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CF 2014 Report!
11 years ago
One of my favorite Califurs in a while! Hung out with my crew mostly, but got to hang with some people I don't get to see often, so that was awesome!
I was there friday evening, and saturday afternoon through sunday afternoon.
==Friday==
Registration - No problems here, I was pre'regged and it went smoothly. I liked the number of available kiosks, although I kind of wondered what happened to the stack of abandoned AUP's left by the printer. Seemed kinda odd. I knew exactly what I needed to do, but that's just because I've reg'd so many times. I'm not sure that if this was my first con I would have known to go to the kiosks before the reg desk. I also liked that con books were available if we wanted them, I found it very useful! I am glad I brought a lanyard though.
Pet Auction - I usually don't go to the pet auction, but I did this time. It wasn't quite as awkward as I remember and it seemed like they made a lot more money for charity than in previous years. All in all I was entertained for most of it.
Dealer's Den - OMG I love the new lay out! I could actually walk to from one booth to another without wading through a sea of furries. And it was air conditioned and nice and cool! zero complaints here, well done Califur!
Headless Lounge - I didn't suit much this con, and thus I didn't spend much time here, but at a glance it looked good.
Floe Hotel bar - $13 martini. yikes.
Friday Night Dance - I was there from about 9:30 - 11:00, and the DJ'ing was very good (Sorry don't know who it was)
BDSM101 Panel - I'm making a note here - Huge Success. Great turnout with people from very new whom I think learned new stuff and experienced furs to offered good advice to the panel. Big high five for
oggywolf 
Rajni 
Tiomara and 
vidwulf for hosting a fantastic panel.
==Saturday==
I'm sad I missed Furry Gladiators yet again, it seems like an awesome event that I am still curious about and may want to participate in in the future.
Electronic Gaming - Great job to
Essexninetails and his lovely crew! I was blown away by the number of games they had available and it seemed like people were always in there. It also seemed like the ticket redemption counter had cooler stuff! I wish there was more advertisement for the Treasure Hunt / Pappfurazzi game. I think I want to help design a treasure hunt next year.
Drinking - I did a lot of it!
Cabaret - see detailed report below
Saturday dance - 1st DJ was awesome, 2nd one dropped the beat too much and I just.... couldn't dance to it any more.
Got to bartend shirtless in my room for lots of friends and that was so awesome, until the hotel shut us down at 3am (Probably a good thing). Oops, sorry neighbors!
==Sunday==
Hung out mostly. Good times. Which Wich (walking distance from the con) is amazing.
Scientists & Engineers furmeet - I should have known beforehand that you take a group that is stereotypically socially awkward, make them furries, and then stick them in a room together was going to be ENORMOUSLY AWKWARD. Was there anyone even leading the panel or was it just a bunch of nerds who show up in a room? I was hoping for some presentation, or discussion of current issues... or something. Thank god for the guy with the animation fursuit who offered to share his incredible creation with the attendees and got to pass it around. That was a treat, but I booked it out of that room so fast after that topic.
Fursuit Dance Competition - Even as a judge i was nervous! Firstly, I was honored to be a judge but I'm still not sure I am qualified. Heh. Demonstrating a bit in front of the group was terrifying b/c I had no idea what to really do. I also felt weird for being the only judge not in suit, but mine was already packed up and I wanted to be able to clearly see the performers with out visual interference as I tend to be a meticulous and technical judge. SO MANY AMAZING DANCERS! SO MANY ATTENDEES! Judging was really difficult, they were all incredibly talented performers and every single one has my respect. This first time event was a huge success and I think deserves a bigger spotlight next year. (Also, maybe a smaller dance floor, I know they are expensive but you had at least a yard or two on each side taken up by people watching, so that might be an opportunity to cut some of the cost to put on the event.\
==Cabaret==
Overall, a great show, I think Rajni Tiomara and Raven were great hosts, and special thanks to Spots for stage managing, and to Panpan, Frosty, and the other techies and Growlie for all the theatrical and back stage support that makes the show happen.
+1 for starting on time
+1 for ending on time
+2 for awesome pre-show banter that made the seating period not boring. Needs a beachball.
-1 for technical difficulties, but I understand that those are unavoidable. I just would have hoped such things would have been ironed out in the dress rehearsal. I thought the performers and the MC's did an awesome job dealing with it, I know how hard it is to pull off a show when something unexpected like that happens.
+2 for keeping the momentum of the show going* (see below) with shorter MC segments between acts. It seemed their system of timing backstage - tech - and the MC's worked out very well.
+1 for pizza ready for the crew right away and not 1.5 hours after the end of the show.
-2 for ...varying quality of the acts. Disclaimer - this is the part of the con of which i am MOST critical, because it is closest to my heart, so sorry if it is harsh at points. I intend for this to be constructive feedback, not just whining. It pains me to say this, but some of the acts were.... underwhelming. I have to say, the lip syncing with Raj and Mara's the very first act was a bit low on the energy levels. lipsyncing needs to be very high energy to make up for the lack of presence lost by not singing. It would have been fine except the very next act was the older lady singing a song that was... irrelevant, slow, boring, and all around uninteresting. At this point i was really starting to worry about the remainder of the show. Third act - the furry director skit. Disjointed, poorly written script and humor that really made little sense. I was really starting to brace for a painful show.
