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2010 FurFright Con Report...Finally!!
15 years ago
General
Ok guys, I've got so much to share I'll do my best to sort it out in some sort of structure, keeping rambling to a minimum as much as possible.
First I want to thank the all the directors, staff and volunteers who worked to make FurFright an exceptional con. You all have so much passion for making sure just the right details are met and that everyone has a great time. If I can get the vacation approved for next year you can bet I'll be returning!
This was not only my first trip out of state for a con, this was also my first fur con outside of Further Confusion. This was also the first con I wandered about in fursuit. I can't even begin to describe how much fun that was! More about this further down.
I was going to write out a day-by-day report and I started to do so, but it really started to look tedious to me after awhile so I know y'all would find it so as well. Instead I'll just touch on some highlights of the con for me.
The Events
I hit up Opening Ceremonies and videotaped it to boot. Very nice way to start the con. I SO wanted to conga out with the rest of the crowd, but I was taking video right in the middle of the pathway out so I had to flee just to prevent being trampled by fur and footpads. I also attended 3 (2 and a half?) panels: Silvermane's Werewolfs of the Modern Age, Skippyfox's Saturday Morning Cartoons and Shy Matsi's So This is Your First Furcon (think that was the title.) immediately following. All were top notch. Special bonus goes to the Saturday Morning cartoons which started off slow at 6 am but picked up heavy steam in the final hour with almost the entire room being filled. Such a brilliant idea since these toons were responsible for so many furry "births" in this fandom.
I also stopped in briefly at "Jaws" and "Rocky Horror" shown by the pool. Another brilliant idea since water plays pivitol roles in both films. :D Caught part of the band "By Blood Alone", although I was a bit late since I was having dinner with some friends.
I felt a bit awkward and out of place at the Sponsor/Dealer social on Friday, but Silvermane helped with that a bit by roosting at my table. I also did my best to chat it up with a few folks I had never met before (i.e. most of the room!). Friday Furocalypse was a ton of fun! Really kicking myself for not joining in on that one! Maybe next year.
Saturday was so busy I skipped the poker tourney. It was just more important to me to be around friends and have fun than try in vain to become the "Furry Poker Champeen".
Hit up the Masquerade Saturday -- some very good acts I must say! Sat through Closing Ceremonies in suit (and was very comfortable doing so...thank you Soki!). Possibly the highlight of the con for me was watching Belic cannonball his way into the hotel pool, followed by others after the con broke the $10,000 level in donations. Very fun way to close it out!
Fursuiting
Not quite knowing what to expect, I started the suiting off slow on Friday -- staying in suit only for a few hours with a significant break in the headless lounge. My suit seemed to be pretty well received overall so that was pretty cool. I was really surprised how cool the bodysuit kept me. Really the only heat generator was the head, but even that didn't develop into much of a problem. Managed to get in and out mostly on my own -- only seeking assistance from my roomie and one other once when I was in a hurry to get going. By Sunday I was suiting almost the entire day.
Guys, I can't even begin to tell you how fantastic it felt to do this! I reached energy levels I haven't known in years! In addition to jogging part of the parade route, I found I had enough spare energy to hit the dance floor (raving old bear -- ya had to be there!) and wander around quite a bit throughout the hotel complex. I don't even do half this shit on my own and out of suit! Must be why these cons hold a real special place in my heart.
One casualty to the suit though. Two of the claws on my left footpaw popped off. I recovered one (the problem one I had tried to fix earlier), but the other is lost somewhere in the hotel. When I have some time I might try to play around with some sculpy clay and make a new set. Since art isn't my biggest forte I'll have to do this when I have significant time to trial and error it.
Preparation
There is such a thing as being too over-prepared -- or at least having a set schedule and laundry list of things needed. I packed so much stuff for this I almost needed to take a pack mule on the flight with me. The two pieces of carry-on luggage I had were heavier than both my garment bag and my fursuit tote! It was funny watching the rental car shuttle driver avoid picking up the tote and instead going for the much heavier garment bag. When I'd pick up the tote one handed he just shook his head!
Next con I travel by air to I'll be leaving the laptop at home. I brought it along foolishly thinking I'd use it to video edit in my downtime. Well, that sort of requires a significant amount of downtime to begin with and that just didn't happen. I only used it on the flight back so I could monitor the final game of the World Series. From here on out it only comes with me to FC and Califur.
