A month late, but still in July! It's been very busy for me lately but thankfully I managed to find a moment of peace to get this typed out and ready to post. Enjoy!

CON REPORT: Anthrocon 2016 “Roaring Twenty”

For Anthrocon, it’s their 20th anniversary. For me, it’s thirteen straight years attending! I’m not superstitious, but a few circumstances leading up to the con almost fell into “unlucky” territory, but instead I encountered plenty of close calls to reverse my fortunes. And the con itself? It went wonderfully. In fact, it seemed far more active for me than previous years; a lack of the typical lulls I’ve had in previous years, and it made for a wonderful weekend.

It began, however, with an added step in that a couple days before the convention: I would be visiting my longtime friend Jake Bunny in Columbus prior to the convention.


Tuesday—

In the past I’ve driven up to Atlanta to stay a night with family, since they live much closer to Hartsfield-Jackson than I do and it beats getting up at 2am to drive up I-75 and struggling to stay awake during the whole monotonous road trip. This year, however, Jake would be picking me up from the airport in the afternoon, so I could spend Monday doing all the prep work necessary for the con and then drive up to Atlanta at a more reasonable hour on the day of my flight.

I arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare and, despite an odd false positive with the TSA security scanner, went through the rest with no hassle and had a chance to grab some lunch before my flight.

Upon arriving in Columbus, Jake informed me that my flight just barely missed a huge storm system that would’ve delayed my flight by at least an hour. Reversal of fortune number two!

After dropping off my luggage at Jake’s apartment (I got to meet his pet rabbit Ash!), we spent the rest of the afternoon walking through an arts district where we met up with a friend of his who owned her own art gallery. Then stopped at a soda shop. Also neat: a vintage toy shop with some very cool items from a multitude of eras. Memories galore. It seemed like every few moments one of us said, “Hey, I remember these!” It also made me remember I have a duffel bag at home full of old Star Wars toys I could sell here. I made a note to check up on this later. After that, we went to an arcade bar, and that’s exactly what you think it is. A barcade. Video arcade games galore, and all free to play (the bar’s income is from drinks, not games). How fitting, coming from a vintage toy store that reminded us of our childhood play trends only to wind up in an arcade where we’re further reminded of all the video games we once played years ago. After that came dinner at a gourmet hot dog place with some really good options all around.


Wednesday—

Today Jake and I had the chance to do something I’ve been wanting to do for years: visit the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force! It was just a quick drive to Dayton where we marveled at five enormous hangars worth of military aviation history. There were way too many planes to name here, but among the highlights…

First and foremost, it was great to see a legitimate, flight-ready SR-71 Blackbird up close with my own two eyes. I am among the many who have admired the plane for years, and getting to see it in person was awesome. Even more so was knowing that, save for a bit of age-related wear, the one here could literally be fueled up and ready to fly. She’s one of the few airframes that had not been gutted for display.

Also neat was seeing just how massive some of those planes are, like the B-52 Stratofortress and the legendary XB-70 Valkyrie. On a similar note, being able to see all those old prop-driven warbirds like the B-17 in person was cool, too. All those gun stations! I also did not expect to see an actual YF-23 Black Widow prototype that once competed against what would eventually become the F-22 Raptor for Air Force production. I love both planes for similar reasons, and relished the opportunity to see each of them on the same day.

After the museum, we grabbed a fast food lunch and then made a stop by the local Rabbit Rescue to get some supplies for Ash. All those little bunnies everywhere, I was surrounded by adorableness…

Finishing up there, we returned to the apartment and hung around there for the rest of the afternoon.


Thursday—

There was no rush to get up. Convention festivities don’t begin until late in the afternoon and hardly anything goes on before then. Plus, we would be waiting to pick up another local fur to bring to the con since he needed a ride.

We took our time getting ready and headed out to pick him up, then it was off to Pittsburgh!

Traffic wasn’t too bad, especially with Jake’s GPS steering us away from some collisions/road work areas, and before we knew it, we had reached the Fort Pitt Tunnel.

