FA+
Shop
Anthrocon 2019 con report
6 years ago
I haven't written one of these in a long time, but what the heck.
I had missed the two previous Anthrocons due to either back issues or work time off so it was great to return this year. My long absence had started to make me feel less connected to my community. Being back in Pittsburgh for AC was something I really needed.
My back is still iffy these days. I can walk just fine without pain most days, but bending over or leaning down to pick something up repeatedly causes strain and there was no way I could work the FurPlanet table as fully as I had before.
All the FurPlanet work I did for our Anthrocon appearance was done before the con like working on layouts, ordering promo posters and business cards, making arrangements with artists for stock they wanted for their tables, etc. This led to a pretty chill convention for me. Whenever I was behind the table, I was only there to rest my back from the walk from the hotel or to chat to people. I felt I should be there a little while as the owner of the company, but the team of my husband and our friends had things under control so I wasn't needed there.
One thing which always seems to become a focus of my time is who I'm having dinner with. Since there are only three days, and usually several people I want to catch up with, I have to make dinner plans fairly early.
Dinners this year were:
Friday: Lidia's, an excellent local Italian restaurant, with Teiran, Zia, Buck, Savrin, and Brer and Fugue from Sofawolf.
Saturday: Ten Penny with the Ringtail Cafe/Furry Mystery Box team. I had the pirogies here, which I hadn't had in years. Figured I'd take advantage of being back east to have some.
Sunday: Bill's Burgers in the Westin with Kadath and Kaylii. Bill's has delicious burgers and also specializes in excellent, and huge, milkshakes.
Sunday night I was invited to participate in what has become a con tradition where a mix of podcasters and writers, often both, get together to do a group recording which will show up on one or more podcast feeds in the future. It's a lot of fun and I enjoy being there to listen to what the fandom authors are discussing and to occasionally put in my two cents on a topic.
AC has long been one of my favorite cons in no small part due to the way the city of Pittsburgh opens its arms to us. For a few days, several blocks of a big US city basically becomes Zootopia. All the restaurants have furry-themed menus, there are over 9,000 furries in the immediate area, locals in the area are curious or delighted that we're there, and you're basically free to be as openly furry and weird as you're comfortable with. It's a very positive and welcoming environment.
This year's con was all about relaxing, catching up with friends I hadn't seen or been able to chat to in person for a while, and reconnecting with one of my favorite parts of the fandom.
On the business front, this was possibly FurPlanet's best convention in terms of sales yet. We introduced 19 new titles and sold through a ton of our stock. I also touched base with a few of our creators who were in attendance, which I feel is important.
That's about it. It was a good con, to quote the Foxes and Pepper's song.
I had missed the two previous Anthrocons due to either back issues or work time off so it was great to return this year. My long absence had started to make me feel less connected to my community. Being back in Pittsburgh for AC was something I really needed.
My back is still iffy these days. I can walk just fine without pain most days, but bending over or leaning down to pick something up repeatedly causes strain and there was no way I could work the FurPlanet table as fully as I had before.
All the FurPlanet work I did for our Anthrocon appearance was done before the con like working on layouts, ordering promo posters and business cards, making arrangements with artists for stock they wanted for their tables, etc. This led to a pretty chill convention for me. Whenever I was behind the table, I was only there to rest my back from the walk from the hotel or to chat to people. I felt I should be there a little while as the owner of the company, but the team of my husband and our friends had things under control so I wasn't needed there.
One thing which always seems to become a focus of my time is who I'm having dinner with. Since there are only three days, and usually several people I want to catch up with, I have to make dinner plans fairly early.
Dinners this year were:
Friday: Lidia's, an excellent local Italian restaurant, with Teiran, Zia, Buck, Savrin, and Brer and Fugue from Sofawolf.
Saturday: Ten Penny with the Ringtail Cafe/Furry Mystery Box team. I had the pirogies here, which I hadn't had in years. Figured I'd take advantage of being back east to have some.
Sunday: Bill's Burgers in the Westin with Kadath and Kaylii. Bill's has delicious burgers and also specializes in excellent, and huge, milkshakes.
Sunday night I was invited to participate in what has become a con tradition where a mix of podcasters and writers, often both, get together to do a group recording which will show up on one or more podcast feeds in the future. It's a lot of fun and I enjoy being there to listen to what the fandom authors are discussing and to occasionally put in my two cents on a topic.
AC has long been one of my favorite cons in no small part due to the way the city of Pittsburgh opens its arms to us. For a few days, several blocks of a big US city basically becomes Zootopia. All the restaurants have furry-themed menus, there are over 9,000 furries in the immediate area, locals in the area are curious or delighted that we're there, and you're basically free to be as openly furry and weird as you're comfortable with. It's a very positive and welcoming environment.
This year's con was all about relaxing, catching up with friends I hadn't seen or been able to chat to in person for a while, and reconnecting with one of my favorite parts of the fandom.
On the business front, this was possibly FurPlanet's best convention in terms of sales yet. We introduced 19 new titles and sold through a ton of our stock. I also touched base with a few of our creators who were in attendance, which I feel is important.
That's about it. It was a good con, to quote the Foxes and Pepper's song.
