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Anthrocon

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Anthrocon
File:Anthrocon.gif
StatusActive
VenueWestin Hotel and David L. Lawrence Convention Center
Location(s)Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
CountryUSA
Attendance2,849 (2007)
Major eventsArtists' Alley, Art Show, Dealers Room, Panels, Workshops, Variety Show, Stand-up Comedy
Organized byAnthrocon, Inc.
Websitehttp://www.anthrocon.org/

Anthrocon is the world's largest furry convention, taking place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania each July. Its focus is on furries: fictional anthropomorphized animal characters in art and literature.

Background

Founded in 1997 as Albany Anthrocon (sometimes abbreviated simply as "AC") in New York State, with a membership of about 500, the convention moved to Valley Forge, Pennsylvania in 1999 and to a larger hotel, the Adams Mark, on the outskirts of Philadelphia in 2001 as its attendance continued to grow. Membership in 2003 was announced as 1,949. In 2004 it was 2,406, making it by far the largest furry convention at that time. Attendance in 2005 dropped slightly to 2,373, due in part to higher parking fees, a different and unfamiliar hotel (the Wyndham Franklin Plaza in downtown Philadelphia), and possibly due to Hurricane Dennis's effect on the southern United States which closed many airports and prevented people from travelling.

Due to the unforeseen sale of the Adams Mark Hotel in November 2004, Anthrocon chose the Wyndham Franklin Plaza in Philadelphia as the site for its 2005 convention. In June 2005, a contract with the Westin Convention Center Hotel in Pittsburgh was signed, and Anthrocon was scheduled to be held at the adjoining David L. Lawrence Convention Center between June 15-18, 2006. Despite concerns that the move to Pittsburgh and temporary date shift would decrease attendance, it actually rose to 2,489, which was enough to ensure the future of the convention for July 5-8, 2007.

The chairman of the convention, Dr. Samuel Conway (nicknamed "Kagemushi" or "Uncle Kage" among attendees), oversees the operations of the Anthrocon with the help of a small staff and a number of volunteers who donate their time and energy throughout the weekend to assist the multitude of small tasks which arise. Since 1997, Anthrocon has donated more than $66,000 to animal-related charities.[1]

Typical Anthrocon programming

A photo of the fursuit dance at Anthrocon 2005.
  • Opening and Closing Ceremonies
  • Dealers Room
  • Art Shows (General and Mature)
  • Art Show Auctions
  • Artists' Alley
  • Stand-up Comedy
  • Masquerade
  • Charity Auction
  • Internet Room
  • "The Zoo"
  • Supersponsor Lounge
  • Supersponsor Luncheon
  • Fursuit Dance
  • Fursuit Parade
  • Role-playing Games
  • Dance Dance Revolution Tournament
  • Special-interest Groups
  • Uncle Kage's Story Hour
  • Art Demonstration
  • Puppetry Instruction

Themes for Anthrocon

  • 2008: It's a Jungle Out There
  • 2007: Looking to the Future
  • 2006: Making History
  • 2005: Heroes
  • 2004: Summer Games
  • 2003: Creatures of the Night
  • 2002: Inventions
  • 2001: Furries in Flight
  • 2000: Furries of Myth and Legend
  • 1999: Join the Furry Revolution
  • 1998: Here There Be Dragons
  • 1997: An East Coast Furry Convention

The "Zoo"

A photo of the Zoo at Anthrocon 2004.

The Zoo is a customary area of the Anthrocon convention space in which attendees may lounge freely, eat and drink, rest, draw, chat, and generally "decompress" from the bustle and crowding of the rest of the convention events going on around them.

The Zoo has existed as such in Anthrocon programming since 2000, except in 2005 as there were no rooms available to dedicate for the space, and because the hotel lobby bar was available for essentially the same purpose. There were also an open hotel restaurant and adjacent sitting areas throughout the lobby, ballroom, and mezzanine floor balconies which served as de facto Zoo space during the 2005 convention.

As attendance of Anthrocon grows, it will become more and more crucial to provide adequate loitering space for congoers to congregate which is not immediately around doorways, elevators, and other public hotel-space which must be shared with hotel staff and guests not attending the convention.

As a large part of the 'experience' of Anthrocon is interpersonal socialization, the more customary convention programming is ultimately unable to suffice by itself. This, combined with the effects of jet lag (due to attendees traveling from across the country and even as far away as Japan), and sleep deprivation due to attempting to attend as many events as possible and meet as many people as possible within the general 4-day timeframe of the convention, gives rise to a definite need to have space more or less devoted to small-group socialization, and relaxation without the need to return to a hotel room (an increasingly arduous and lengthy endeavor as the ratio of attendance to convention space goes up).

Guests of Honor

Every year the convention has several Guests of Honor - prominent individuals who are compensated for their attendance and travel expenses. Past Guests of Honor at Anthrocon have included:

Trivia

  • Bob Uecker stopped by the 2007 AnthroCon, as he was visiting Pittsburgh at the time and had been booked in the same hotel as the convention. He posed for pictures with several con guests.[4]

References

  1. ^ Anthrocon, Inc. (2006-03-29). "Anthrocon History". Retrieved 2007-04-14.
  2. ^ Anthrocon's first guest of honor named, Uncle Kage, Anthrocon LiveJournal, 19 August 2006
  3. ^ Anthrocon's 2007 Guests of Honor announced!, Uncle Kage, Anthrocon website, 12 Nov 2006
  4. ^ Red Eye w/ Greg Gutfeld. Broadcast: July 7, 2007.
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