It was always neat going through there; we’re basically traveling right through a mountain, and part of a range of mountains and trees that blocked view of the city’s skyscrapers to anyone arriving from the west. Then, after emerging from said tunnel, the entire city suddenly fills your view. Jake was describing it to our other carpooler and equated it to arriving in Zootopia since it’s all right there at once after seeing nothing but trees beforehand. Fitting; we’re attending a furry con after all, it might as well be Zootopia.

And of course, that inspired me to pull up my smartphone and cue Try Everything. I nailed the timing perfectly; starting the song right as we exited the tunnel. What better way to begin a furry convention vacation?

We arrived at the parking garage, dropped off our carpooler, and headed to the Westin to check in. I managed to snag a double-bed room reservation this year. To our fortune there was just one left, and it was only on the sixth floor! A quick run up the stairs and we had arrived.

Registration was already going on, so I headed over to the convention center to get my badge and the usual bag-o-goodies. We caught Flops there and stopped for a quick chat, then I excused myself to go back to the room and get my submissions for the Art Show, since set up was going on and I found out they would be closing in less than an hour.

Got my art hung and completed Art Show registration with just five minutes to spare! After that… I was hungry.

In the mood for gyros (they’ve become a staple now whenever I attend), I headed into Bombay across the street from the hotel and got dinner. However, before I could bring my food back up to the room, my roomie for the con, Chux, had just arrived. I helped him carry his stuff up and get settled into the room.

Jake arrived afterwards and was able to arrange to stay for the convention as well. Hooray! Roomie number two, making us a trio.

Prior to leaving Columbus, Jake wasn’t sure if he would be able to attend but packed some luggage just in case, so while Chux remained in the room to unpack I accompanied Jake back to his car to get his gear. We made a quick stop at a nearby 7-11 for drinks then returned to the hotel, safe and sound.


Friday—

Friday morning at a furry convention, so my usual routine: wake up early, shower, gear up, leave for breakfast with Den gear in tow. The Brown Bag deli I used to eat breakfast at had closed down, so instead I headed over to Furnando’s to see what options were available. Some good ones, in fact! Grabbed a breakfast sandwich to go and made my way to the Convention Center, which had not yet opened up. When it did, I snagged the third spot in the Sponsor line. Jake arrived later on and kept me company as we waited for it to open.

Just like in years before, it was a flurry of meeting artists, commissioning artists, buying art and comics, and more socializing with people I had not seen in a year or more. It was rather interesting coming into this con remembering how many people that I would hang out with and speak to that used to attend, but no longer do. And yet, hours went by and I realized there were people here, still attending, that I still haven’t said hi to yet. It’s made me wonder if the lack of old familiar faces is being replaced by new ones I meet in recent years. There are definitely a number of folks I’ve only met in the past year or three. Chux, for example, I first met at MFF half a year ago and here I am now rooming with him! He’s a great roomie, by the way. I caught him walking around in suit from time to time.

I grabbed a late lunch at Bombay Gyros with Jake, then we headed back to the Den to mill about for a bit.

As closing time for the Den rolled in, I returned to the room to rest. Timed it perfectly, too. Just as I walked into the room I looked outside and, through the shining rays of the distant setting sun, was a downpour. A beautiful contrast and I enjoyed it without getting wet.

Jake arrived soon after and we relaxed for a while. I took the opportunity to look at some of the portfolios and comics I had bought.

There was a writing panel coming up that focused on action scenes, so I headed over to the Westin to attend. My stories often tend to be action-heavy, so I figured this would be a useful panel. I found that Ocean Tigrox, editor of Inhuman Acts (which I have a story in!) was one of the panelists. He even had me autograph his copy! Made me realize I didn’t even think to bring my own copy for him and any of the other attending authors to sign. Next year, perhaps…

The panel went off well, and right afterwards it was time for the Artist reception over in the Art Show, so I headed downstairs to join with the others in checking out this year’s works. No bids on my art, but there were a lot of great examples around as usual.

It’s also a great place to meet up with others that I had not seen yet, particularly in the crowds and bustle of the Den. I caught Indigo, Kyote, and Jen Kiwi here and said hi. Soon after, Kalahari and Aleutia found me and we were able to hang out for a bit while perusing art.

