Chapter Eleven: Anthrocon: the Convention That Conquered Pittsburgh
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Chapter Eleven: Anthrocon: The Convention that Conquered Pittsburgh There’s this store where the creatures meet I wonder what they do in there Summer Sundays and a year — Jim Morrison, She Lives on Love Street * * * A pride of lions…a school of fish… a congregation of alligators…as people who have adopted animal identities, furs deserve a group name as well. I nominate “a convention of furs.” That is, after all, where we gather. Those 65 furs who attended ConFurence Zero in 1989? The tiniest of blips compared to the 45,000 furs who attended conventions worldwide in 2015. The lion‟s share of those fans—about 35,000—gathered at the 40-plus furcons held in North America, from Reno Nevada (“The Biggest Little Furcon”) to Edmonton Canada (“Fur- Eh!”); eleven of those conventions attracted over a thousand furs; several, multiple thousands. Furry conventions have been held across Europe,1 in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines…the list goes on. The world‟s three largest furcons take place in the US, the country where Furry was born: San Jose‟s “Further ConFusion,” “Midwest FurFest” just outside of Chicago and the biggest of them all: Pittsburgh‟s “Anthrocon2.” * * * 1 Just to mention a few: “Confuzzled” (England), “Eurofurence” (Germany), “Furtastic” (Denmark), “Futerkon” (Poland), “Rusfurrence” (Russia), “WUFF” (The Ukraine), “Zampacon” (Italy)… 2 Midwest FurFest is closing in on Anthrocon‟s record as the world‟s largest furry convention: in 2016 MFF attracted 7,075 furs vs. Anthrocon‟s 7,310. And a Roach Shall Lead the Way It‟s 82 degrees in downtown Pittsburgh on this particular July afternoon. It feels a lot hotter in the sun, yet hundreds of „burghers are gathered on a street in front of the David Lawrence Convention Center. The street continues through a tunnel-like space just under the massive structure, where several hundred smarter, cooler folks line its sidewalks or sit atop the concrete stanchions protecting the building‟s supporting columns. They‟re waiting for a parade—the Anthrocon fursuit parade—to begin. In the past only furs attending the convention were able to view the event, which until today never left the convention center. Many in the crowd hold yellow signs reading “I ♥”—with a pawprint inside the heart—“Anthrocon,” distributed by convention volunteers. The crowd cheers as the first „suiters come into view: a fox tapping a marching rhythm on a cymbal, the famous ballpark mascot the San Diego Chicken (one of this year‟s Guests of Honor), followed by two tigers, several dragons, a polar bear and a green and white husky. (Huskies and their upward-curling, plushly furred tails are quite popular among canine fursuiters.)Close behind them is a round-faced gentleman with close-cropped black hair and a curly-wired earpiece affixed to the side of his head. He‟s carrying a large bullhorn and wearing a white lab coat. On the back of the coat is a picture of a frantic looking man hunched over a workbench, operating an enormous, antique electrical machine, sparks flying. The words “MAD SCIENTIST‟S UNION / LOCAL # 3.14” frame the picture. Some 1400 fursuiters will follow in his wake, but in the meantime he raises the bullhorn to his lips and speaks. “Thank you Pittsburgh! This is all for you, this is our way of giving back to you to show our appreciation of how very kind you‟ve been to us.” Ladies and gentlemen, and people of all species, meet Uncle Kage. * * * To be continued this fall in FURRY NATION: A very human story By Joe Strike From Cleis Press .