I also discovered it's way to easy to ignore the 6-2-1 rule at these cons. My numbers were more like 4 - 1.5 - 3. There's just so many people to see and so much going on around you that it's hard to hit those golden numbers. Still kept the energy level up though and with the extra showers I don't think I contributed to the BO element. :D
The Hotel
It seemed bigger on the inside than on the outside! Gallifreyian technology perhaps? Crowne Plaza was very accommodating and also had a decent layout. Free parking was very cool. One of the first things I tried to do was make nice with the bartender, which I think worked well for me the rest of the weekend! :D Lots of socializing space. The ballrooms and meeting spaces seemed to be sizable as well.
As far as food at the hotel, sort of a mixed report. I hit up the burger buffet on I believe Saturday and the food was undercooked. In fairness though they did custom fix a few patties for my group. I just opted for the salad bar and one burger. I also went down to the restaurant another day for breakfast and had to wait quite a while for an omelet that was not exceptional. With these mid-size hotel chains, a lot of that has to be expected. They typically work with a bare minimum amount of staff so they frequently get overwhelmed. This wasn't enough of a problem to prevent me from coming back.
Partying(?)
This may have been the most sober con I've ever been to. Not necessarily a bad thing mind you! That just means too much was happening really for me to go off and get loaded. Now I still got my drink on! I primarily did this at the bar though while monitoring the World Series.
As they frequently are, the bar was a good meeting point for lots of folks. Bought Skippy and Silvermane drinks, so now they're both stressing about future drink repayments (Heh heh!). Also bought a drink for the dude who checked me in at registration (Sorry, but I can't remember your name -- a little help here Belic or Sil?), although he ended up slipping the money back to me later (Damn you!).
I had beer up in my room and I had some assistance with ingesting it, but I still ended up with 5 leftovers which I willed to Skippy on my way out Monday.
Other than that, it was pretty much caffeine and much water throughout the weekend. I really think I did a great job in listening to my body and giving it exactly what it needed at any given point in time. Probably why I had so much energy while in suit.
The People/Critters/Other Lifeforms
Wow! Where do I start? More importantly, how can I list everyone? Guess I'll just have to give it my best and hope I don't end up slighting someone. If I do I'm very sorry.
Furio -- We finally met at last! I was very happy to spend time with you and I'm very glad we bumped into each other again on Sunday. You're a pretty awesome person and I really hope our paths cross again. :)
Grizz -- I'm so happy you made it out, even though you were at about half-power. It was great tagging along with you for awhile. I sympathize with a lot of the challenges you've gone through and the focus and dedication you show in handling them. It gives me the inspiration to give it my all in dealing with my own family and non-furry life. You still have to remember to take the time for yourself occasionally. It was easy from your interactions with other con attendees you are very well liked and respected. Hopefully we'll meet again at Furfright or AC.
Avon -- Sorry we didn't meet at a more glamorous place than the bathroom entrance! It was great hanging out with you and having breakfast though. It's so cool that you're going to FC! Look forward to hanging out with you more there and showing a bit of my hometown to you!
Pakesh (the polar bear security guy from Toronto) -- I CAN'T FIND YOU! I think you have an FA, but it doesn't appear to be active. Anyone got any contact info on this guy? Very, very cool dude!
Belic -- Well you managed to survive another year intact. Congratulations! Thank you so much for everything. You've now got me hooked on this so you'd better believe I'll make a return visit! Also awesome of you and Silvermane to get together for the impromptu photo session!
Silvermane -- See much of the above. Thanks for keeping me company at the Dealer/Sponsor social. You can believe the 3-way drink war will continue -- probably for generations to come! :D
Skippy -- Always awesome to see you! Glad you managed to get out and about with Vin towards the end of the con. You've really improved and developed his character well since I first met you. Even the squeaking didn't bother me -- much! ;)
Wag -- Awesome seeing you again first thing at check in! You absolutely killed at the Masquerade! Look forward to seeing you again at some event somewhere next year. :)
Nemmy -- Cool roomate extraordinaire! Sorry for ribbing you about the Death Heater 2000 in our room. Gotta keep the dragons warm I suppose! We have to improve your beer consumption totals next time though! ;) See you in January I hope. Remember, I've got a Sharks ticket with your name on it!
To everyone else I ran across on the FurFright staff: Thank you so much!! I look forward to seeing you next year.
I'll be sorting through what I have for photos later today and I'll put the link up in the furfright community. Video hopefully will follow tomorrow.
