Anthrocon 2025: Celebration and New Fursuit

I’m sitting at the airport, waiting for my flight home, and I still can’t fully process everything that happened during Anthrocon 2025. What started as a trip to celebrate a decade of attending furry conventions turned into something much more personal, emotional, and unforgettable. From the decision of going to Kennywood to the long awaited arrival of my new fursuit, and the little encounters that meant the world to me, this convention ended up being one of the most special experiences I’ve ever had, and that’s too much to say, since this was my 60th furry convention so far.

Arriving and Kennywood Park

I hadn’t meant to arrive so early, but due to a booking mistake, I landed in Pittsburgh on Tuesday, July 1st. One day ahead of my original plan. While searching for flights, I found a good deal with a connection in Dallas, and only after purchasing it did I realize I had selected the 1st instead of the 2nd. Oops.

Luckily, I had a free hotel night to use, so it all worked out. My friends weren’t arriving until the next day, so I had one full day to myself. I decided to spend it at Kennywood Park. I love amusement parks and roller coasters, and getting to that park was easy, just one bus from downtown.

I got to ride all the major coasters, including Phantom’s Revenge and Steel Curtain, which were my favorites. Even some lame ones, there was one named Noah’s Ark which was incredibly funny how lame it was, and The Old Mill which more than lame it was charm. The park wasn’t too crowded, though busier than I expected for a Wednesday.

Being solo, I often shared rides with strangers, and once even with a park employee, there was a ride that repeatedly warned on the queue: “no solo riders.” I ignored the signs, and eventually, they had a staff member ride with me.
Ironically, on the mildest ride of all (one with an UFO spaceship that was just spinning and going up and down, nothing wild at allI), the girl next to me fainted, and they had to stop everything and call paramedics. Wild!

Earlier that morning, I’d stopped at the Starbucks next to the Westin Hotel, and they already had decorations for Anthrocon. They even had the infamous “Furryccino” on the menu (the same drink I tried back in 2017 and swore I’d never order again, it’s horrible). I was the first person to add a sticky note drawing to their board.

That evening, my roommates finally arrived, all on the same flight, and we went out to dinner at Outback Steakhouse. One of them is Australian and wanted to see if the food was authentic (spoiler: it wasn’t). When a friend mentioned the waiter we had a friend who was visiting from Australia, they gave him a rubber duck with a koala face that said “Outback.”

Reg, Conbook, and Cheesecake Factory

Huge kudos to Anthrocon for how smooth the registration process was, especially with over 18,000 attendees.
It was Thursday, July 3rd. I wanted to get my badge as early as possible because I needed time to set up my art show display. Luckily, I had my badge in hand, sponsor gifts included, in less than an hour.

My drawing “Undersea Adventures” got to be displayed in the conbook. Also something very cool is that they had an exhibition of their conbooks over the years nearby con-ops. I’m a conbook enthusiastic, and I love that gallery they had there, I spent a lot of time scrolling those conbook covers, wishing I could scroll them but that would have taken me ages. Ah yeah, the reason why I went to con-ops and checked that very early: because as soon as I picked my badge up, I got to hug a fursuiter and accidentally dropped my convention badge, it was not even 10 minutes with me. I asked a staff member where lost and found was, and they took me inside the convention center (they helped me getting in, because they were already checking badges in order to get in the building), and while I was filling my lost item, another staff member got with my badge, saying “we just find this one”, “oh wait a second, that’s mine!”. I didn’t lose it again!

Setting up the art show took me about three hours. I had brought 22 pieces with me (my largest exhibition so far, as I had said on a previous journal) but only had four panels to work with, so it became a bit of a Tetris puzzle to make everything look good and cohesive.
Koidel was also setting up his exhibit and took longer than me; he had even more pieces. I was craving for coffee, but it was already 19:00, and most coffee shops had closed, except for one Starbucks about ten minutes away on foot. I rushed over and asked Koidel if he wanted something too.

I barely made it before they closed. But then came the hard part: walking back eight blocks with two coffees and a suitcase in hand. When I finally got to the room… Koidel’s coffee spilled all over the carpet. Tragedy! :(

Later, our group and I went out for dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. Since we were all from different parts of the world, we wanted to experience something stereotypically American. When the waitress asked if we were celebrating anything, my friends lied and said it was my birthday. I got a free ice cream and a round of birthday singing (it was not my birthday!!).

We also bought an entire cheesecake to bring back to the hotel for a party. I used my raccoon instincts to grab some plates and cutlery from the Westin’s food area (they were free! :P )

Anniversary Party

I kept repeating it to everyone: this convention marked 10 years since I started attending furry conventions. My very first was Anthrocon 2015. But it turned out I wasn’t the only one celebrating. My friend Riff reminded us it was his 20th anniversary, his first con being Anthrocon 2005. So, we had a double celebration!

