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Anthrocon

I Love Furry: Bunker Projects' art exhibit showing the love of the fandom

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IMG_3219.jpgInside of Bunker Projects I Love Furry art exhibit -Photo by Kamen

As the city of Pittsburgh readied itself to welcome back Anthrocon, a small art gallery on Penn Avenue had viewers asking, “Why do they love furry?”

From June 5th to July 19th, nonprofit artist residency and gallery Bunker Projects hosted their second monumental furry art exhibition I LOVE FURRY. The gallery was created by Portland-based artist Tommy Bruce and involved asking furries in the fandom to submit photos, artwork, and stories about what they love about the community.

Bruce has been making art about the furry community and furry identity since 2010, and this is the second time his furry artwork has been featured in Bunker projects. Last year, he was featured among 60 other furry artists in an exhibit called “Room Party,” the first ever large-scale group exhibit of contemporary furry art. “Room Party” was featured at Bunker Projects last year from June 6th to July 20th, 2025, also meant to coincide with Anthrocon.

Anthrocon brings the heat: 20 years in the steel city!

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20260712_header_image_0.jpgExterior of the David Lawrence Convention Center displaying the Anthrocon flag -Photo by Kamen

In 2006, the Anthrocon Board of Directors voted to move the convention from Philadelphia to the David Lawrence convention center and Westin in Pittsburgh. This was the start of a relationship that culminated in twenty thousand attendees celebrating 20 years of Anthrocon.

Anthrocon took place in Pittsburgh from July 2nd to July 5th with the theme of “Critters, Cryptids, and Curses,” while also celebrating the 20th anniversary of the convention taking place in the steel city. To honor this occasion, Pittsburgh mayor Corey O’Conner came to the organizers of the convention to declare the day “Anthrocon Day.” This was an unexpected gift to the convention, which involved visiting the organizers on July 1st, and the county executive Sara Innamorato congratulating the convention for contributing 169 million dollars into the Pittsburgh economy for the past 20 years.

For 20 years Anthrocon has had a special relation with its host city as it is symbiotic: Anthrocon gets to call the city its host while the city of Pittsburgh generates revenue from attendees.

Anthrocon cancels parade and block party due to continued intense heat

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The intense heat forecast for this fourth of July throughout this weekend has caused Anthrocon to announce that the block party and parade in the city on Saturday will be cancelled.

Anthrocon has been closely monitoring the extreme heat and severe weather situation in Pittsburgh forecast for this weekend. Convention leadership has been in contact with emergency services personnel and other entities regarding this situations.

After careful consideration for the health, safety, and wellbeing of our fursuiters, attendees, and residents of Pittsburgh, Anthrocon has decided to cancel the 2026 Fursuit Parade and Block Party scheduled for 2pm, July 4th.

We know both Anthrocon attendees and our friends in Pittsburgh look forward to this even every year; but the health and safety of all concerned is our paramount priority.

Anthrocon attendees should look for announcements of alternative indoor activities in place of the parade this year. We apologize for the necessity of this decision and hope you'll continue to enjoy the events throughout the holiday weekend.

Weather Underground reports that for Pittsburgh, Saturday afternoon is expecting to have a temperature of 91F / 32.77C but it will feel like 100F / 37.78C.

Anthrocon kicks off 18th year held in Pittsburgh, mayor pledges 'Anthrocon Day'

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20260703_Anthocon Day.jpg

Anthrocon’s 18th year being held in Pittsburgh is in full swing, and on Wednesday the Mayor of Pittsburgh commemorated the occasion by proclaiming that day as “Anthrocon Day”. The convention started to be held in the city 20 years ago, in 2006, which was the catalyst for the celebration. Since then, Anthrocon has held its annual furry convention around June and July in the city, with the exception of 2020 and 2021 having been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Anthrocon regains the largest furry convention status in 2024; but indicates it may cap 2025 attendance

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Midwest Furfest finished its festivities for 2024 with 16,800 people in attendance, and raised $136,000 for their charity the Street Dog Coalition. This shows continued healthy, yet slowing growth. It also allowed Anthrocon for the first time since 2017 to retain the lead as the largest furry convention to the end of the year and recapture their status as the largest furry convention in the world.

