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Con review for cons OTHER than AC - post 'em if you got 'em
14 years ago
AnthroCon. Yeah, yeah, we know it, we love it, we wanna marry it and hunch-fuck it in every orifice it's got till they're all leaking our bodily fluids and it's marked as our permanent sex toy. We get it, already.
(Man, aren't you folks glad I can't draw? 'Cause that would be one disgusting-assed visual image.)
HOWEVER - here's the thing: not all of us live in the continental U.S. And for those of us that do, we can't all necessarily pony up the dough for a flight or drive out to Philly, not to mention the funds to get a hotel room. Don't get me wrong, I'd LOVE to go someday, and I fully intend to - I hear that Kage and crew do a bang-up job. But there are several other, smaller, cheaper cons, both furry-oriented and non-furry oriented, that could use my cash - and some of them, believe it or not, don't mind having some furries around. And these are conventions we want to support, because if we ever want the mainstream to ditch the stereotype that we're all a bunch of undesirable freaks, we need to PROVE to them that we're not a bunch of undesirable freaks - by showing up, playing nice, and having a great time.
So, here's what I'd like you to do, if you feel so inclined: add a reply to this post stating what one of your favorite local conventions is, and why. It doesn't have to be a furry con, but if it is, that's awesome, too. Focus on some of the smaller cons if you can, because they often can't afford to advertise on the web. And if you've had some negative experiences at some non-furry cons, let's hear about those, too. No sense in giving the haters our funds.
My review is for CONVergence, a general sci-fi fantasy con that takes place in Minneapolis every Fourth of July weekend (which means...yes, it collides with AC). A local friend of mine introduced me to the con two years ago, and every summer, I have an absolute blast there. Some highlights:
--Sixteen rooms on the ground floor reserved every year for themed after-hours parties, many of them with free food and booze. (Granted, you'll want to make sure you don't have an alcoholic with you, like I did last year - but still, some of those drinks can get pretty creative).
--A full con suite featuring free rice, soup, PB&J sandwiches, fruit, candy, and chips.
--Guests of honor from various industries, from sci-fi and fantasy authors, to webcomic artists, to comic book writers and artists.
--An anime' film room that shows anime' all weekend long, along with a sampling of weird but fun asian snack foods.
--Cinema Rex, an in-house movie theater with couches in it instead of the usual individual seats (man, are they comfortable). Sci-fi and fantasy movies all weekend long, along with free candies, cookies, and popcorn. (You cannot go wrong with a cinema whose mascot and namesake is a T-Rex.)
--Ridiculous amounts of panel-style programming with both the guests of honor, local fandom and industry experts, and volunteer panelists. The amount of content is crazy-ridiculous, in a good way. These folks know their shit.
--A dealer room, masquerade/costume contest, art show (some furry content, and a lot more affordable than a commission from one of those twelve or so talented but way overexposed furry artists we all know), and a create-space for kids who are into arts and crafts where they can play between panels (because - you know, not everyone in the furry fandom is a gay man, and some of us actually have kids that we'd like to bring to the convention with us).
Furry content: admittedly, not a lot. The SofaWolf folks had a table in the dealer room with a great selection of comics, books, and art compilations, but I'm sure they'd welcome a few more furry fans to check out their stuff. I didn't see anyone in fursuits, but I saw quite a few folks wearing tails (although they might just as easily have been anime' characters). Bottom line, no one batted an eyelash. The MN Furs had some flyers out on tables, and I didn't hear anything negative mentioned about the furry fandom all weekend long.
I could go into a lot more detail, but their website covers it all way better than I could. 5,980 people can't be wrong. Plus, I really like how this con seems to encourage representation for other conventions and local fandom interest groups. If there's any drama, it's behind the scenes and not visible or audible to the members, and that's a very, very good thing.
(Man, aren't you folks glad I can't draw? 'Cause that would be one disgusting-assed visual image.)
HOWEVER - here's the thing: not all of us live in the continental U.S. And for those of us that do, we can't all necessarily pony up the dough for a flight or drive out to Philly, not to mention the funds to get a hotel room. Don't get me wrong, I'd LOVE to go someday, and I fully intend to - I hear that Kage and crew do a bang-up job. But there are several other, smaller, cheaper cons, both furry-oriented and non-furry oriented, that could use my cash - and some of them, believe it or not, don't mind having some furries around. And these are conventions we want to support, because if we ever want the mainstream to ditch the stereotype that we're all a bunch of undesirable freaks, we need to PROVE to them that we're not a bunch of undesirable freaks - by showing up, playing nice, and having a great time.
So, here's what I'd like you to do, if you feel so inclined: add a reply to this post stating what one of your favorite local conventions is, and why. It doesn't have to be a furry con, but if it is, that's awesome, too. Focus on some of the smaller cons if you can, because they often can't afford to advertise on the web. And if you've had some negative experiences at some non-furry cons, let's hear about those, too. No sense in giving the haters our funds.
My review is for CONVergence, a general sci-fi fantasy con that takes place in Minneapolis every Fourth of July weekend (which means...yes, it collides with AC). A local friend of mine introduced me to the con two years ago, and every summer, I have an absolute blast there. Some highlights:
--Sixteen rooms on the ground floor reserved every year for themed after-hours parties, many of them with free food and booze. (Granted, you'll want to make sure you don't have an alcoholic with you, like I did last year - but still, some of those drinks can get pretty creative).
