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Live From the Con - Anthrocon 2017 (Saturday)
8 years ago
General
I've been coming to Anthrocon for 8 years now, and there are some things, some experiences I've never gotten to do in those 8 years for one reason or another, and I was able to knock one of those off the list today... *teaser* but before I get into that (one of my most fun experiences ever at the con) let me recap what was another glorious day in Pittsburgh.
One of the main concerns coming into Saturday was the weather forecast, which earlier had predicted spotty rain showers during the approximate time of the fursuit parade. THankfully, Mother Nature lost this battle as it was to be dry and not too hot in the afternoon (upper 70s/low 80s) which is really all we can ask for in July in Pittsburgh. We got up a little later than expected, but after downing the in-room Starbucks and a couple of granola bars,
phillyphox and I ran down to the Dealer's room to pick up our con shirts from the con store, and I took time to browse the Art Show. To my great dismay, none of my stuff had any bids on it, which was a stark contrast from last year where I had bids on everything by Saturday and it all sold, of course. Tried to put that out of my mind, but I did notice that there were many less entries in the Art Show this year (at least in the General section). I did find many lion-related pieces that I wanted to bid on though, and made notes for later - I'm usually the one bidding late on Sunday just before closing.
We originally intended on going to the Gyro place across the street (quick, cheap and good), but they surprisingly didn't open until noon which wouldn't work for us, so we went to Subway instead, only 1/2 block away. It was a very efficient, assembly-line style Subway which I wish the ones in the Seattle area were like. With the parade on our minds, we headed back to the Westin around 12:15.
I'm not sure if it was just the enthusiasm surrounding the inaugural outdoor parade or that it was AC's 20th anniversary last year, but there definitely wasn't the excitement and hubbub this year about the parade that there was in 2016. It was still a tremendously fun experience, but the crowd was noticeably thinner, and there seemed to be less fursuiters (the official tally of 1,890 versus 2,100 last year confirmed that). But the new Public Meet and Greet in Hall D in the Convention Center afterwards was a nice addition, and my group (consisting of Philly,
kitwanalion 
conqure and I) were able to put a lot of smiles on the faces of youngsters and adults alike that day, and it continued outside on our way back to the Westin. (the strip of sidewalk near the hot dog stand is always a hot spot, we stayed there for at least 5-6 minutes for photos).
Some of my most enjoyable moments performing as a cartoon lion at Anthrocon are with the locals that come down to enjoy all the creativity and characters, and today did not disappoint. A definite highlight was a shout out from a Seattle sports fan yelling, upon seeing my Mariners jersey "YO KEN GRIFFEY JUUUUNIOR! WE LOVE THE MARINERS!!!" Hometown pride, baby!
After taking a quick shower and decompressing from the long parade and after-outing, I had a short turnaround before I was to host Wheel of Furtune, making my Anthrocon game show hosting debut! I was a tad bit nervous as this show did not go as well as I had liked at BLFC, and I was having trouble getting ahold of A/V to set me up with a wireless mic which would have made my job a lot easier.
As it turned out, A/V never showed up so I had to improvise my stage setup myself (thank goodness I was able to think on the fly as host AND stage manager) and I had the contestants stand in front of a single microphone while I ran the game from the main table, sitting down, using a stand mic, and that worked very well.
There were some HUGE game show fans at Wheel that were very enthusiastic about the show, as well as some VERY GOOD players, and we had some thrilling games and incredible solves (all three of our players won their bonus rounds, for example!) and we had an unbelievable finish for the Champion spot (and the Sponsor Membership prize) that went down to the very last puzzle and reveal of the prize envelope. It went as well as I could have hoped with a good turnout of about 50 people, and many came up and complimented me on doing a great hosting job which meant a lot to me - I work very hard to do a professional job with my game show presentations.
