afraid of in this game. They were able to fix it, but this still remains a major pain point for me. Our team came in last overall, but when it comes to fursuit games, isn’t the real victory being a goofy animal for the audience? I sure believe so!
After returning to my room to de-suit, I had previously made plans with Jinx, Mizu, and Azrael to go out to dinner together that evening. We had to push our plan back an hour, so I had the opportunity to catch a bit of the dance competition (another main event that was moved) in person! The rest of the dance competition I watched over stream on the way to meet my pals. This year was notable to me because of the variety in performance and dance styles. Showtunes, Hip-Hop, Ballet, and a whole lot more were on display this year, and I am very happy for my all friends who participated in prelims and the finals! Y’all rock this wolf’s world! Once I met up with my pals, the three of us went to a (very small) ramen restaurant called Yume Ga Arukara. It was a rather long wait as the restaurant is essentially just a store front, but very much worth braving the cold for! The menu essentially consisted of either hot or cold Udon noodles with shrimp or beef. Personally I’m more of a Pho person, but I rather enjoyed the meal and I can see why some folks at the con raved about that place! Once I said bye to my friends for the time being and reached the hotel again, I didn’t have any particular plans for the rest of the night. I wasn’t quite ready to fullsuit, but I did decide to partial and to bring my Beyblades down to the lobby to blade with folks outside the Harbor Ballroom! I wound up getting a lot more interest than I was expecting, and spent a good portion of the evening either blading or walking and talking to friends and strangers! On the walk back from dinner earlier, Mizu suggested I try to do karaoke, as that was opening at midnight! Karaoke is something I’ve grown to love doing, once I had found songs that I could really get into and memorize the lines for, but never really have the opportunity to do at a con because the line is always MASSIVE. This time however, I was able to line up early and get ahead of the curve! When it was my turn, the song I sang was “Near Wild Heaven” by R.E.M. I think I did OK, and my pals Rags and Artimio took a nice video (both of whom also sang before me), and upon hearing it back, I feel like I should have sung the background vocals. I really put on my church singing voice, and I don’t quite know if that is good or bad. Still, I’m happy I was finally able to sing for my friends for once, and I hope I can do so in the near future! I certainly have a few more songs I’d like to sing! After watching more of my friends sing into the early morning, I returned to my room for the night and crawled under the covers for some rest, as the last day of the con would be a rather important one for me!
Sunday, the 18thThe last day of the con is often a bittersweet affair for many, but I woke up firing on all cylinders Sunday morning! Today was the day I would host my Smashbooking panel, and for the first time at ANE! My excitement levels were through the roof. Unlike the prior cons I had hosted this at, my panel would be in the afternoon rather than Sunday morning! As a result, I had the whole morning free for unplanned activities. I decided that, not knowing when I would be able to do so again for the con, I would full-suit early and get one more round of bucket brigading in! I wound up with a rather heavy bucket this time around (likely on account of the change people threw in,) and after each donation I was bowing, acting silly, or giving out headpats to those who were charitable! Though folks couldn’t see it on account of me being in suit, I was smiling the whole time! Although, perhaps through Ringgar’s grin they could tell! I spent a couple of hours in suit before turning in my bucket for the last time, then let Ringgar rest in my room while I prepared for my panel at 2 in the afternoon! The time change from being in the morning to being in the afternoon, plus the large amount of attendees at the con in general, made a huge difference in the attendance at my panel. Though folks peeled out during the presentation, we started out by filling the room, meaning about 40 people showed up! In the future, I think I’ll need to practice keeping my thoughts on track and keeping people engaged during the presentation portion, although the technical difficulties with the audio didn’t help much. Still, I think my panel was a great success, and one of the attendees was
Tofutheferce! Her and I talked about our plans for the afternoon, and I had mentioned I wanted to do the Kaiju Clash panel like I did last year. We decided there to be partners (or mortal enemies) during the Kaiju Clash! That panel was just an hour away from mine, so after my panel concluded, I ran back up to my room to don Ringgar in his entirety for one more time! I then walked over to the panel to find Tofu, and the two of us went to the staging area (which was the headless lounge next door) to plan our bout! After deciding who would be the Hero and the Villain, (Tofu very enthusiastically volunteered to be the latter,) we waited for our time to enter the stage. We were called up, and Tofu started destroying the city made of boxes and foam mats. We pushed, grappled, and threw buildings at each other in a battle of epic proportions, and while I was on my last legs, I pulled out my scarf to use as a flail and issued a challenge! With three strong strikes of my ‘flail’, I was victorious! If this all sounds incredibly silly to you, then we played our parts! After the panel, I rested in the headless lounge for a little while before walking around the lobby to say bye to the folks who were leaving that night. Closing Ceremonies were just around the corner, so I decided to stay in suit for the last hurrah! In the interim, a local pal who goes by OUTLAWMAN took some time