We had cake in the room, and our friend Meisarrg even gave us little gifts. While we were hanging out, I got a text: my fursuit had arrived. I ran to pick it up immediately.
Back at the room, I handed the box to my friends and asked them to do the unboxing while I kept my eyes closed. I wanted my first impression to be in full character, seeing myself in the mirror as my panda. They placed the head on me, and when I finally opened my eyes... I couldn’t help but cry. Tears of joy.

I’d seen pictures before and followed the process for years, but seeing it in person, and as me, through the mirror, was a different thing. It was more beautiful than I imagined.

We all suited up that night. Even though it was already 1 a.m., we went out to the waterfront. I ran into several people who recognized me right away, despite not knowing I had a new suit. Some hesitated, asking, “Are you Paco?” but nearly everyone familiar with my character figured it out immediately.

New Fursuit

Back in 2017, I decided it was time to commission a new version of my panda fursuit, the third version overall, but the first one not made by me.

Version 1.0 was made in summer 2011 and only worn two or three times. I wasn’t happy with it, so later that year, I made Version 2.0 from scratch. That second version stayed with me for years. It went through many changes, refurbishments, and fixes over time, but I knew it wouldn’t last forever, especially with how often I traveled and performed in it.

When I commissioned Version 3.0 in 2017, the maker told me I could expect it in the first half of 2019. But things didn’t go as planned. It wasn’t until 2022 that they finally contacted me to begin working on the head. I was extremely picky (I know my character by heart) so I gave a lot of feedback and probably became a bit of a headache for them.

Eventually, they finished the head and even posted photos online. They began asking about the body and footpaws, but then... silence. They ghosted me. For years.
At the end of 2024, I found out the company had declared bankruptcy and disappeared. I assumed I’d lost everything: my money, my fursuit, and my hope for it.

Then, a miracle happened. I somehow got in touch with a third-party agency (I’m still not sure exactly what kind of company or agency they were) that had my head in storage. They didn’t even know what it was. They called it a “bear mask.” I sent them proof of my messages I had had with the maker and all payments, signed a ton of paperwork, and once everything was cleared, they agreed to ship it to me.
They initially said it would ship around July 4 or 5, which would’ve been too late for Anthrocon. Still, I replied that I was grateful, but if there was any way they could send it earlier, it would mean the world to me.

Surprisingly, they did. They mailed it that same day and gave me a tracking number. To make things even smoother, I gave them a Canadian address (my friend’s address) since they were driving to Anthrocon and it would avoid customs delays.
Everything worked out. The head arrived to their addresss on June 24, and I received it just in time for the convention.

Fursuiting 101

Friday, July 4th. I woke up early, barely having slept, but I was too excited to care. I couldn't wait to suit up again and planned to attend Gale’s panel, “Fursuiting 101”

By the time I arrived, the room was already packed with fursuiters. I recognized so many faces: Croc O’Dile, Sconder, Mosfet, Tavi Munk… too many to list. As soon as I stepped onto the stage, Gale spotted me and introduced me to the audience. (You can even catch the moment in this video: https://youtu.be/LN3QOIX4EEw?si=rV9A0Ga3Nyd8YaVb&t=900 )
That panel is always a fun chaos, and being a part of it was a blast. I got paired with Tavi Munk for one of the activities, which was a real honor. He’s someone I admire and respect a lot, his energy is always positive and contagious.

I’ve Made Too Much Pasta

Speaking of people I admire, one of them is Scurrow. I love everything he creates: his disturbing photographies, strange videos, and unique art pieces. I even have a small collection of original Scurrows at home. And over the past few years, I’ve become obsessed with his band, I’ve Made Too Much Pasta.

I enjoyed their first album, “Swear I Saw Your Mouth Move”, when it came out eight years ago, especially the “Raccoon Song.” But it was their second album, “How to Drive a Bus”, that really hooked me, especially the song “Marko.”

I saw them perform live for the first time at Anthrocon 2024 as a complete band (I had seen the raccoon performing solo before). That show pulled me into a mosh pit surrounded by fursuiters. I hadn’t joined a mosh pit since 2011, back when I was a teen going to punk concerts. I stopped after I got injured during those mosh pits, thinking I was too old for that kind of chaos. But now? A mosh pit in fursuit? YES PLEASE!
Since then, I’ve seen them again at MFF 2024, FWA 2025, and now Anthrocon 2025, and I always attend in fursuit. The energy at this show was slightly more relaxed than previous ones, but still a lot of fun. While flailing around in the pit, I even ran into a few people I hadn’t seen in years, we got to catch up after the set.

After the concert, I headed back to the hotel to take a shower and switch out to human mode. Later, when I walked through the con floor, I noticed the band was still signing albums and selling merch. I already owned both albums (on multiple versions, even) but I spotted a poster I didn’t have. So I bought it and asked them (once again) to sign it.