I stopped remembering the order of the acts at this point, but here it goes:
The new girl singing - not bad, I felt like it was her first time performing. She was cute, but too timid to wow the crowd. I'd welcome her back and hopefully her experience this year steeled her nerves
Raj's act - love it!
Mara's act - also loved it! Both had excellent choreography! I'm trying not to be biased here, but I know I am somewhat in this case ;)
Other girl in lingerie dancing - not a bad performance at all, but kind of boring because there was not enough variation in her choreography (im not sure it was choreographed before hand)
Lutris - Love the look and the voice, always nice to have beefcake on stage! The song was cute, but a little repetitive. all in all a good fun performance.
Essex - Like a Virgin - I was a little worried that the whole thing was gonna be in falsetto (which was a nice falsetto, but still falsetto). When he busted out his more natural register though, fuck man, stole the show! Chocolate Salty Balls - Awesome performance all around, zero complaints. Dudes got pipes!
Sorry to anyone that I missed, those are the ones I recall off the top of my head.
I almost want to suggest that performers send in a short WIP video or script of their performance a bit before the con for screening. Also, I think we might need a director or something to offer performers critique or suggestions on their acts, but I'm not sure furs would want to listen. Just random thoughts.
Overall a big improvement and I think it's improving, but it's still not amazeballs to be the key selling point for Califur.
I was there friday evening, and saturday afternoon through sunday afternoon.
==Friday==
Registration - No problems here, I was pre'regged and it went smoothly. I liked the number of available kiosks, although I kind of wondered what happened to the stack of abandoned AUP's left by the printer. Seemed kinda odd. I knew exactly what I needed to do, but that's just because I've reg'd so many times. I'm not sure that if this was my first con I would have known to go to the kiosks before the reg desk. I also liked that con books were available if we wanted them, I found it very useful! I am glad I brought a lanyard though.
Pet Auction - I usually don't go to the pet auction, but I did this time. It wasn't quite as awkward as I remember and it seemed like they made a lot more money for charity than in previous years. All in all I was entertained for most of it.
Dealer's Den - OMG I love the new lay out! I could actually walk to from one booth to another without wading through a sea of furries. And it was air conditioned and nice and cool! zero complaints here, well done Califur!
Headless Lounge - I didn't suit much this con, and thus I didn't spend much time here, but at a glance it looked good.
Floe Hotel bar - $13 martini. yikes.
Friday Night Dance - I was there from about 9:30 - 11:00, and the DJ'ing was very good (Sorry don't know who it was)
BDSM101 Panel - I'm making a note here - Huge Success. Great turnout with people from very new whom I think learned new stuff and experienced furs to offered good advice to the panel. Big high five for
oggywolf 
Rajni 
Tiomara and 
vidwulf for hosting a fantastic panel.==Saturday==
I'm sad I missed Furry Gladiators yet again, it seems like an awesome event that I am still curious about and may want to participate in in the future.
Electronic Gaming - Great job to
Essexninetails and his lovely crew! I was blown away by the number of games they had available and it seemed like people were always in there. It also seemed like the ticket redemption counter had cooler stuff! I wish there was more advertisement for the Treasure Hunt / Pappfurazzi game. I think I want to help design a treasure hunt next year.Drinking - I did a lot of it!
Cabaret - see detailed report below
Saturday dance - 1st DJ was awesome, 2nd one dropped the beat too much and I just.... couldn't dance to it any more.
Got to bartend shirtless in my room for lots of friends and that was so awesome, until the hotel shut us down at 3am (Probably a good thing). Oops, sorry neighbors!
==Sunday==
Hung out mostly. Good times. Which Wich (walking distance from the con) is amazing.
Scientists & Engineers furmeet - I should have known beforehand that you take a group that is stereotypically socially awkward, make them furries, and then stick them in a room together was going to be ENORMOUSLY AWKWARD. Was there anyone even leading the panel or was it just a bunch of nerds who show up in a room? I was hoping for some presentation, or discussion of current issues... or something. Thank god for the guy with the animation fursuit who offered to share his incredible creation with the attendees and got to pass it around. That was a treat, but I booked it out of that room so fast after that topic.
Fursuit Dance Competition - Even as a judge i was nervous! Firstly, I was honored to be a judge but I'm still not sure I am qualified. Heh. Demonstrating a bit in front of the group was terrifying b/c I had no idea what to really do. I also felt weird for being the only judge not in suit, but mine was already packed up and I wanted to be able to clearly see the performers with out visual interference as I tend to be a meticulous and technical judge. SO MANY AMAZING DANCERS! SO MANY ATTENDEES! Judging was really difficult, they were all incredibly talented performers and every single one has my respect. This first time event was a huge success and I think deserves a bigger spotlight next year. (Also, maybe a smaller dance floor, I know they are expensive but you had at least a yard or two on each side taken up by people watching, so that might be an opportunity to cut some of the cost to put on the event.\
==Cabaret==
Overall, a great show, I think
Rajni Tiomara and Raven were great hosts, and special thanks to Spots for stage managing, and to Panpan, Frosty, and the other techies and Growlie for all the theatrical and back stage support that makes the show happen. +1 for starting on time
+1 for ending on time
+2 for awesome pre-show banter that made the seating period not boring. Needs a beachball.
