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Anthro new england in review
10 years ago
All right, now that the dust has settled, I'd like to take a little time to review some of the things that made anthro new england what it was- despite its problems, I consider the con to be a success overall
I will start with the bad first, mostly things that were outside of their control:
The roof of the parking garage at the hotel collapsed, cutting off the top two floors and causing a big parking kerfuffle for furs arriving on friday morning- thankfully no one was injured, but my mate spent 4 hours finding a parking spot in the city. The hotel reimbursed his parking fees, which I was grateful for.
The convention did not have any power in the hotel outside of con attendees- this seems odd to say, but it means we couldn't eject people who were harassing the suiters- I ended up personally dealing with a teenager who kept trying to trip people in fursuit- or the woman who was ranting and screaming in the lobby about how all furries were child molesters.
The con space was not large enough for the record-breaking (for a first year) attendance of 720+ furres. often the game room and zoo were packed to the brim, except during major events.
Something my mate pointed out was that, especially because it was a first year con and an expensive hotel, it didn't really feel like we were welcome there. While many people who i explained the con too were friendly and receptive, many of the glares and looks i got in the elevator were less than friendly.
The number of events and panels did seem a little sparse- though i expected a light scene, there were stretches of time when I had nothing to do.
Okay! Thats all done with, onto the good stuff!
One thing i cannot stress enough- the panels i went to were excellent! The "Make a fursona" panel featured a trio of artists who would sketch a character you described, and would end with you ultimately getting a badge from the artist of your choice. a number of the participants were first-time con-goers without badges or ref sheets, and this was a great way to get their feet in the door and a badge on their chests.
Other panels dealt with serious issues in the fandom, like how to handle depression and gender identity. I would like to see more serious panels at cons alongside the lighthearted ones, as I feel furres often lack a good source of emotional support and sometimes need help understanding some of the issues in our community.
The events were excellent and entertaining, and the three con chairs were not only visible but accessible, something large cons lack. This conventions small size was actually an asset- I found it easy to locate furres I knew, and actually bumped into and recognized furres that I only knew from online communications.
As an added bonus, we had a very excited black lab from Vest A Dog going nuts with love for all the people he met, and he was utterly adorable. the con raised $10,000+ for the charity, which buys armored vests for police service dogs.
So on the whole, I think the con was a huge success, though my personal experiences were somewhat tarnished by the situations surround my arrival and departure. I might consider making the journey again, but i would prefer a different hotel.
I will start with the bad first, mostly things that were outside of their control:
The roof of the parking garage at the hotel collapsed, cutting off the top two floors and causing a big parking kerfuffle for furs arriving on friday morning- thankfully no one was injured, but my mate spent 4 hours finding a parking spot in the city. The hotel reimbursed his parking fees, which I was grateful for.
The convention did not have any power in the hotel outside of con attendees- this seems odd to say, but it means we couldn't eject people who were harassing the suiters- I ended up personally dealing with a teenager who kept trying to trip people in fursuit- or the woman who was ranting and screaming in the lobby about how all furries were child molesters.
The con space was not large enough for the record-breaking (for a first year) attendance of 720+ furres. often the game room and zoo were packed to the brim, except during major events.
Something my mate pointed out was that, especially because it was a first year con and an expensive hotel, it didn't really feel like we were welcome there. While many people who i explained the con too were friendly and receptive, many of the glares and looks i got in the elevator were less than friendly.
The number of events and panels did seem a little sparse- though i expected a light scene, there were stretches of time when I had nothing to do.
Okay! Thats all done with, onto the good stuff!
One thing i cannot stress enough- the panels i went to were excellent! The "Make a fursona" panel featured a trio of artists who would sketch a character you described, and would end with you ultimately getting a badge from the artist of your choice. a number of the participants were first-time con-goers without badges or ref sheets, and this was a great way to get their feet in the door and a badge on their chests.
Other panels dealt with serious issues in the fandom, like how to handle depression and gender identity. I would like to see more serious panels at cons alongside the lighthearted ones, as I feel furres often lack a good source of emotional support and sometimes need help understanding some of the issues in our community.
The events were excellent and entertaining, and the three con chairs were not only visible but accessible, something large cons lack. This conventions small size was actually an asset- I found it easy to locate furres I knew, and actually bumped into and recognized furres that I only knew from online communications.
As an added bonus, we had a very excited black lab from Vest A Dog going nuts with love for all the people he met, and he was utterly adorable. the con raised $10,000+ for the charity, which buys armored vests for police service dogs.
So on the whole, I think the con was a huge success, though my personal experiences were somewhat tarnished by the situations surround my arrival and departure. I might consider making the journey again, but i would prefer a different hotel.
I am glad you had a good time in spite of those issues and problems. And in spite of the 'problem guests' of the hotel on a larger scale we were fairly well received and those few 'exceptions' shouldnt speak for the larger crowd who was into us and were happy to find out and participate and take pictures.