to take photos of me around the convention! It was perfect timing, as it had begun to snow outside before closing, just like it did on Sunday last year! Soon it was time to get in line for closing. I eventually wound up entering the room about half way through the ceremonies, but it was just in time to see everyone’s favorite part: the numbers! This year, ANE had a preposterously large 7,284 attendees, over 1000 fursuiters, and raised $50k+ total, split in half for each of the charities for the year! They also presented the theme for next year’s convention via an animation made by one of the Guests of Honor, Rito Bandito, and their team at Scrungle-Co! Despite the reveal, everyone was awake and on the edge of their seats at the reveal of: Sleepytime! I couldn’t help but laugh at the idea of theming an entire con around going to bed, but after seeing all of the VR content (and the VR animatic in the lobby that weekend), I made the connection between Furality Somna and next year’s theme! In that moment, everything fell into place! Everyone shuffled out of the Harbor Ballroom as the con came to a close, and Jinx and I spent some time hanging out together before I finally took Ringgar off around 9PM that night; another marathon suiting session. After Jinx left, I went out to a Stubbys to get dinner, and while I was walking by, there was a large amount of people in the lobby watching the LA Rams and Chicago Bears play for the last divisional round. ANE has always fallen into that magical time of the NFL world where the last few games of the season are occurring and the Superbowl contestants are being determined! The game ended while I was out at Stubby’s, and even though the snow was coming down, the cheering in the joint and the bars next door could be heard for miles! The Patriots had already played earlier in the day, and the cheering there shook the Westin lobby! Once I arrived back at the hotel, it was late, but this wolf wasn’t ready for next year’s theme just yet! I wore Ringgar once more, bringing my Beyblades down to the Dead Dog Dance, where I saw a lot of my local friends out in the hallway outside! There were actually two dances going on, a giant dance circle in the hallway, and the official Dead Dog Dance event in the next room over! Feeling the vibes, my pal Laz and I took my beystadium in the center of the dance circle and played a few rounds, which caused the folks who were dancing around to collectively lose their minds! I did this with Typo at Furpoc, and after seeing the reaction there and here at ANE, I think this is something I can foresee myself doing in the future at other cons as well! Once we had had our fun, I danced around in the official Dead Dog for a brief time before heading back up to the lobby, saying goodbye to friends, and then (snow)drifting off to dreamland.
Riding off into the SunsetAt this year’s Anthro New England, several notable things stood out to me about my experience overall. The first thing is the lack of any real downtime I had throughout the entire con! I only had a few moments where I took the time to rest, and even then they were very brief. I was on the move from one thing to the next, and I wound up full-suiting as a red and blue circle wolf a LOT this weekend, with several marathon suiting sessions every single day!
I found myself staying in suit longer to try to connect from one event or meetup to another, and a lot of that had to do with me trying to plan ahead with what I wanted to do. I’m rather glad I took the time before the con to do this, as another thing that I wound up doing a large amount of this con was waiting. I’m beating a well-worn drum here, as if you’ve asked anyone who had attended the con this year, you will have likely heard about the lines for most panels, registration, and especially the dealer’s den. With 7.2k attendees, it’s no real secret that the con is outgrowing the hotel it is in. There have been rumors that the con would be moving, at least in part, to the convention center connected by skybridge next door. During closing, one of the con chairmen, Flint, alluded to such a change coming in the near future. Personally, I expect that either next year or in 2028, the convention will have a portion of the con take place in the convention center, likely registration and the dealer’s den, as those two things were the largest line-creators during the weekend. As for myself, I didn’t have a problem waiting for events and panels this weekend at all, though I was never able to make it to the Dealer’s Den for smashbooking materials. For as long as I have been going to ANE, I have always considered it to be a large con, and adjusted my expectations accordingly. Speaking of, if you were working line control this weekend, bless your heart and soul!
The last thing that I found notable about this year’s ANE is something that isn’t quite tangible, but is something that I felt the entire weekend: it’s spirit! The staff, volunteers, and attendees all love this convention, and it can be seen in the smiling faces of everyone around you. People laughing, playing in the snow, joking around as silly animal people, making new connections and renewing old ones: This is what gives life to a furry convention, and not even the mid-winter cold can chill the love and care that people bring to it. For many people, ANE is like a second home, and I can say for certain that I felt welcomed there. I’m looking forward to my next trip to ANE, and I hope that this year, I was able to share that love and life with everyone at the con as well.
I’d like to offer my largest YEE-HAW to the con staff and volunteers who helped make this con a hoot and holler! Thank you to all of the attendees at my panel, and to everyone I met, chatted with, acted silly for, and connected with this weekend, you have this cowboy wolf’s heartfelt gratitude!You can find this wolf next back in Portland as he returns to Furcationland in April! Hope to see you there!