-1 for technical difficulties, but I understand that those are unavoidable. I just would have hoped such things would have been ironed out in the dress rehearsal. I thought the performers and the MC's did an awesome job dealing with it, I know how hard it is to pull off a show when something unexpected like that happens.
+2 for keeping the momentum of the show going* (see below) with shorter MC segments between acts. It seemed their system of timing backstage - tech - and the MC's worked out very well.
+1 for pizza ready for the crew right away and not 1.5 hours after the end of the show.
-2 for ...varying quality of the acts. Disclaimer - this is the part of the con of which i am MOST critical, because it is closest to my heart, so sorry if it is harsh at points. I intend for this to be constructive feedback, not just whining. It pains me to say this, but some of the acts were.... underwhelming. I have to say, the lip syncing with Raj and Mara's the very first act was a bit low on the energy levels. lipsyncing needs to be very high energy to make up for the lack of presence lost by not singing. It would have been fine except the very next act was the older lady singing a song that was... irrelevant, slow, boring, and all around uninteresting. At this point i was really starting to worry about the remainder of the show. Third act - the furry director skit. Disjointed, poorly written script and humor that really made little sense. I was really starting to brace for a painful show.
I stopped remembering the order of the acts at this point, but here it goes:
The new girl singing - not bad, I felt like it was her first time performing. She was cute, but too timid to wow the crowd. I'd welcome her back and hopefully her experience this year steeled her nerves
Raj's act - love it!
Mara's act - also loved it! Both had excellent choreography! I'm trying not to be biased here, but I know I am somewhat in this case ;)
Other girl in lingerie dancing - not a bad performance at all, but kind of boring because there was not enough variation in her choreography (im not sure it was choreographed before hand)
Lutris - Love the look and the voice, always nice to have beefcake on stage! The song was cute, but a little repetitive. all in all a good fun performance.
Essex - Like a Virgin - I was a little worried that the whole thing was gonna be in falsetto (which was a nice falsetto, but still falsetto). When he busted out his more natural register though, fuck man, stole the show! Chocolate Salty Balls - Awesome performance all around, zero complaints. Dudes got pipes!
Sorry to anyone that I missed, those are the ones I recall off the top of my head.
I almost want to suggest that performers send in a short WIP video or script of their performance a bit before the con for screening. Also, I think we might need a director or something to offer performers critique or suggestions on their acts, but I'm not sure furs would want to listen. Just random thoughts.
Overall a big improvement and I think it's improving, but it's still not amazeballs to be the key selling point for Califur.
Only big bad will ever know for sure :P
Airports are such ripoffs
Yeah, no...
Califur has the absolute worst registration process of any organized event I have ever been to.
Here's how pre-registration works everywhere else:
1. Go to counter.
2. Show ID to staff member.
3. Staff member quickly locates my badge because they're stacked in alphabetical order by last name.
4. Receive con packet with pre-printed badge and everything ready to go. "Have a great time at the con."
Here's how pre-registration works at Califur:
1. Wait in line at computer terminal.
2. Log in and scroll through all the same information I entered last Tuesday when I pre-registered.
3. Print form and sign it.
4. Wait in line at registration kiosk for 45 minutes.
5. Get to the front of the line, hand ID and form to staffer.
6. He's having trouble because the badge won't print.
7. "Try rebooting the computer..."
8. That didn't work.
9. Turn the printer off and restart it.
10. Two minutes later... "ok it worked, here's your badge."
11. "I want a con book too."
12. "Oh crap, where did those go..."
13. Staffers search frantically for that stack of con schedules.
14. They finally find one and hand it to me.
15. "NEXT!!!"
I don't see why it's this way at Califur. It's such an easy fix. Pre-print and pre-assemble everything given to each attendee and have it organized in order, ready for people to pick up. Use e-signature for the con policy agreement, of it they want a printed copy, print it out and attach it with the registration packet for each person and have them sign the form on pickup. This could be so speedy but it's not. Of course there will be a few wasted badges and things made because of no-shows but they will be few and far between.
As far at the rest of the con, I definitely had a good time, much better than last year and it seemed like they are indeed trying to improve the event.
1. went right to the kiosk, there was one open
2. spent 30 seconds verifying the info and printing the thing.
3. waited in line for 5 minutes
4. signed the AUP and show'd my ID, waited 1 min for the badge to print.
5. Grabbed a con book coz they were right there on the counter and went on my way, 10 min tops.
I do agree that preparing all the materials prior to con makes sense though.