Afterwards, I headed out and met up with Jake at the Dance, where we got to see the neat new laser rigs that Chux had set up. We also stopped by the Whose Lion panel for a few minutes before leaving for the hotel.

Jake grabbed a quick dinner from Bombay, but I was already filled up on hor d’oeuvres from the Artist reception so I opted out.

Returned to the hotel room, where Jake and I chatted with Chux and Tiptoe for the rest of the night.


Saturday—

Another early rise. There were a couple artists I missed out on yesterday that I wanted to commission, so I repeated my routine and got the fourth spot in the Den line this morning.

Once it opened, I collected commissions, chatted with some folks, and generally wandered around. I found Commander Kitsune as well and we were able to strike up a pleasant chat. Soon after I came across Kalahari and Aleutia and joined them for a bit as they made their Den run. Even got to meet Neggar, the creator of the newly-released Franko comic.

Later on after dropping recent purchases off in the room, I returned to the Convention Center to find the local police had already cordoned off the street through it and nearby in preparation for the fursuit parade, which would be going outside once again after last year’s amazing public response. I snagged a hot dog from the street vendor on the corner then made my way back inside.

I chatted with a few more artists here and there, then found Jake right as the parade began. Once again I was in the middle of the Den and, with the parade going through, was limited in my options of where to go next (not that I minded, of course. The parade is always fun to watch). Since we were on the same row that the parade was moving through, we slid into the Furry Dakimakura booth to hang out as it passed by, getting a chance to chat with the vendors in the process.

Jake and I then slipped out through the row and made our way to the Artist Alley through the rear door, where we came across Lyenuv and had another fun chat.

After the parade began winding down (we saw Chux!), we headed into the Art Show to peruse this year’s various works together, as we often did in the past. Always nice to bounce opinions and critiques off one another. Oh, and one of my pieces had a bid!

We split after that, as Jake had to go meet with someone. I remained in the Den a bit longer to hang around, then headed out prior to closing and prepared for the usual “Saturday Lull.” This is often a time on Saturdays when the day is coming to a close, but it’s still too early for night activities, and the realization hits that tomorrow will be Sunday, the last day of the con. Not much going on yet as everyone returns from the Den and hasn’t figured out what to do next. This year, however, I seemed to avoid the lull. I found Kalahari and Aleutia just outside the Den and hung out with them for a while, then Commander Kitsune, Neggar, and Jake showed up as well.

We spent quite a while there chatting amongst ourselves, until our appetites got the better of us. From there, we went our separate ways for the evening. I went with Jake and another budding artist over to Sharp Edge, where Chux soon joined us to eat and had further opportunities to practice a variety of character voices at the table as we waited for our food.

After we finished, I was in the mood for some ice cream and Ben & Jerry’s was on the way back… however it was completely packed. I decided not to wait and instead grabbed an ice cream bar from the Kwik-E-Mart across from the hotel.

Jake, Chux, and I returned to our room and were soon joined by Tiptoe and Syn. Being that Jake and Tiptoe are both racers and I’m a car fan, we turned the TV to the Coke Zero 400 as we spent the rest of the night chatting and doing a little bit of artwork. Fittingly, after the race was over we caught a couple episodes of Jay Leno’s Garage.

As the night wore on, Tiptoe and Syn had to head back out. Jake, Chux, and I weren’t ready to turn in just yet. Jake and I headed out to the convention center and walked around, seeing the roof and its view of the Steel City skyline, as well as some of the artwork decorating the convention center halls. After making our way around through, we returned to the function areas and checked out the dance, where Chux was back on the lasers.

I hadn’t initially planned to stay all the way to the end, but I’m glad I did. It was the final dance of the con, on its twentieth anniversary, and it flowed into an amazing end. I loved the energy all around it was really neat to experience it on such an occasion. A great way to cap off the night, and the anniversary!

After the dance ended and the convention center closed, the three of us (along with a number of con-goers) headed back out. It was past 2am, but we still wanted to hang around a bit longer. Maybe that awesome dance end gave us a boost. We headed down to the waterfront, a spot that none of us had visited yet in all the years Anthrocon has been at Pittsburgh. There was a fairly sizeable crowd there, but with plenty of space. We chilled near the water for a bit, and then decided it was time to return to the room.


