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Furnal Equinox 2017 Report
8 years ago
Even though the con was a 30min drive from home I decide to get a room at the venue. Having a room meant I could go change between street clothes and my kigu as desired. Since pre-registering as a “Sponsor” was only $35 more than a regular Attendee, I opted for it. I knew I wanted a con t-shirt, and this level included it, a Furnal Equinox Poster and $10 credit for the con store.
This years theme was “Rock & Roll”.
Day 1 (Friday):
Got to the hotel around 10AM. My check-in time was 3PM but the hotel will store your bags until your room is ready. I lucked out and my room was already ready! The hotel made custom printed key cards for the event which was a nice touch.
After dropping my bags in my room I went to registration to pickup my badge. There must have been over 100 people in line in front of me, and I was worried I’d miss the opening ceremonies. But I forgot Sponsors and Super Sponsors skip the line, so I suddenly found myself 1st in line. Got my badge, conbook and other swag
In keeping with the con theme the opening ceremonies had a rock concert feel with Pepper Coyote & Xepher. It certainly got you pumped up for the con. That done I went back to the room to change into my Kigu and cub badge and go to the Babyfur Meet. It felt strange at first dressed this way in public but I soon got used to it. I got a few strange looks, and Ember (who was riding on my backpack proudly showing off his own badge) got many compliments.
At the Babyfur meet I met Drake and Heartscale (who I already knew), Dumpling (who I first heard of from Mama Bear the night before), Axel and others (sorry I’m terrible remembering names). I had a blast coloring, and playing with the other cubs. Big thanks to Dan Raccoon and Whiteleaf for organizing this. Afterwards I decided I’d stay in cub mode for the day.
I had some time to kill before the next event I wanted to attend so I collected my con shirt from the Con Store and checked out the Dealers den & Art Show. I also stopped to play with the Grey Hounds from this year charity (“After the Track”). At the table for “Fur Science” I had an interesting conversation with one of the researchers about their work. If you haven’t volunteered for their research studies I’d encourage it.
Next I attended several panels for novices - Fur Suiting 101 which covered the health & safety side of fur suiting. a panel for 1st time con attendee’s (very helpful) and Fur Suit Making 101 (way beyond my level of skill and spare time).
I ended day one by attending a very informative “After Dark” panel on the kink of Pet Play.
Day 2 (Saturday):
Because that last panel ended at 2AM (and I only got 3 hours of sleep the night before) and needed to sleep in. Unfortunately that meant I had to miss Rock & Roll Jeopardy. Dressed in my Jeans, a MeatLoaf concert shit, and my adult badge I set out for the day in adult’ish mode. Ember of course came with me riding my backpack, and getting more attention than me. I took another trip through the dealers den, and this time commissioned a pair of ears, a tail and purple collar w/leash (Yes the pet play panel was still on my mind). The collar would be ready on Sunday, but when I picked up the ears & tail I realized I asked for the wrong color fur on the inner ear. But the vendor was great and offered to redo the ears for free by Sunday morning! BIG THANK YOU Portly Possum.
I took some time to photograph fursuiters while waiting for the fursuit games. I then photographed the games themselves. The games had hilarious challenges and were a blast to watch. Then it was off to Plushie Making 101, which was interesting but also over my skill level.
Unfortunately I had to skip the remaining Saturday events to attend my uncles 50th Birthday party (coincidentally his party was also a Rock & Roll theme).
Day 3 (Sunday):
I started the day in the dealers den to pickup my ears and collar. I also stopped by Dark Bunny Sauces to pickup some of their wears. I feel my current crocheted plushie is too fragile for travel to conventions and playdates so I also commissioned a traditional style plushie made of minky. Ember 2.0 should be ready by June and will come to Megaplex.
After checking out and dropping my bags off with the hotels complimentary bag check service I headed to the Dance Competition Finals. It was awesome to watch, but I wish I had gotten a seat closer to the front so I could get better pictures – a Super Sponsor badge now seemed worth it.
Next I took in a panel by Likeshine on surviving in the fandom as an artist. It was very informative and interesting, but it was mostly about working at cons – which I will likely never do.
From there I took in the end of the charity auction. There were many items I would have liked but got bid why out of my budget. I did manage to snag 1 item, the “Ultimate Boxsona”. Boxsona had mad a box with all the items from their fist 3 boxes plus more (there must be 100 stickers in there).
After the auction I did something I had planned as a memento of my weekend – I got fined. There was a ban on Awoo for the con, with a $3.50 fine if caught howling. Paying the fine was voluntary & money went to the charity. Well this bear proudly supports his canine brothers & sisters in protest of the ban on Awoo. It's not right, Mother Nature intended them to howl! So I took one for the cause :)
With a heavy heart I attended the closing ceremonies. I was proud we managed to raise almost $11,000 for the charity - including over $1430 in Awoo fines.
I had a great time at my first con and can’t wait for Megaplex!
Highlights:
All the nice people I met including many I only knew from online
Awesome events like the Babyfur Meet, Fursuit Games and Dance Competition
Adding ears, tail & collar to my furry wardrobe
Commissioning another Ember plushie
Getting the Ultimate Boxsona box so cheap
The piles of swag I brought home
Finding someone to commission a Kigu of my fursona from.
Regrets:
Not buying a Super Sponsor badge
Not attending with anyone else, so I have no photos of me at the con.
Missing a lot of great stuff on Saturday (but there was no way I’d skip my uncles 50th birthday)
The ban on Awoo X3
This years theme was “Rock & Roll”.
