Well gang, I had a couple firsts recently. I got my first official press/media credentials ...and I got them at my first Furry fandom convention, The Rocket City FurMeet. Couldn't have happened at a nicer place! Seriously.
RCFM was my fourth con since getting into the scene in 2008 with Crisis Con (then in it's first year). From then to now, I've met and gotten familiar with the Steampunks, Brown Coats (Firefly), Gothic Lolita set, Anime fans, and the 501st Star Wars folks. Even met a Neko or two. One group I still had no clue about was Furries, even after hanging out with a few on Second Life. Rocket City FurMeet was the perfect place to go learn about this enthusiast group. In short, I was pleasently surprised.
First off, since this was my first press credit, Alexander Katz, head of security, was kind enough to give me a guided tour and offer some insight into Furry fandom. Not only did I get to meet the polite and pleasant security, but I was introduced to several of the artists and vendors in the Dealer's Den. Had a great time talking with folks on everything from digitrade (back-swept Satyr type legs) to the new Worgen player models soon to be in World of Warcraft. (oh you bet there were some WoW players in the house.) Even met a fellow who was a former Battle Bots roboteer, and had battled Grant Imahara (of Mythbusters). Not only did he have some great stories to tell about one of my all-time favorite shows, but SOLion had some absolutely wicked high tech adapted into his fur suits for sale. Enhanced hearing, night vision, and a facial expression tracking systems that worked similarly to the robot arms on the Space Shuttle and International Space Station. He also designed an air cooling rig that worked on the same ideal as a cool suit for a NASA space suit. Turns out, there are soldiers in Afghanistan using a modified version of his design. This tech was originally designed to keep a fur suiter from over-heating.
Speaking of which, any costumer, be they Ren Faire to Anime, needs a place to sit down and cool off other than a hotel room. The next stop on the tour was "The Headless Room" for con goers. This along with a well stocked con suite were nice touches. The latter was set up make sure people were decently hydrated and fed, because, as we all know, it's easy to forget to eat. Ah, but RCFM took things a step further by having a free pizza night. As many slices as you want, in addition to the great selection of free snacks and drinks. Thought this was a welcome plus on several levels.
Next stop was an auction to raise money for a local animal rescue charity. Yes! These folks do charity work! Various bits of art among other things were auctioned. Alexander also clued me in on a fun tradition called "The Wheel of Blame" as well as taking a random guest and making them a surprise Guest of Honor of sorts. Guests of Honor get a few extra perks to enjoy during their time at the con. Thought this was a great idea and a really fun touch.
After the auction, my guide had to make the rounds, so it was time to wander. Now, at this point I'm sure you're wondering what it was really like to walk around amongst the Furries. Ever been to a theme park and took a picture with a mascot? Same thing. Pleasant, friendly, comical, and respectful. Sorry folks, no seething perverse orgies of public lust here. For the record, I was treated well and never once groped or propositioned inappropriately (I didn't expect to be in the first place). While there was a small quantity of adult artwork, it was quite clear that things were in place to keep minors away from it. Otherwise, this really was a family friendly event. No kidding. Parents and children staying in the hotel, and not part of the con, were happily taking pictures with suited con goers. Even a wedding party took a group picture with one of the Furries. I think that says a lot, don't you?
During the wander time, I bumped into a few friends from some of the previous cons mentioned above. Turns out some of them do a version of the mermaid suit thing...that actually functions in water! I had to see this thing called Monotail, so after some break time, we met at the hotel pool for an impromptu demo. It's basically a single diver fin with two slots for feet and a spandex sheath that goes from waist to ankles, or over the fin. Just like with the exceptional detail and creativity of other costumes seen in the day, I was fascinated. There's a lot of themeing possibilities with this kind of costume, and it was just plain cool to watch these folks swim. Heh, now I can say I hung out with mermaids too. ;)
From start to finish, Rocket City FurMeet was a joy. As an enthusiast of a different sort, I really connected with the zest for details, masterful artistry, and fun. Just like I LOVE my themeparks, Furries love their costumes and they strike as very similar to Ren Faire folks. There's a similar playfulness and good spirit that even this year's featured convention artist, XianJaguar, exemplifies. (Her work graces the RCFM website and more can be seen at http://www.xianjaguar.com/)
Think you might want to channel your inner animal? Then check out: http://www.rcfm.net/ for more info.
Big thanks to Alexander Katz and company at Rocket City FurMeet for excellent hospitality and for being my teachers this day.
RCFM was my fourth con since getting into the scene in 2008 with Crisis Con (then in it's first year). From then to now, I've met and gotten familiar with the Steampunks, Brown Coats (Firefly), Gothic Lolita set, Anime fans, and the 501st Star Wars folks. Even met a Neko or two. One group I still had no clue about was Furries, even after hanging out with a few on Second Life. Rocket City FurMeet was the perfect place to go learn about this enthusiast group. In short, I was pleasently surprised.