--A full con suite featuring free rice, soup, PB&J sandwiches, fruit, candy, and chips.
--Guests of honor from various industries, from sci-fi and fantasy authors, to webcomic artists, to comic book writers and artists.
--An anime' film room that shows anime' all weekend long, along with a sampling of weird but fun asian snack foods.
--Cinema Rex, an in-house movie theater with couches in it instead of the usual individual seats (man, are they comfortable). Sci-fi and fantasy movies all weekend long, along with free candies, cookies, and popcorn. (You cannot go wrong with a cinema whose mascot and namesake is a T-Rex.)
--Ridiculous amounts of panel-style programming with both the guests of honor, local fandom and industry experts, and volunteer panelists. The amount of content is crazy-ridiculous, in a good way. These folks know their shit.
--A dealer room, masquerade/costume contest, art show (some furry content, and a lot more affordable than a commission from one of those twelve or so talented but way overexposed furry artists we all know), and a create-space for kids who are into arts and crafts where they can play between panels (because - you know, not everyone in the furry fandom is a gay man, and some of us actually have kids that we'd like to bring to the convention with us).
Furry content: admittedly, not a lot. The SofaWolf folks had a table in the dealer room with a great selection of comics, books, and art compilations, but I'm sure they'd welcome a few more furry fans to check out their stuff. I didn't see anyone in fursuits, but I saw quite a few folks wearing tails (although they might just as easily have been anime' characters). Bottom line, no one batted an eyelash. The MN Furs had some flyers out on tables, and I didn't hear anything negative mentioned about the furry fandom all weekend long.
I could go into a lot more detail, but their website covers it all way better than I could. 5,980 people can't be wrong. Plus, I really like how this con seems to encourage representation for other conventions and local fandom interest groups. If there's any drama, it's behind the scenes and not visible or audible to the members, and that's a very, very good thing.
Prancing Skiltare is a nother semi local furcon that some of the locals drive up to.
those are the only two I know of that are somewhat local to me and have that all important cost of free.
Happy 4th!
Over here in Puerto Rico, there are two cons. One is the Puerto Rico Comic Con, the bigger one of the two. It was done very recently and I sadly found myself unable to go due to monetaryy reasons. Huge bummer due to the variety I heard of, and the guest stars. There was Margot Kidder (Lois Lane from the Superman flicks), Johnny Yong Bosch (Power Rangers and a buttload of anime voices), and Doug Jones (the fish guy from the Hellboy movies and a lot of other roles). I hope I can go in the future.
The other con we have is Kaisen Con, an anime con. It's not huge, but it does get pretty crowded. Not that much variety in the stands, just the usual anime merchandise, Asian snacks, toys (I was blwon away at the old toys like M.A.S.K), and of course, artists. There's also a section with televisions and video games for people to play, all fighting games, the main focus being the Smash Bros games. I believe it's done two or three times a year. I went twice. Last year's summer, I believe, I went with my best friend to check it out. We didn't buy anything, but we had fun checking the stalls, talking to people, enjoying the cosplays. There were some furries, of course, with stuff in their table about what is a furry and stuff like that. Sadly, I didn't get the chance to see their fursits, they only started wearing them after me and my friend had left. Their stuff could've been more informative, but for a bunch of fans whom I think none are over 21, it was pretty good. Also got to meet Ivybeth, in her own table doing commissions on the spot, and she's always an absolute delight, was fun talking to her.
The second time I went, it was last December. The location had changed to a smaller building, so it was more crowded and hot and difficult to move around. I went alone and with no money, just enough for the entrance, not enough for even lunch, let alone getting to buy anything. Plus no cosplay for me, no money for that either, and my being unable to see without my glasses eliminates a lot of cosplay possibilities. I knew Ivybeth was not there due to a trip she had to take, but one of the other local furries invited me, said he wanted to meet me and even made me a Con Badge and everything. I told him I'd be unable to go on Saturday, but definitely would be there on Sunday. I went solely because I wanted to get to know other furries around the island better, spend time with them, just goof around and have fun.
So I arrived at the con. It was indeed way too crowded and hot, and I had been there for all of five minutes when some fat ugly bitch cosplayer was snapped at me and insulted for accidentaly bumping against her. I fought the urge to snap back and just ignored her and kept moving. So yeah, too crowded, bitchy people, couldn't buy anything, too hot. I decided to just sit on a corner, since it seemed the furry folks had not arrived yet. So I waited... and waited... and waited. After about six or so hours of waiting, I just sat and watched the cosplay festival (some horrible ones and then some great ones), had a few pictures taken, and left, because the furries never got there. Later on when I mesage the guy who invited me, he told me that the furries had only planned to go Saturday. I said I had told him clearly I would be going on Sunday, so why did he not warn me that they wouldn't be there? Told me he completely forgot, and apologized profusely. By that point, I did not care about his apology, I admit. I ended up wasting my time and my money (and wasting money is a big berserk button of mine), I had a thoroughly horrible experience and it soured me from going to that con again. Already I didn't attend it when it took place again not long ago. Only way I'll ever go again is if I have the money to buy stuff, or if I somehow manage t get myself a cosplay.
Whew, that was a lot of typing there! I'll leave it at that, then. XD