Day 1 (Friday):
Got to the hotel around 10AM. My check-in time was 3PM but the hotel will store your bags until your room is ready. I lucked out and my room was already ready! The hotel made custom printed key cards for the event which was a nice touch.
After dropping my bags in my room I went to registration to pickup my badge. There must have been over 100 people in line in front of me, and I was worried I’d miss the opening ceremonies. But I forgot Sponsors and Super Sponsors skip the line, so I suddenly found myself 1st in line. Got my badge, conbook and other swag
In keeping with the con theme the opening ceremonies had a rock concert feel with Pepper Coyote & Xepher. It certainly got you pumped up for the con. That done I went back to the room to change into my Kigu and cub badge and go to the Babyfur Meet. It felt strange at first dressed this way in public but I soon got used to it. I got a few strange looks, and Ember (who was riding on my backpack proudly showing off his own badge) got many compliments.
At the Babyfur meet I met Drake and Heartscale (who I already knew), Dumpling (who I first heard of from Mama Bear the night before), Axel and others (sorry I’m terrible remembering names). I had a blast coloring, and playing with the other cubs. Big thanks to Dan Raccoon and Whiteleaf for organizing this. Afterwards I decided I’d stay in cub mode for the day.
I had some time to kill before the next event I wanted to attend so I collected my con shirt from the Con Store and checked out the Dealers den & Art Show. I also stopped to play with the Grey Hounds from this year charity (“After the Track”). At the table for “Fur Science” I had an interesting conversation with one of the researchers about their work. If you haven’t volunteered for their research studies I’d encourage it.
Next I attended several panels for novices - Fur Suiting 101 which covered the health & safety side of fur suiting. a panel for 1st time con attendee’s (very helpful) and Fur Suit Making 101 (way beyond my level of skill and spare time).
I ended day one by attending a very informative “After Dark” panel on the kink of Pet Play.
Day 2 (Saturday):
Because that last panel ended at 2AM (and I only got 3 hours of sleep the night before) and needed to sleep in. Unfortunately that meant I had to miss Rock & Roll Jeopardy. Dressed in my Jeans, a MeatLoaf concert shit, and my adult badge I set out for the day in adult’ish mode. Ember of course came with me riding my backpack, and getting more attention than me. I took another trip through the dealers den, and this time commissioned a pair of ears, a tail and purple collar w/leash (Yes the pet play panel was still on my mind). The collar would be ready on Sunday, but when I picked up the ears & tail I realized I asked for the wrong color fur on the inner ear. But the vendor was great and offered to redo the ears for free by Sunday morning! BIG THANK YOU Portly Possum.
I took some time to photograph fursuiters while waiting for the fursuit games. I then photographed the games themselves. The games had hilarious challenges and were a blast to watch. Then it was off to Plushie Making 101, which was interesting but also over my skill level.
Unfortunately I had to skip the remaining Saturday events to attend my uncles 50th Birthday party (coincidentally his party was also a Rock & Roll theme).
Day 3 (Sunday):
I started the day in the dealers den to pickup my ears and collar. I also stopped by Dark Bunny Sauces to pickup some of their wears. I feel my current crocheted plushie is too fragile for travel to conventions and playdates so I also commissioned a traditional style plushie made of minky. Ember 2.0 should be ready by June and will come to Megaplex.
After checking out and dropping my bags off with the hotels complimentary bag check service I headed to the Dance Competition Finals. It was awesome to watch, but I wish I had gotten a seat closer to the front so I could get better pictures – a Super Sponsor badge now seemed worth it.
Next I took in a panel by Likeshine on surviving in the fandom as an artist. It was very informative and interesting, but it was mostly about working at cons – which I will likely never do.
From there I took in the end of the charity auction. There were many items I would have liked but got bid why out of my budget. I did manage to snag 1 item, the “Ultimate Boxsona”. Boxsona had mad a box with all the items from their fist 3 boxes plus more (there must be 100 stickers in there).
After the auction I did something I had planned as a memento of my weekend – I got fined. There was a ban on Awoo for the con, with a $3.50 fine if caught howling. Paying the fine was voluntary & money went to the charity. Well this bear proudly supports his canine brothers & sisters in protest of the ban on Awoo. It's not right, Mother Nature intended them to howl! So I took one for the cause :)
With a heavy heart I attended the closing ceremonies. I was proud we managed to raise almost $11,000 for the charity - including over $1430 in Awoo fines.
I had a great time at my first con and can’t wait for Megaplex!
Highlights:
All the nice people I met including many I only knew from online
Awesome events like the Babyfur Meet, Fursuit Games and Dance Competition
Adding ears, tail & collar to my furry wardrobe
Commissioning another Ember plushie
Getting the Ultimate Boxsona box so cheap
The piles of swag I brought home
Finding someone to commission a Kigu of my fursona from.
Regrets:
Not buying a Super Sponsor badge
Not attending with anyone else, so I have no photos of me at the con.
Missing a lot of great stuff on Saturday (but there was no way I’d skip my uncles 50th birthday)
The ban on Awoo X3
CodyFops
~codyfops
Sounds like you had a great time :3 Going to conventions is always a lot of fun.
sammypanther
~sammypanther
I had fun
Yookey
~yookey
That sounds like so much fun! ^_^ glad you had a great time!
dan_raccoon
~danraccoon
Glad to hear your first convention was a success and hope to see you down there again next year, although I'll probably see you again sometime before that. :)