First off, since this was my first press credit, Alexander Katz, head of security, was kind enough to give me a guided tour and offer some insight into Furry fandom. Not only did I get to meet the polite and pleasant security, but I was introduced to several of the artists and vendors in the Dealer's Den. Had a great time talking with folks on everything from digitrade (back-swept Satyr type legs) to the new Worgen player models soon to be in World of Warcraft. (oh you bet there were some WoW players in the house.) Even met a fellow who was a former Battle Bots roboteer, and had battled Grant Imahara (of Mythbusters). Not only did he have some great stories to tell about one of my all-time favorite shows, but SOLion had some absolutely wicked high tech adapted into his fur suits for sale. Enhanced hearing, night vision, and a facial expression tracking systems that worked similarly to the robot arms on the Space Shuttle and International Space Station. He also designed an air cooling rig that worked on the same ideal as a cool suit for a NASA space suit. Turns out, there are soldiers in Afghanistan using a modified version of his design. This tech was originally designed to keep a fur suiter from over-heating.
Speaking of which, any costumer, be they Ren Faire to Anime, needs a place to sit down and cool off other than a hotel room. The next stop on the tour was "The Headless Room" for con goers. This along with a well stocked con suite were nice touches. The latter was set up make sure people were decently hydrated and fed, because, as we all know, it's easy to forget to eat. Ah, but RCFM took things a step further by having a free pizza night. As many slices as you want, in addition to the great selection of free snacks and drinks. Thought this was a welcome plus on several levels.
Next stop was an auction to raise money for a local animal rescue charity. Yes! These folks do charity work! Various bits of art among other things were auctioned. Alexander also clued me in on a fun tradition called "The Wheel of Blame" as well as taking a random guest and making them a surprise Guest of Honor of sorts. Guests of Honor get a few extra perks to enjoy during their time at the con. Thought this was a great idea and a really fun touch.
After the auction, my guide had to make the rounds, so it was time to wander. Now, at this point I'm sure you're wondering what it was really like to walk around amongst the Furries. Ever been to a theme park and took a picture with a mascot? Same thing. Pleasant, friendly, comical, and respectful. Sorry folks, no seething perverse orgies of public lust here. For the record, I was treated well and never once groped or propositioned inappropriately (I didn't expect to be in the first place). While there was a small quantity of adult artwork, it was quite clear that things were in place to keep minors away from it. Otherwise, this really was a family friendly event. No kidding. Parents and children staying in the hotel, and not part of the con, were happily taking pictures with suited con goers. Even a wedding party took a group picture with one of the Furries. I think that says a lot, don't you?
During the wander time, I bumped into a few friends from some of the previous cons mentioned above. Turns out some of them do a version of the mermaid suit thing...that actually functions in water! I had to see this thing called Monotail, so after some break time, we met at the hotel pool for an impromptu demo. It's basically a single diver fin with two slots for feet and a spandex sheath that goes from waist to ankles, or over the fin. Just like with the exceptional detail and creativity of other costumes seen in the day, I was fascinated. There's a lot of themeing possibilities with this kind of costume, and it was just plain cool to watch these folks swim. Heh, now I can say I hung out with mermaids too. ;)
From start to finish, Rocket City FurMeet was a joy. As an enthusiast of a different sort, I really connected with the zest for details, masterful artistry, and fun. Just like I LOVE my themeparks, Furries love their costumes and they strike as very similar to Ren Faire folks. There's a similar playfulness and good spirit that even this year's featured convention artist, XianJaguar, exemplifies. (Her work graces the RCFM website and more can be seen at http://www.xianjaguar.com/)
Think you might want to channel your inner animal? Then check out: http://www.rcfm.net/ for more info.
Big thanks to Alexander Katz and company at Rocket City FurMeet for excellent hospitality and for being my teachers this day.
7 comments:
It was a Pleasure to meet you, I look forward to seeing you again in the future at some convention somewhere.
Great to see you there and hear that you had such a great time!
@Alexander - I plan to be at different ones, but delighted to come back to RCFM. You all did a great job!
@darktiger77 - Really enjoyed the time at RCFM. Learned a bunch. Met a lot of folks but didn't get names. Wish I had. The husky (?) in the photo and his friend were a hoot!
Thank you all for the kind words. Greatly appreciated!
We met briefly, but I remember you. Was nice to meet you, and I'm glad to see that you enjoyed your time with us. I'm KO, the Chaircat from the previous 7 years and the one who led those who brought RCFM into being. We've had a couple of articles written about us, but yours has to be the nicest one I've seen yet. ;)
The husky in the suit is named Flits, and was a very active suiter at con. =) His Fur-Affinity profile is here, though he usually only uses it to find pictures Flits is in and tag them.
I'm glad you had such a pleasant experience, and hope you choose to come back at some point!
@Kevin - Thank you for the kind words. Really appreciate that. This blog points out the good stuff and everything described was exactly what I saw and experienced. Had I not, this conversation nor article would not have happened. Too, while the subject was new to me, my varied backgrounds in Ren Faires, Steampunk, cons, and recent research into creature costumes of sorts, helped quite a bit. That and being a WoW fan, Nasa fan, and nerd also helped. Those topics (among many others) helped me relate to brother and sister creatives and the underlying drive to do what they do. The underpinnings are basically the same, the medium is really the only difference. All of that was swirling around in my head during conversations throughout the day. It really was a lot of fun.
@Spectrum - Thank you for the info. Flits and his friend were a trip! You couldn't help but grin at the energy and enthusiasm. They were also very patient when it came to re-taking pictures, which I appreciated. Enjoyed hanging out with them.
@Spectrum - Updated the photo stream pic with Flits' name and a thank you to you. Appreciate that info.
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