Sunday—

Not so early of a rise this morning, since there wasn’t much to rush for today and we had stayed up pretty late last night… or early this morning.

We took our time getting ready and sat down for breakfast together at Furnando’s. After that, Chux went to get ready for suiting while Jake and I hung out in the Dealer’s Den line until opening, which didn’t take very long.

In the Den itself, I picked up the remainder of my commissions and bought an art print from Diana Stein. Breakfast had carried me through noon so I didn’t break for lunch until around two or so when NightEyes caught up with me and invited me to lunch with Ocean, Slipwolf, and some other fellow furry writers. I jumped for the opportunity. We went to TenPenny and had a good time there. It was neat that they even served barbeque pulled pork.

I returned to the Den afterwards and checked my artwork out from the Art Show. Five pieces total sold this year; not bad! I could easily fit the remainder in my carry-on. The rest of my time there was spent conversing with various friends and saying my goodbyes as the Den wound down to a close.

After the Den closed I returned to the room to rest. Since my flight out would not be until tomorrow, I let myself relax today. Even though post-con depression was already present (how could it not be?), it was good to reflect on the fun I had so far. And besides, there were still more hours left to do stuff!

Jake and Chux arrived before long and after they spent some time resting themselves, got hungry. We headed downstairs and, with Jake hankering for a burger, chose Bill’s right inside the hotel. I was still rather full since I had eaten lunch so late, so I chose dessert. It turned out they were serving a “furry special.” It was a strawberry milkshake with gummy bears mixed in and topped with cotton candy. Delicious!

We returned to the room afterward to let our food settle while watching a gorgeous sunset behind the skyline.

Jake and I went back downstairs to go for a swim while Chux got his suit ready for more fursuiting adventures.

It had been a while since I swam at the Westin, but it felt so good to be in the water again. I’ve no doubt that if my fursona wasn’t a fennec fox, I would totally be an otter. I love water and it was a very relaxing experience. We swam casual laps across the pool while chatting for a while.

Back in the room, I began packing my bag for my flight out tomorrow. Chux suited up and the three of us went back downstairs to spend the rest of our con experience amidst fellow furries. Went from the hotel lobby over to the Zoo, it having returned to the Allegheny Ballroom, and hung out there with Onnanoko and her crew. While there I got to create a drawing in Chux’s tiny little sketchbook. The theme appeared to be the alphabet, and the next available page was “G.” Perfect. I sketched out a lovely headshot of Gazelle herself. Been wanting to draw her… Luckily I had plenty of reference images in my tablet thanks to a hefty folder chock full of Zootopia art (concept art, production art, and fanart). Tiptoe also briefly stopped by the table in suit.

We stayed there until closing, just like last year. After midnight… the convention was completely over. We headed back upstairs to sleep.


Monday—

My flight out wasn’t until after noon, so we slept in this morning for obvious reasons.

Leisurely morning routine and breakfast; Furnando’s for me and Starbucks for Jake. We ate in the room and I finished packing.

After checking out, we headed to the parking lot, loaded up, and drove out. I then realized I could not find my sunglasses. Jake would be dropping me off at the airport and it was too close to departure time to return to the hotel and wait for a room search (especially with the rest of the convention checking out and likely doing the same), so I left a message with lost-and-found and hoped for the best.

Arrived at the airport. We said our goodbyes and I was off to my terminal. Another odd false positive with the TSA scanner (unlucky), but no hassle or incident this time, either (lucky). I had time to grab a smoothie before it was time to fly out, and that’s when I got a call from the Westin notifying me they did not find my sunglasses. Luckily, I would learn a few days later I had left them in Jake’s car, so they’re found after all! One last “unlucky-to-lucky” reversal for the convention…

The flights out were fine. In fact, my departure got to leave early thanks to everyone arriving and settling in so fast.

The drive home was also fine, save for a bit of fatigue. I still wish the con could last longer, of course. Even so, this was a unique experience since I got to spend some time with Jake outside of a convention, the first we’ve done in… ever, actually. Known each other for over ten years and only now hung out in a “regular” setting.

It was a great experience overall, a great twentieth anniversary for the con, and makes me look forward to Midwest Furfest in December.