It was highlighted that despite MFF being such a large convention, there was relatively little to no drama about the service or situation on the ground on social media. The only critique shared heavily was a member of contracted staff being a bit heavy handed with getting ID for 18+ events. However, part of this good vibes may be due to the continuing shift of media platforms from X (formally Twitter) to Bluesky, which accelerated after the US Elections in November.

It was noted that the Rosemont, IL convention certainly is impressive in getting people through the registration line. Where Anthrocon had line waits of several hours, the winter convention didn’t have many complaints about line waits.

Digging Up Positivity July 2024

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In this episode!

  • An exclusive interview with the force behind Brok the investigator
  • Last month's furry charities
  • What makes a fursuit really stands out!
  • The results of the Pride Shirt give-away and how to get one yourself

But first, the latest charity news from the fandom in this July edition of Digging Up Positivity!

How long did you spend in Anthrocon 2024's registration line?

< 30 minutes
5% (7 votes)
30 minutes - 1 hours
1% (1 vote)
1 - 2 hours
4% (5 votes)
2 - 3 hours
6% (9 votes)
3 - 4 hours
1% (1 vote)
4 - 5 hours
1% (2 votes)
Over five hours
4% (6 votes)
Didn't attend (see results)
78% (109 votes)
Votes: 140

Digging Up Positivity July 2023

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Welcome to the July edition of Digging Up Positivity! Time flies when you are having fun and fruit flies like a banana. This episode is filled to the brink with charities, because boy, you lot have been busy! Our guest is one of the most known mice from the Netherlands: Miesdo Mouse.

We have a few announcements and if you like the British furs, you DEFINITELY want to watch till the end of the video. From now on you can become a member of this channel and usually you can see the episodes a wee bit earlier just like my other supporters. But of course, you know the deal: Like and subscribe. I would love to spread the positive goodness from this fandom a bit further thanks to your help!

And now, on with the charities, because boy, there are a lot of these this month:

Smoky air quality likely to impact Anthrocon 2023

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This weekend Anthrocon returns to the city of Pittsburgh, with furries from all around the world traveling into the area to enjoy the yearly jubilation. However this year's festivities are forecasted to be covered in a significant haze, even for the sober attendees. This is due to ongoing wildfires in Canadian provinces to the North.

Accuweather's forecast projects that the air quality index will remain above 200 for the early weekend, this is denoted in the lower "very unhealthy" range. In such conditions it is recommended that exertion is kept to a minimum and not prolonged as the lower quality air can impact and irritate lung function. Those with respiratory conditions need to be particularly cautious of the particulars.

Keep safe and have a wonderful convention.

Anthrocon 2022 - Cops, Convention Centers, and actions you can take to avoid undue stress

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When Anthrocon returned to the city of Pittsburgh in 2022 after the two year pandemic hiatus, the celebrations in the streets were palpable. It had been a long lockdown, and the city was desperate for a return to some sense of normalcy. The irony being that these people in animal costumes and the chaotic atmosphere of the convention had provided this sense of normalcy since their first year in 2006.

When the time had come to close the doors for the renewed celebration though, a situation had started to cause anxiety amongst the furry population who only hours before were lost in the joys of seeing one another in this home away from home once again. After closing ceremonies had come to an end, unaware furries found themselves ushered from the convention spaces immediately by law enforcement in a manner that caused those on the ground to feel as if instead of welcomed guests, they were instead a group to be distrusted and pushed out as soon as the show was over.

This article will go over these reactions, the underlying causes of anxieties, and how future attendees can take steps to avoid the situation themselves should they seek to. Due to length, a keep it short summary has been added below the fold in order to break the summarize the points in the article without as many details.

The geography of furry conventions: how our biggest events tell us about the fandom's past, present, and future

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Furry conventions are inherently tied to the places people are, and thus can give us both context about furry history and perhaps a glimpse into the future. Plus, there are quite a few misconceptions about the world that annoy me; this may help break a stereotype or two.

Map of furry conventions in December 2022

Large furry conventions take on a seasonal pattern

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In October, Biggest Little Fur Con announced that its future 2023 convention will be held in the autumn season as opposed to its usual spring time schedule. This means that four of the largest furry conventions have now settled into time slots to correlate with the four seasons of the year.