Till 2011!
First I want to thank the all the directors, staff and volunteers who worked to make FurFright an exceptional con. You all have so much passion for making sure just the right details are met and that everyone has a great time. If I can get the vacation approved for next year you can bet I'll be returning!
This was not only my first trip out of state for a con, this was also my first fur con outside of Further Confusion. This was also the first con I wandered about in fursuit. I can't even begin to describe how much fun that was! More about this further down.
I was going to write out a day-by-day report and I started to do so, but it really started to look tedious to me after awhile so I know y'all would find it so as well. Instead I'll just touch on some highlights of the con for me.
The Events
I hit up Opening Ceremonies and videotaped it to boot. Very nice way to start the con. I SO wanted to conga out with the rest of the crowd, but I was taking video right in the middle of the pathway out so I had to flee just to prevent being trampled by fur and footpads. I also attended 3 (2 and a half?) panels: Silvermane's Werewolfs of the Modern Age, Skippyfox's Saturday Morning Cartoons and Shy Matsi's So This is Your First Furcon (think that was the title.) immediately following. All were top notch. Special bonus goes to the Saturday Morning cartoons which started off slow at 6 am but picked up heavy steam in the final hour with almost the entire room being filled. Such a brilliant idea since these toons were responsible for so many furry "births" in this fandom.
I also stopped in briefly at "Jaws" and "Rocky Horror" shown by the pool. Another brilliant idea since water plays pivitol roles in both films. :D Caught part of the band "By Blood Alone", although I was a bit late since I was having dinner with some friends.
I felt a bit awkward and out of place at the Sponsor/Dealer social on Friday, but Silvermane helped with that a bit by roosting at my table. I also did my best to chat it up with a few folks I had never met before (i.e. most of the room!). Friday Furocalypse was a ton of fun! Really kicking myself for not joining in on that one! Maybe next year.
Saturday was so busy I skipped the poker tourney. It was just more important to me to be around friends and have fun than try in vain to become the "Furry Poker Champeen".
Hit up the Masquerade Saturday -- some very good acts I must say! Sat through Closing Ceremonies in suit (and was very comfortable doing so...thank you Soki!). Possibly the highlight of the con for me was watching Belic cannonball his way into the hotel pool, followed by others after the con broke the $10,000 level in donations. Very fun way to close it out!
Fursuiting
Not quite knowing what to expect, I started the suiting off slow on Friday -- staying in suit only for a few hours with a significant break in the headless lounge. My suit seemed to be pretty well received overall so that was pretty cool. I was really surprised how cool the bodysuit kept me. Really the only heat generator was the head, but even that didn't develop into much of a problem. Managed to get in and out mostly on my own -- only seeking assistance from my roomie and one other once when I was in a hurry to get going. By Sunday I was suiting almost the entire day.
Guys, I can't even begin to tell you how fantastic it felt to do this! I reached energy levels I haven't known in years! In addition to jogging part of the parade route, I found I had enough spare energy to hit the dance floor (raving old bear -- ya had to be there!) and wander around quite a bit throughout the hotel complex. I don't even do half this shit on my own and out of suit! Must be why these cons hold a real special place in my heart.
One casualty to the suit though. Two of the claws on my left footpaw popped off. I recovered one (the problem one I had tried to fix earlier), but the other is lost somewhere in the hotel. When I have some time I might try to play around with some sculpy clay and make a new set. Since art isn't my biggest forte I'll have to do this when I have significant time to trial and error it.
Preparation
There is such a thing as being too over-prepared -- or at least having a set schedule and laundry list of things needed. I packed so much stuff for this I almost needed to take a pack mule on the flight with me. The two pieces of carry-on luggage I had were heavier than both my garment bag and my fursuit tote! It was funny watching the rental car shuttle driver avoid picking up the tote and instead going for the much heavier garment bag. When I'd pick up the tote one handed he just shook his head!
Next con I travel by air to I'll be leaving the laptop at home. I brought it along foolishly thinking I'd use it to video edit in my downtime. Well, that sort of requires a significant amount of downtime to begin with and that just didn't happen. I only used it on the flight back so I could monitor the final game of the World Series. From here on out it only comes with me to FC and Califur.