After that success I enjoyed one of the ABSOLUTE BEST DINNERS I've ever had at any convention, at TenPenny across the street from the Westin. Philly had raved about this restaurant, usually coming here on Sunday nights when I'm at my Staff Dinner, but I've never had the chance to enjoy it myself yet. I ordered 2 things, Calamari for the table as an appetizer and the Porterhouse Pork Chop, and they were both unbelievably good and the service was friendly and surprisingly fast too. Definitely returning next time.
At this point I had to make a decision to go to Anthrocon tonight or skip it, and I decided to pass this year since it was almost 9pm and I wouldn't get a good seat anyways, so I food coma-ed back to the room and looked forward with much anticipation to the Lion Party to which I had been invited at 10pm in a junior suite on the 14th floor hosted by
lyonlover (Kiwa)
I got up there early and found another lion fursuiter who told me the room wasn't ready yet, so for the moment I went down to my friend
qblion's room to hang out for a bit before trying again around 10:30. When we got back there were at least 10 people in there, enjoying pizza and adult beverages while watching Lion King on a projector screen. I think all of us knew the movie word for word, and we were all laughing hysterically at our own commentary for the film. (Simba's "butt" shake after Hakuna Matata - "THAT MADE ME GAY!" :lol:)
While I had attended room parties at other cons before, this was actually my first ever time attending one at Anthrocon and it was absolutely one of my all-time highlights to be able to meet my lion brethren, I truly felt at home on a deeper level than just the furry fandom in general. Plus I got to talk to Kiwa about his experiences in Africa, being that I was going to take a similar but shorter trip in October of 2018 for my first time, and that made just even more excited for that adventure.
After many drinks, a group photo and trading our social media handles I parted ways at around 11:30 to go back to the room, I thought about suiting up but the alcohol and pizza in my system told me that probably wasn't a good idea at that time, so I went down to the DLCC instead to get some video and photos, the dance floor was so crowded everyone was spilling out into the aisles between the rows of chairs, so I was confined to shooting from the wings and the back. Still got some good stuff but not ideal, but I did get to see some people outside that I hadn't seen the whole con so far including Seattle local
binkmagician.
All in all a very eventful and memorable Saturday at Anthrocon, one that I won't forget anytime soon!
One of the main concerns coming into Saturday was the weather forecast, which earlier had predicted spotty rain showers during the approximate time of the fursuit parade. THankfully, Mother Nature lost this battle as it was to be dry and not too hot in the afternoon (upper 70s/low 80s) which is really all we can ask for in July in Pittsburgh. We got up a little later than expected, but after downing the in-room Starbucks and a couple of granola bars,
phillyphox and I ran down to the Dealer's room to pick up our con shirts from the con store, and I took time to browse the Art Show. To my great dismay, none of my stuff had any bids on it, which was a stark contrast from last year where I had bids on everything by Saturday and it all sold, of course. Tried to put that out of my mind, but I did notice that there were many less entries in the Art Show this year (at least in the General section). I did find many lion-related pieces that I wanted to bid on though, and made notes for later - I'm usually the one bidding late on Sunday just before closing.We originally intended on going to the Gyro place across the street (quick, cheap and good), but they surprisingly didn't open until noon which wouldn't work for us, so we went to Subway instead, only 1/2 block away. It was a very efficient, assembly-line style Subway which I wish the ones in the Seattle area were like. With the parade on our minds, we headed back to the Westin around 12:15.
I'm not sure if it was just the enthusiasm surrounding the inaugural outdoor parade or that it was AC's 20th anniversary last year, but there definitely wasn't the excitement and hubbub this year about the parade that there was in 2016. It was still a tremendously fun experience, but the crowd was noticeably thinner, and there seemed to be less fursuiters (the official tally of 1,890 versus 2,100 last year confirmed that). But the new Public Meet and Greet in Hall D in the Convention Center afterwards was a nice addition, and my group (consisting of Philly,
kitwanalion 
conqure and I) were able to put a lot of smiles on the faces of youngsters and adults alike that day, and it continued outside on our way back to the Westin. (the strip of sidewalk near the hot dog stand is always a hot spot, we stayed there for at least 5-6 minutes for photos).Some of my most enjoyable moments performing as a cartoon lion at Anthrocon are with the locals that come down to enjoy all the creativity and characters, and today did not disappoint. A definite highlight was a shout out from a Seattle sports fan yelling, upon seeing my Mariners jersey "YO KEN GRIFFEY JUUUUNIOR! WE LOVE THE MARINERS!!!" Hometown pride, baby!
