For the first time this year, Motor City Furry Con took place in the Motor City instead of just one of its suburbs, staking claim to the Marriott in the Renaissance Center downtown. I was really excited when the venue was announced; not only would it be a big upgrade over the undersized suburban hotel in Ypsilanti, it would also be a place the con could stay and grow for years to come, in one of Detroit’s most iconic buildings.

I had not been inside the RenCen since 2006; while I’d never stayed there, it had drawn me in for its fascinating architecture, city-within-a-city floorplan, and its famed automotive tenant, General Motors. Unfortunately, the last 20 years have not been kind to the complex. GM moved out late last year, taking essentially every office tenant with them. With no employees to sustain the retail and dining spaces on the lower atrium levels, those too closed and moved out—leaving the RenCen almost completely abandoned outside of the hotel. Security still patrolled the space (and there were a lot of them) but entire levels of the atrium were closed off and very obviously vacant. Even 2,525 furries couldn’t generate enough energy to shake the feeling that the con was being held inside a dead mall. While the hotel restaurant was quite good and a pop-up stand offered passable grab-and-go meals, neither made up for the loss of the food court, and most food options still required either Doordash or a time-consuming trek into the city. Sunshine through the skylights over the atrium also caused the con space to heat up significantly during the day; while it wasn't enough to prevent fursuiting, it definitely made doing so a warmer affair than you might expect in mid-February.

Still, I found the con space to be more than adequate for MCFC’s purposes. The circular levels made it easy to get turned around but resulted in a compact space that was fairly simple to navigate once you got used to it. Though there wasn’t a great central gathering area, there were several places where people could rest, relax, and socialize, which just so happens to be one of my favorite things to do at a furcon. The sponsors lounge was much better laid out than in the previous venue, and I drank more Faygo and ate more cookies than was probably advisable for any fox. The Dealers Den was too small in terms of population, and the Artists Alley was too small in terms of square footage; the former had decent variety but not enough vendors, and the latter felt cramped even when nearly empty. The panels were generally underwhelming (and started way too early in the morning), but the DJs were strong, and they kept the dance hopping late into the night. Though furries only filled a fraction of the hotel's 1200+ rooms, much of the rest of the rooms were occupied by a group of volleyball players participating in a tournament at nearby Cobo Hall. The kids seemed to have a great time interacting with suiters and taking photos; their parents were much more split on their opinions of us, but there were ultimately no major incidents that I'm aware of.

But it was furries that really took my MCFC from good to great. My roommates  aetherwuff and Ecto Goat were both great to share space with. I got to meet new folks like  synthfox87,  Tontig_Fox, and Lazer. And I got to see many old friends, including  GoniFox,  tofte, Maes,  SamsonTheFoxCat, Avichi, and far more others than I could ever hope to name in a journal of reasonable length. After a tough past couple of months and an absolutely brutal week leading up to the con, they all really helped me feel better about both myself and life in general, and for that I cannot thank them enough.

Despite the shortcomings of the space outside of the con's control, this MCFC ranks among the better convention experiences I've had. I will definitely be keeping my eyes peeled for next year's edition, which will hopefully be able to return to downtown Detroit once again. In the meantime, I'm looking forward to warmer weather, outdoor meets locally, and eventually AnthrOhio in May!