We are excited to announce that the next Gateway FurMeet will be held March 9th-11th 2018 at the DoubleTree Hotel St. Louis at Westport.

We have taken great care in considering our options in order to facilitate our grand plans to expand GFM while also being mindful of the costs for our guests. We are thrilled to announce that we have chosen a great hotel with an event team that is excited to work with us to give us a chance to grow while offering a great experience to our attendees. The DoubleTree hotel is located in Westport in Saint Louis County, near I 270 and Page Ave., approximately 30 minutes west of the previous hotel and with a much better convention space and better access to local restaurants in the nearby Westport Plaza.

We’ve been busy grinding away to level up GFM as we work to bring you a bigger and better convention. Many great changes are coming as we expand our convention space to bring exciting new events and activities, as well as kick off our con-wide game: Gateway Fur Quest, where players compete for points, achievements and prizes.

Here are some of the improvements we are excited about:
Convention improvements:

More event space and a better layout.
We have the whole event area to ourselves, with no overlapped groups in convention space.
A bigger Dealers’ Den and Artists’ Alley for more artists to share the art we all love.
Fewer steps! Only 3 steps or a ramp to move between hotel lobby and con space.
Dedicated registration area: no more daily setup and teardown.

For the guests:

GFM room rate of only $95 per night! Two styles available: Two Queens or a King with a sofa pullout.
Actual mini-fridge in every room, not a mini bar that won’t fit your snacks!
No fumbling for key cards just to access the elevator!
Free parking for everyone, guests and attendees!
Close to the airport for those who fly in, with a free shuttle available.
It’s just a short walk to nearby restaurants in Westport, or be lazy and take the free shuttle every 30 min.
A working hotel restaurant serving Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.
Discounted Breakfast Buffet voucher available at check-in for $10 each.
The lobby bar is open from 4pm to 1am.

Why no GFM2017?

Last year we decided to move GFM to the fall in order to avoid overlap with other events and get around the Cardinal’s schedule. Unfortunately, after massive delays in communication with the hotel staff and the hotel nearly doubling the cost from last year, we decided to research other options. After careful consideration, we decided that in order to put on a great event, rather than try to cram it into the fall for the sake of having a con, we should allow ourselves and you more time to plan, so we pushed back to the spring. We still want to give our local friends a chance to get together this year, so we will be having our first GFM picnic on September 16th, 2017 in Greentree park in Kirkwood with food, fun, and games. More on that later.

Registration for GFM will open on July 1st 2017. Stay tuned for information about registration, rooms, schedule, special events, Guest of Honor and more. If you are interested in running a panel, please contact us through the website at https://gatewayfurmeet.org

On behalf of the entire team, thank you for your patience, support and excitement as we grow Gateway FurMeet into a bigger and better event!

-Chux

Promotions & Publications Director, Gateway FurMeet