After taking a quick shower and decompressing from the long parade and after-outing, I had a short turnaround before I was to host Wheel of Furtune, making my Anthrocon game show hosting debut! I was a tad bit nervous as this show did not go as well as I had liked at BLFC, and I was having trouble getting ahold of A/V to set me up with a wireless mic which would have made my job a lot easier.
As it turned out, A/V never showed up so I had to improvise my stage setup myself (thank goodness I was able to think on the fly as host AND stage manager) and I had the contestants stand in front of a single microphone while I ran the game from the main table, sitting down, using a stand mic, and that worked very well.
There were some HUGE game show fans at Wheel that were very enthusiastic about the show, as well as some VERY GOOD players, and we had some thrilling games and incredible solves (all three of our players won their bonus rounds, for example!) and we had an unbelievable finish for the Champion spot (and the Sponsor Membership prize) that went down to the very last puzzle and reveal of the prize envelope. It went as well as I could have hoped with a good turnout of about 50 people, and many came up and complimented me on doing a great hosting job which meant a lot to me - I work very hard to do a professional job with my game show presentations.
After that success I enjoyed one of the ABSOLUTE BEST DINNERS I've ever had at any convention, at TenPenny across the street from the Westin. Philly had raved about this restaurant, usually coming here on Sunday nights when I'm at my Staff Dinner, but I've never had the chance to enjoy it myself yet. I ordered 2 things, Calamari for the table as an appetizer and the Porterhouse Pork Chop, and they were both unbelievably good and the service was friendly and surprisingly fast too. Definitely returning next time.
At this point I had to make a decision to go to Anthrocon tonight or skip it, and I decided to pass this year since it was almost 9pm and I wouldn't get a good seat anyways, so I food coma-ed back to the room and looked forward with much anticipation to the Lion Party to which I had been invited at 10pm in a junior suite on the 14th floor hosted by
lyonlover (Kiwa)I got up there early and found another lion fursuiter who told me the room wasn't ready yet, so for the moment I went down to my friend
qblion's room to hang out for a bit before trying again around 10:30. When we got back there were at least 10 people in there, enjoying pizza and adult beverages while watching Lion King on a projector screen. I think all of us knew the movie word for word, and we were all laughing hysterically at our own commentary for the film. (Simba's "butt" shake after Hakuna Matata - "THAT MADE ME GAY!" :lol:)While I had attended room parties at other cons before, this was actually my first ever time attending one at Anthrocon and it was absolutely one of my all-time highlights to be able to meet my lion brethren, I truly felt at home on a deeper level than just the furry fandom in general. Plus I got to talk to Kiwa about his experiences in Africa, being that I was going to take a similar but shorter trip in October of 2018 for my first time, and that made just even more excited for that adventure.
After many drinks, a group photo and trading our social media handles I parted ways at around 11:30 to go back to the room, I thought about suiting up but the alcohol and pizza in my system told me that probably wasn't a good idea at that time, so I went down to the DLCC instead to get some video and photos, the dance floor was so crowded everyone was spilling out into the aisles between the rows of chairs, so I was confined to shooting from the wings and the back. Still got some good stuff but not ideal, but I did get to see some people outside that I hadn't seen the whole con so far including Seattle local
binkmagician. All in all a very eventful and memorable Saturday at Anthrocon, one that I won't forget anytime soon!
Thanks for the write up as always.
All the little details make me feel like I'm there.