I also discovered it's way to easy to ignore the 6-2-1 rule at these cons. My numbers were more like 4 - 1.5 - 3. There's just so many people to see and so much going on around you that it's hard to hit those golden numbers. Still kept the energy level up though and with the extra showers I don't think I contributed to the BO element. :D
The Hotel
It seemed bigger on the inside than on the outside! Gallifreyian technology perhaps? Crowne Plaza was very accommodating and also had a decent layout. Free parking was very cool. One of the first things I tried to do was make nice with the bartender, which I think worked well for me the rest of the weekend! :D Lots of socializing space. The ballrooms and meeting spaces seemed to be sizable as well.
As far as food at the hotel, sort of a mixed report. I hit up the burger buffet on I believe Saturday and the food was undercooked. In fairness though they did custom fix a few patties for my group. I just opted for the salad bar and one burger. I also went down to the restaurant another day for breakfast and had to wait quite a while for an omelet that was not exceptional. With these mid-size hotel chains, a lot of that has to be expected. They typically work with a bare minimum amount of staff so they frequently get overwhelmed. This wasn't enough of a problem to prevent me from coming back.
Partying(?)
This may have been the most sober con I've ever been to. Not necessarily a bad thing mind you! That just means too much was happening really for me to go off and get loaded. Now I still got my drink on! I primarily did this at the bar though while monitoring the World Series.
As they frequently are, the bar was a good meeting point for lots of folks. Bought Skippy and Silvermane drinks, so now they're both stressing about future drink repayments (Heh heh!). Also bought a drink for the dude who checked me in at registration (Sorry, but I can't remember your name -- a little help here Belic or Sil?), although he ended up slipping the money back to me later (Damn you!).
I had beer up in my room and I had some assistance with ingesting it, but I still ended up with 5 leftovers which I willed to Skippy on my way out Monday.
Other than that, it was pretty much caffeine and much water throughout the weekend. I really think I did a great job in listening to my body and giving it exactly what it needed at any given point in time. Probably why I had so much energy while in suit.
The People/Critters/Other Lifeforms
Wow! Where do I start? More importantly, how can I list everyone? Guess I'll just have to give it my best and hope I don't end up slighting someone. If I do I'm very sorry.
Furio -- We finally met at last! I was very happy to spend time with you and I'm very glad we bumped into each other again on Sunday. You're a pretty awesome person and I really hope our paths cross again. :)
Grizz -- I'm so happy you made it out, even though you were at about half-power. It was great tagging along with you for awhile. I sympathize with a lot of the challenges you've gone through and the focus and dedication you show in handling them. It gives me the inspiration to give it my all in dealing with my own family and non-furry life. You still have to remember to take the time for yourself occasionally. It was easy from your interactions with other con attendees you are very well liked and respected. Hopefully we'll meet again at Furfright or AC.
Avon -- Sorry we didn't meet at a more glamorous place than the bathroom entrance! It was great hanging out with you and having breakfast though. It's so cool that you're going to FC! Look forward to hanging out with you more there and showing a bit of my hometown to you!
Pakesh (the polar bear security guy from Toronto) -- I CAN'T FIND YOU! I think you have an FA, but it doesn't appear to be active. Anyone got any contact info on this guy? Very, very cool dude!
Belic -- Well you managed to survive another year intact. Congratulations! Thank you so much for everything. You've now got me hooked on this so you'd better believe I'll make a return visit! Also awesome of you and Silvermane to get together for the impromptu photo session!
Silvermane -- See much of the above. Thanks for keeping me company at the Dealer/Sponsor social. You can believe the 3-way drink war will continue -- probably for generations to come! :D
Skippy -- Always awesome to see you! Glad you managed to get out and about with Vin towards the end of the con. You've really improved and developed his character well since I first met you. Even the squeaking didn't bother me -- much! ;)
Wag -- Awesome seeing you again first thing at check in! You absolutely killed at the Masquerade! Look forward to seeing you again at some event somewhere next year. :)
Nemmy -- Cool roomate extraordinaire! Sorry for ribbing you about the Death Heater 2000 in our room. Gotta keep the dragons warm I suppose! We have to improve your beer consumption totals next time though! ;) See you in January I hope. Remember, I've got a Sharks ticket with your name on it!
To everyone else I ran across on the FurFright staff: Thank you so much!! I look forward to seeing you next year.
I'll be sorting through what I have for photos later today and I'll put the link up in the furfright community. Video hopefully will follow tomorrow.
Till 2011!
Yer cub,
Bear
Love ya, pal. *bearhugs* If there's anything we can do to make the con better for you, let us know.