Looking forward to your convention report. I'm thinking of adding another furry convention to my schedule; looking for something where it's not impossible to get in the dealers room.

Furry conventions are now in the "real convention" size category. Anthrocon, Biggest Little FurCon, and Midwest Furfest are now over 5,000 people. (Yes, I know that's surprising to furries that cons can "be that large", but sci-fi and comic conventions are regularly 10,000 people or more.) I'd agree that there's a problem with the "growing pains" of these conventions, where the dealers' rooms are at a premium, without a good system for getting space.

To change subject to the halcyon days of yore, our salad days when we were cool and green, and stars did blaze ... the Origins Game Fair and GenCon shows are larger than ever, and my experience with the last few sets of staff has been a big change to just ten years ago. Sure, mistakes are still made, but the staff have been more than happy to help us work through problems. And they have an enthusiasm about new entries and about diversity that's bigger and better than I've ever seen. I don't know if you've been attending those shows -- when I'm there, it's a blur -- but I would definitely recommend them.

From 2008, convention attendance across the board as doubled, with most cons experiencing 5% to 20% growth steadily each year. More people is a good thing -- more people to meet, more things to see. (And if you're vending, it's better to be talking to the people who are interested in what you're selling. More people means more churn.)

Unfortunately, more growth means more problems. Some conventions haven't been responsible about how they handle the staff. I'm calling out ConBravo, which had numerous staff turnover and no one filling spots, which left their vendor room and their paneling in shambles. Furries are more likely to know about Rainfurrest's repeated failures to deal with their attendees' excesses, too. The news also has examples like Lost Pegasus, Midwest Media Expo, Fyre Festival, etc. — conventions where money was mishandled and attendees were abused.

I do put my faith in God but also keep my powder dry. I am worried that this rise in convention attendance and moneys is going to lead to more high-profile problems, as for-profit enterprises push volunteers too far, then everything collapses in a mess of finger-pointing.

That said, Midwest Furfest last year was a great show and I'm looking forward to this one. I've been doing this show since MFF started and it's great to see how the staff are rolling with the changes and looking to the future. I'll keep you posted!