Last month, I attended the Anthro New England convention in Boston, MA for the first time, and had an absolute blast of a time! Over the next week, I'll be doing my usual post-convention summary by sharing a photo a day from my time away, while recounting the events of the day on which the photo was taken, exactly two weeks ago (well, alright, two weeks and a day :P):

I woke up about 7, fully aware that today was my busy convention work day. As GoH liaison, I'd be helping out with 5 panels and events, starting at about 9:00am and ending at 10:30pm. While I'm fully aware that many others on ANE pulled far longer shift (AV and Safety; you are bloody heroes and I kiss the ground upon which you walk), the day was set to be quite taxing, and so I set about starting it right.

The first event was rather simple - the Patron breakfast, put on to thank Patrons for their support, and give the Guests of Honour a nice start to Saturday. Giza and I arrived to find that there wasn't any crowd control, but luckily we didn't need it. Over the course of the next half hour, about 15 Patrons showed up to take advantage of their free meal, along with the 3 GoHs. While I didn't exactly enjoy turning away the Sponsors who showed up, I did so with the reassurance that they were free to hang around outside and enjoy the music being so expertly played by a band inside.

Next, it was time for the Fursuit photo, and all the fun that came with setting that up. At the time when doors were supposed to open, the chairs in the ballroom were still being packed up, and the queue outside just continued to grow. After taping off a section at the front for VIPs and after two-thirds of the hall had been cleared, we began letting people in, with yours truly standing at the door directing suiters and their handlers where to go. I wasn't sure we would get everyone outside into the hall, but somehow it was managed, the photo was taken, and I left for a quick flit around the Dealers' Den, before heading to Hearthfox's Therianthropy panel.

If you're unaware, Hearthfox is a Therian themselves, and along with Synanthrope they hosted what I found to be a very interesting panel, introducing several new terms, recalling several lived experiences, and clearing up a lot of misconceptions that surround the Therian community. I can't say I've ever thought of myself as a Therian, but it was great to see like-minded individuals getting together and sharing each other's stories and histories, and both panelists did a fine job of presenting the topic in an informative and informal way.

No sooner had that panel finished than Heartfox and I needed to high-tail to the other side of the hotel for their next panel - the Philosophy of Art Styles. After a good long time looking through various styles and hearing of their histories and details, it was fair to say that we were both a bit worn out. As such, I led Hearthfox to the staff room for some much-needed refreshments. Scarfing down what I could, I hopped along to the Den for some more flitting, and then to the board game room, where I watched AethanBear and others playing a very interesting spooky game, the name of which isn't coming to me at the moment.

After the monsters were resoundingly beaten, I made my way to the last panel of the day - Fursuit Figure Drawing, hosted by Braeburned. The panel was another sellout, and even before the official start time the room had hit capacity, and we were forced to close the doors. Braeburned and three other suiters struck various fun poses, while challenges were introduced to get the artist to feel comfortable with their own paw - draw while not looking at the paper, draw while not lifting the pencil, draw in under 90 seconds, etc. Even this Shep had a go, and dear reader, believe me when I tell you that the phrase "look upon my works and despair" was never more accurately used than for the abominations that somehow found their way onto the pages of my scrapbook. :P

The panel ended at 10:30 on the dot, and I walked outside into a massive line for the Night Market. Having no real urge to visit the Night Market, all I can say is kudos to the Safety team for their crowd control. My thoughts turned to dinner shortly there after, but sadly there isn't much around the hotel that's open in the late hours. I could have ordered online, I suppose, but...meh. As such, I returned to the staff room to help myself to the few remaining refreshments there. I returned to my room feeling rather shattered, and was shortly thereafter sound asleep.

Hope you enjoy!