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A write-up of my first convention: Eurofurence 23
8 years ago
I've known about the furry fandom for well over a decade. I've sort considered myself a furry for a few years. And there have been signs that I was a furry all throughout my early childhood. But I didn't actually start becoming actively involved in the fandom until... *checks FA account* ... roughly November last year. Until then I mostly just lurked and browsed art.
So what on that fateful day in November made this 31-year-old dude decide to jump in the deep end? I don't really know. I guess it just started bubbling inside and at some point it burst, and I decided "hey, let's go to the biggest convention in Europe, even though I have no friends in the fandom yet!"
And I'm glad I did. Registered on the day registration opened. Managed to survive the whole "Laden" debacle and get a hotel room in the convention venue, the beautiful Estrel Hotel in Berlin. All I had to do now was play the waiting game until August. I got more and more excited as time went on, but I was also a little worried since I didn't really have friends in the fandom on my side of the Atlantic. And none of my US buddies were going.
Turns out those worries were mostly unfounded. I met a few people to hang out with at the convention, and there were plenty of panels and events to attend. And most of them were really awesome. I was afraid I would lock myself up in my hotel room a lot, but I barely ended up doing that at all. My favorite events were the Fox & Pepper concerts (those guys are awesome live) and the Pawpet Show. They built an INCREDIBLE dragon puppet (which was one of the main characters), and I was just astounded by the sheer amount of work and passion that went into the whole thing. Look for lots of fanart for “Ortha” in the days, weeks and months ahead!
I also attended the fursuit dance competition. Look for it on YouTube. It's well worth a watch, specifically Dexter, the one who ended up winning the competition.
I'm already 99% certain that I want to go back next year.
The only thing I feel I really need to do is make sure I know some more people here at the convention, mostly so I have people to hang out with or talk to. There were a few times where I felt like I was just kind of "there", not really doing anything but wait for some event to start. So, in short: make more friends!
I got some cool merchandise from the Dealers Den as well, and I got a few fursuit hugs as well. That was an interesting experience. One I could very much get used to. I think I finally understand now why people wear those extremely expensive costumes. Oh, and did I mention I got to be on the big stage during the finals of the fursuit gameshow? Just as a crowd volunteer, mind you, but it was still fun!
My final takeaway from the past six days is this: I am so goddamn inspired to become better at art. I saw so much incredible talent on display everywhere. On the banners, in the Dealers Den, on stage, at the art show/auction. I want to get that good myself someday!
As I'm typing this, it's Sunday morning and people are slowly preparing to leave. EF staff are starting to break down the stages, taking down the artwork, etc. There's a certain bitter-sweetness in the air. I think it's best summed up with the words I heard someone say in passing just now: "Can it be yesterday again?"
Addendum: writing a little extra from Berlin Ostbahnhof since I have an hour to kill before my train departs. I caught some of the people I met in the lobby around noon, and I sat with them and talked for another two hours before I had to face Berlin's public transport system again. It's those moments that I felt were lacking in my EF experience. Those times where you're just chilling with a few people, having a chat and some laughs, possibly over drinks. This con needed more of that. So, again, need to forge some more friendships before the next one. :)
Still, all that said, I'd rate my con experience a solid 8/10, though I'd give the actual convention itself a 9/10 easily. Well run. Super friendly atmosphere. Great venue. Awesome events. Sitting here by myself at a train station, I couldn't help but feel a little melancholy as I took off my EF lanyard. It felt like I was taking off a part of myself that I didn't know was there before. I'll take that as a sign that I really enjoyed myself.
I guess I now fully understand the meaning of Fox and Pepper's song “See You Next Year”!
So what on that fateful day in November made this 31-year-old dude decide to jump in the deep end? I don't really know. I guess it just started bubbling inside and at some point it burst, and I decided "hey, let's go to the biggest convention in Europe, even though I have no friends in the fandom yet!"
And I'm glad I did. Registered on the day registration opened. Managed to survive the whole "Laden" debacle and get a hotel room in the convention venue, the beautiful Estrel Hotel in Berlin. All I had to do now was play the waiting game until August. I got more and more excited as time went on, but I was also a little worried since I didn't really have friends in the fandom on my side of the Atlantic. And none of my US buddies were going.
Turns out those worries were mostly unfounded. I met a few people to hang out with at the convention, and there were plenty of panels and events to attend. And most of them were really awesome. I was afraid I would lock myself up in my hotel room a lot, but I barely ended up doing that at all. My favorite events were the Fox & Pepper concerts (those guys are awesome live) and the Pawpet Show. They built an INCREDIBLE dragon puppet (which was one of the main characters), and I was just astounded by the sheer amount of work and passion that went into the whole thing. Look for lots of fanart for “Ortha” in the days, weeks and months ahead!
I also attended the fursuit dance competition. Look for it on YouTube. It's well worth a watch, specifically Dexter, the one who ended up winning the competition.
I'm already 99% certain that I want to go back next year.
The only thing I feel I really need to do is make sure I know some more people here at the convention, mostly so I have people to hang out with or talk to. There were a few times where I felt like I was just kind of "there", not really doing anything but wait for some event to start. So, in short: make more friends!
I got some cool merchandise from the Dealers Den as well, and I got a few fursuit hugs as well. That was an interesting experience. One I could very much get used to. I think I finally understand now why people wear those extremely expensive costumes. Oh, and did I mention I got to be on the big stage during the finals of the fursuit gameshow? Just as a crowd volunteer, mind you, but it was still fun!
My final takeaway from the past six days is this: I am so goddamn inspired to become better at art. I saw so much incredible talent on display everywhere. On the banners, in the Dealers Den, on stage, at the art show/auction. I want to get that good myself someday!
As I'm typing this, it's Sunday morning and people are slowly preparing to leave. EF staff are starting to break down the stages, taking down the artwork, etc. There's a certain bitter-sweetness in the air. I think it's best summed up with the words I heard someone say in passing just now: "Can it be yesterday again?"
Addendum: writing a little extra from Berlin Ostbahnhof since I have an hour to kill before my train departs. I caught some of the people I met in the lobby around noon, and I sat with them and talked for another two hours before I had to face Berlin's public transport system again. It's those moments that I felt were lacking in my EF experience. Those times where you're just chilling with a few people, having a chat and some laughs, possibly over drinks. This con needed more of that. So, again, need to forge some more friendships before the next one. :)
Still, all that said, I'd rate my con experience a solid 8/10, though I'd give the actual convention itself a 9/10 easily. Well run. Super friendly atmosphere. Great venue. Awesome events. Sitting here by myself at a train station, I couldn't help but feel a little melancholy as I took off my EF lanyard. It felt like I was taking off a part of myself that I didn't know was there before. I'll take that as a sign that I really enjoyed myself.
I guess I now fully understand the meaning of Fox and Pepper's song “See You Next Year”!
1. I had no idea what it was going to be going in, other than it featuring puppeteering. I thought it was just going to be something small-scale and silly, mostly intended to be funny etc.
2. The production value was insane. Epic soundtrack that easily trumps most movie soundtracks, a good and well-presented story with interesting characters.
3. Ortha, the main puppet they created for this show. Operated by five puppeteers, and it's a stunning creation. Check out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-YKuj8E3Ws
All in all, that show, more than anything, inspired me to be creative. :)
I really hope you had a save flight home and if ya want we could go for a beer next year ! :)
Also, your performances during the concerts was amazing. Take good care of that voice of yours, because something like that only comes around once a generation. Been listening to The Skies of Astar on repeat for most of the day, haha.