WTF

[felinaeus]

Just fielding ideas here.

Were you to start a Furry Convention, in your opinion, what are the most important things to have?
What events/areas/workshops/etc... do you, as a convention goer (or concom) feel should be present?
What are the best things you've seen and/or experienced at conventions past, wherever they may be?
What kinds of guests are important? Are guests even important at all?


(Yes, this is going somewhere. No, I won't divulge it yet. Yes, I'm probably talking to myself.)

Comments

[frith]

You are not talking to yourself.

I've been to one furry con (C-ACE 05). I went for the art and the art panels/workshops. I should have tried the gaming. A sortie to a related venue would be fun (zoo, gallery, wildlife rehab center...)

[purplezart.livejournal.com]

important things to have in terms of attracting guests? important for keeping staff and volunteers sane? important for not alienating yourself from the community (furry community & local 'mundane' community both) at large?

all of these categories are important for making sure the con happens more than once.

also: oh, you. =P

[nyo-kun.livejournal.com]

I dunno, I mostly go to anime conventions. The only furry cons I've been too were C-ACE and I recently went to AC. Honestly, C-ACE was more entertaining to me than AC. In part because I knew more people and there were many pannels that I actually wanted to see (story building, webcomics, etc) AC's stuff was rather limited and dry. There was also way too much running around, trying to find things.

[solstice-sings.livejournal.com]

Honestly? Don't let it get too big it gets a sense of the personal for the attendees.

One thing I love about Camp Feral is the fact that the numbers of attendees is limited by necessity. But in doing this, you can develop friendships with more people... because you don't feel 'lost in the mob'. I understand that C-ACE felt the same way, with lower numbers, but a more intimate feeling.

For actual programming? Furry dance kinda thing, maybe a costume contest (linked to the dance even)... panels on writing and world-building, dealer's room and art show. Workshops on basic furry art... hmm... many of the things I did at Feral really wouldn't translate well to a normal con.

[medusa-666.livejournal.com]

artist's alley, dealer's room for sure, for workshops, an interesting one would be "learn to make a fursuit" for those that dont know or need tips for certain parts. for that workshp also have a place where people can buy some fur. drawing workshops are good too for those that want to get better at drawing furry art. and a fursuit contest could be fun as well.

[dronon.livejournal.com]

(Bias/context: My last main cons have been MFF and C-ACE; I haven't been to AC or FC for over 7 years.)

Guests of Honor - my opinion on this is that these are optional. If you can get someone really amazing, great; if not, a furry con doesn't technically need one. Most "big names" were never in the fandom, but if you get one whose work the fandom found very inspiring, this is ideal. Even then, the person will probably appeal to only a certain generation of fans, or fans with specific interest towards the field the person works in (webcomics, etc.). Artist guests of honor - I have mixed opinions. It always feels more like an ego stroke and a free ride. On the other hand, it's nice to prop someone up in the fandom every so once in a while.

Fursuiting:

Now that fursuiting is so prevalent in the fandom, formal masquerades seem to be slipping by the wayside. A fursuit parade is a must if there are enough costumes. However, not led by anyone, especially if they have an annoying musical instrument. Fursuiting panels are a must, not just on costuming, but performance workshops if possible, as well as discussions of how to perform in public, and related issues. A "headless lounge", where people can suit up, rehydrate, and cool off with big fans is useful. I've heard one con has a huge air blower contraption where you can hang heads on pvc pipes with air blowing out of them to help drying them out.

I like the idea of a formal stage show of some sort. Furry "variety" shows, however, have generally left me squicked with the content or unimpressed with the quality. Although it's hard to organize, acts should be screened ahead of time, with a rehearsal if possible. With good soundboard control and an ability to raise and lower the lights. If there's no sketch, no one should be on stage for more than 45-60 seconds, regardless of how long they want to play their song for. If people on stage in costume want to speak, cordless mike arrangements are very useful.

Longer stage acts also go over well. Personally I've grown weary of Kage and 2, but anything in that vein (minus the alcohol) is good. Musical acts - never been my thing. Pawpets - only if they have a scripted, practiced show, if only to encourage them to move on from ad-libbing and songs.

