Tag: Road to Anthrocon

Every year is the first year for someone! AnthroCon is only a month away, and now is a good time to check out Inkblitzer’s excellent “Road to AnthroCon” series:

• Week Zero
• Housing and Registration
• Travel
• What to Expect
• Staying Healthy
• What to Do!
• What to Pack!
• Interacting with Fursuiters

You might also want to check out When Cons Go Bad: Dealing With a Disappointing Convention, because it happens from time to time.

There are a ton of great furry conventions out there; here at ProudToBeAFurry.org we tend to focus on AnthroCon or Midwest Furfest because they are two of the largest and the ones we tend to get to the most often.

We’ve got more articles on the way, including post-con depression (PCD) and how to get through it, ways to find and make friends at conventions, and more. Stay tuned!

-The Gneech

When many people think of furry conventions, they think of fursuits with their flashy colors, animal faces, and lots and lots of fur! Whether toony or realistic, fursuits are the most noticeable and vibrant aspects of furry conventions. They are walking, talking (or squeaking) art, most of which costs upwards of thousands of dollars. Plus, they’re downright adorable.

But it’s not all fun and games for fursuiters. Between the heat of all the fake fur, poor vision and walking around wearing basically clown shoes for feet, things can quickly go bad for them. This is why it’s up to us non-suiters to be aware of fursuiters and know how to act around them. Here are just a few tips to help you get ahead in interacting with fursuiters.

Continue reading “Road to Anthrocon: Interacting with Fursuiters”

When it comes to packing for conventions there are usually two mindsets: the people who started packing two months ago and the people who start packing two hours before their flight. With only weeks before the convention, no matter which you are it’s time to start thinking about what you’re going to take with you.

Some of these are going to be basics that you should take for any long term trip away from home; others convention specific items. Since this is a furry blog, there will be some furry specific items that you should consider taking as well.

And I don’t mean the cat. Take the cat out of the luggage.

Continue reading “Road to Anthrocon: What to Pack!”

Now that we’ve gone over the basics of getting prepared to physically go to a convention, it’s time to mentally prepare ourselves. For some of you this might be the first time that you’re going far away from home. Or it may be the first time in a social setting with many people of varied backgrounds and beliefs. Furries are a vibrant and colorful fandom, and when we get together at conventions we can really let our true selves show. For some that can be a bit overwhelming.

My first convention was a bit of a culture shock, but yours doesn’t have to be. These are just a few of the things that you may see and experience at the convention. None of these are intended to spook you, only to give you a heads-up of what to expect.

Continue reading “Road to Anthrocon: What to Expect”

Source: Youtube, https://www.youtube.com/user/sonsofmaxwell

Hotel room? Check. Registered for your convention of choice? Check. Now how are you going to get there? You could walk, but it might take a while. Don’t even bother with hitchhiking; that never ends well even if you’ve brought your towel.

If you are within walking distance to the convention or live nearby, then you probably have this part already handled. But for the rest of us, conventions require a serious hike. Many people travel not just across country to go to popular conventions, but across the globe. Whether by road, rail or sky, each method of travel to the convention has its pros, cons and pitfalls.

Continue reading “Road to Anthrocon: Travel”

Source: The Westin, Pittsburgh

Even before you plan for what panels to go to, who you’re going to see, or figure out where the bar is, one of the first things that you need to do when going to a convention is to figure out where the heck you are going to room.

Continue reading “Road to Anthrocon: Housing and Registration”

Source: AnthroCon

Three years ago I up and decided to go to Anthrocon for the first time just a whole two weeks before the actual convention. Not the dumbest decision of my life, but I was totally unprepared!  If it wasn’t for friends bailing me out and offering me a room, I would’ve been completely in over my head. But I had a blast anyway and since then I’ve been to Anthrocon again and other conventions as well.

While I’m still new compared to many who have been going to conventions for years, I’ve had to learn a lot in a short period of time. As I prepare for my third Anthrocon, I want to pass on what I’ve been learning to convention goers new and old.

Continue reading “Road to Anthrocon: Week Zero”