The dates for these now include an early December gathering of Midwest Furfest in Chicago for winter, the spring event in Furry Weekend Atlanta, the summer with Anthrocon in Pittsburgh, and now the fall going to Biggest Little Fur Con in Reno. Given this chronological spacing there may be more ample room for these larger conventions to grow in attendance without stepping on one another’s toes.

Before 2022 these four conventions were the most attended furry conventions in the world. However, just this year Furry Fiesta was able to pass Biggest Little Fur Con sliding it back to be the 5th largest convention. The Texas convention having 5,494 this year and the Reno gathering at 5,234. Anthrocon, Midwest Furfest, and Furry Weekend Atlanta retain the top three positions.

Making a Furry Wish - A youth utilizes foundation wish to join furries in Pittsburgh

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The Make a Wish Foundation is an institution that needs little introduction. Founded in the 1980s, this non-profit out of Phoenix, Arizona helps to bring joy toward youths suffering from critical illnesses by assisting them in fulfilling a dream. These usually can be trips to distant places, meet and greets with celebrities, or sometimes simple and interesting such as wanting to ride the whole New York subway line and collect model trains along the way.

The furry fandom found themselves blessed by one such eccentric wish maker who decided to use her wish to go to Anthrocon in Pittsburgh on its returning year of 2022. Shrimp, a young furry fan who suffers from cystic fibrosis, joined the furs during the festivities as her wish. Like most of the furry youth, most of her content can be found through Tiktok.

With permission from their parents, Shrimp was able to answer questions in regards to her experiences at one of the largest furry conventions in the world. As a bonus, an interview with the parents is also provided in the margin.

Digging Up Positivity - July 2022

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Hello and welcome to another episode of Digging Up Positivity! The summer is in full swing. And we have many amazing conventions and fundraisers out there! A lot of furs amongst us have shown that their generosity knows no bounds! But otter than that, we have some cool animation news and our special guest for this month is Keenora. A friendly German wolf known for not just his crazy antics in fursuit but for some lovely charity initiatives as well. And of course, at the end of this episode I will tell you who won last month's raffle: A license for Clip Studio Paint, the software I, together with many artists use for my art. But first, the latest charities!

What does justice mean among furries? An unauthorized account of Megaplex, VancouFur, and Samuel Conway

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It can feel a kind of madness when the memory of the world has moved on without you and you are left unsmothered. It is not madness, however. The feeling is called injustice, and what I aim to show in this account of events, beginning in May of 2020 and ending with Megaplex of 2021, is that this injustice is a cultural issue in furry, produced from west coast to east by figures as disparate as Samuel Conway, the Megaplex convention board, and the British Columbia Anthropomorphic Events Association (BCAEA). I take these as case studies because they involve prolific figures, because they are current, or—with the BCAEA—because they are well-known to me even if they are not well known in general.

I could have chosen other case studies. There’s no scarcity of them—every few months there is a new bad story about a furry-run community group, a fursuit maker, a popular furry personality, or, most recently, a furry convention. This account, in its intention, is both to attempt a brief history of furry spaces since May of 2020 and to explain them as a part of a larger, overarching, and cultural issue. I do this in part because when there is a bad story every few months—one which often involves trauma of some kind—and numerous smaller pains arrive in the weeks in between, it can feel as though you have walked into a numbing fog.

The details become fuzzy and their dates more distant in memory, although they may have only happened months or weeks ago. For others, however, those bad stories aren’t just stories—they are real things that happened to a person and the numbing fog is not always so kind to them. It can feel a kind of madness, and historicizing them, putting them into context and connecting them with other, similar events, is my choice of remedy.

I grew up a nerdy theatre kid who wanted to be a punk. It taught me that I loathe the spotlight (I was compelled by an editor to add this section on myself). I get stage fright, with only the shakiest of legs, and, while I have an excellent memory—as this account may demonstrate—my perpetually flat affect made me unsuitable for serious acting. After that, I turned to writing, first stage plays, then later and with much more enjoyment, fanfiction. Furry as a subculture was a short leap away. While doing what amounts to queer/feminist studies at university, I joined a small poetry community on FurAffinity in 2016, and, unexpectedly, encountered a few poets who were upset whenever my poems mentioned punching Nazis.

My furry experience has continued in that general fashion ever since.