Actually an MFF event that I've enjoyed a lot is Sockscat's "Weird things found on the web", basically his laptop, a video projector, and a lot of chairs. It's just random fun Internet videos. Some that a lot of folks have seen, but others haven't. Most of them not even furry, schadenfreude of people having accidents, commercials, and so on. I seem to recall someone else on the west coast used to show furry commercials, from old 1960s stuff to modern days. Great for a hour and a half tops (though multiple screenings work), when you just want a quick break, laugh a bit, and be able to wander in or out at any time you like, not being trapped for a full-length feature. This felt a lot more enjoyable than anything in a typical barely-occupied video room; it really drew in a crowd.

Dealer's show and art room: definitely. I liked C-ACE's polite limitations but I know I'm in the minority in that respect. Artist's alley: if there's enough people; no idea how they're organized. Anything that makes it easier for direct payment without having to get individual business licenses is great, if local law allows for it. Credit card services are tricky to set up, but useful for artshow and registration payments. Fast turnaround times for artists being paid for their artshow sales will guarantee happy, returning artists and improve the con's reputation.

Art auction: the best arrangement I saw was at EF, where the staff took low-res photos of items up for auction, added a watermark, and projected them on the wall so the audience could see what was being bid on, when it wasn't clear what the runner was holding. The projection also updated itself with the current bid, shown in several currencies.

(continued)

[dronon.livejournal.com]

(continued from previous post)

Charity auction: these are great, not only for good causes, but they're important PR for the fandom, that regardless of how weird things can get, the charitable among us are quite willing to do good.

Having a gaming area, not too out of the way, neither too noisy from nearby functions. Actually it's useful to have general-purpose tables, chairs, and seating areas around in general, the closer to the main areas of the con the better, but not arranged in such a way that fursuiters pausing for photo ops will cause traffic bottlenecks. Artists like to have places they can congregate en masse and scribble; and tables are good for short-term games that aren't worked into the game-room schedule. And then of course, there's the con suite.

Dance: not my thing, but these are popular. If you can get DJs who will break the pattern and play 80s/early 90s stuff for the older crowd, this would be a dream come true. Most furs I know aren't interested in dancing to rave and techno with glowsticks.

Panels: a lot of people never go to panels, but it's good to have some. The usual smattering of creative-writing discussions, spirituality and whatnot. I prefer moderated panels to undermoderated, with diverse viewpoints. (ie not listening to one person or close group of friends talking about themselves constantly.) Fursuiting as mentioned earlier. No fox, cat, animal-etc SIGs. Panels that actually discuss the fandom itself, the things in it, and relating to getting along with everyone else. A "So this is your first furry con" educational panel. "Meet the GoHs", if you have any. I remember at an old AC there was a really interesting panel about running cons. Opened my eyes to whole layers of complexity I hadn't been aware of.

Workshops: These are great, for folks looking to pick up skills they wouldn't be able to otherwise. Figure drawing - anything with a certain extra focus you wouldn't get in your everyday art school or night class. Live animal drawing - Serval had videos from a con where some people brought exotic cats to a con and did a presentation to a packed room.

Con theme: again, I never really got into this. It has leant some nice decor to cons, now and again, and given the conbook a certain flair. Definitely include a local restaurant guide. A kick-ass t-shirt is a must, anything furry that you could still wear outside the con without arousing strange looks. (Ie, family-safe. Like the FC 2008 shirt.)

The con should have a clear lost-and-found, and the hotel staff should know where it is. Noteboards or kiosks for people to post notes and party announcements, especially if the hotel has a strict sign policy. A table for flyers.

Lastly, con security. Get ones who aren't afraid to be "the bad guy" and enforce good behaviour in public areas. Actually, hire non-furries as con security; they can't so easily be accused of playing favourites. They won't worry about causing offense or drama, because at the end of the day, fandom politics doesn't matter to them.

Edit: Oh, and chocolate! There must be the chocolate divine!!