I always feel a little awkward during moments like that. Even though I’ve had friendly encounters with mainstream musicians I admire before, I still worry I come across as too much of a fanboy. But I’m glad I went anyway.

Art Show Reception with Fireworks

That evening, I attended the art show reception, an event for artists, staff, and super/ultra sponsors to view the art show after hours while enjoying snacks and drinks. It’s such a cozy event, and I really wish more conventions would host something like it. Even when I’m not participating, the art show is always one of my favorite parts to explore.

This year’s reception happened on July 4th, so the north-facing wall of the convention center gave us the perfect view of the fireworks over the river. It was a perfect combo: art + snacks + fireworks + furries. Pure magic!

The show itself was dangerous for my wallet. Scurrow had pieces up again, and I can’t resist bidding. But this time, Leaf Dubois also had some pieces, including one featuring Colin and Aiden from "Closet Raccoon", the very first furry comic I ever read. Seeing those characters on display felt meaningful, and I knew I had to try to win it.

After the reception, we all transformed back into big colorful animals and headed to the dances. It had been ages since I danced in fursuit until I dropped from exhaustion. We hadn’t even planned to go, it was a spontaneous decision, but it turned out the DJ was my friend Ravertooth.

Among the crowd, I ran into Foster and Furahi, close friends I’ve shared many adventures with (including DnD games where Ravertooth was our DM). Maybe I’m romanticizing it, but running into them there, during that exact moment, felt like a perfect little coincidence.

Dealers Den Quick Run

Saturday, July 5th. I realized I hadn’t made any time to visit the Dealers Den, and this was supposed to be my vacation con! Usually, I’m behind a table selling commissions or books, but not this time. I was determined to at least walk through it.

By 9:30 a.m., coffee in hand, I made my way in with the intention of “just browsing, not spending money"

After 10 years of attending furry conventions, my house is already full of furry merch: furry frames, shirts, plushies.... I honestly didn’t need anything new. But… well, I walked out with art books from artists I admire, stickers, pins, a Jacato t-shirt, a belt, and even a cardboard badge. I couldn’t help it.

In the end, I’m glad I made time for it. There’s something so energizing about walking past hundreds of creators, saying hi to people you follow online, and finding little surprises you didn’t know you needed.

Fursuit Parade and Block Party

Ten years ago, I experienced my first fursuit parade at Anthrocon, the same year Anthrocon took the parade out onto the streets for the first time. It was one of the biggest highlights of that trip, and I knew I couldn’t miss it this year. Especially with the 10 year milestone, it felt like a full circle moment.

This time, participation was limited and required pre-registration. I wasn’t going to risk missing it, so I lined up early the day before to secure my spot.
Last year, I’d made the mistake of arriving too early to the staging area and ended up waiting three hours in fursuit before stepping outside. This year, I planned to not show so early and showed up just 30 minutes before they closed the doors. The whole process felt more organized, and I only waited about an hour before heading out to the parade.

It was just as magical as my first parade. As I descended the escalators and stepped onto the streets, the cheers, high-fives, waving hands, and smiling faces overwhelmed me. I felt a wave of joy under the panda mask, even some quiet tears. There’s something about that perspective, being this joyful animal walking through a sea of happiness, that’s hard to put into words. It gives you an adrenaline rush like no other.

The final stretch back into the convention center is always very tiring. My energy was running out, and the summer heat wasn’t helping, but I didn’t want it to end. As soon as I stepped back inside, I could feel all that excitement drain at once, like flipping a switch.
After a quick rest, I headed to the Block Party that takes place in the closed-off streets surrounding the convention center. It’s such a fun part of the event: live music, rollerblading fursuiters, dancers, folks just vibing and interacting with the public. I mostly wandered around, taking photos, giving hugs, and chatting with other furries. I was also staying in suit because I had signed up for one more event in fursuit later that day.

Doodles for Charity

Anthrocon doesn’t have a dedicated “Doodles for Charity” event like some other conventions do (in fact, I even help organize that event at others). But here, Koidel and I volunteered to be part of the charity bucket brigade, and we decided to put a spin on it by offering drawings in fursuit in exchange for donations.

This was my second year doing this at Anthrocon, but the first time I dragged Koidel into it with me. Last year he just carried the bucket around; this time, we were both on the ground, sketching for people.

We chose the skybridge for our setup, thinking it would get good traffic, but it turned out to be a bad spot. Everyone was in a hurry, rushing to panels or events. For the first 10 minutes, we barely got any attention. Most people just gave us polite smiles or said things like, “Oh, I want a drawing but I don’t have cash!” or “I definitely want a drawing by you, guys, but I’m in a hurry!”

We did eventually attract a few curious folks and managed to do some drawings. I think I ended up with five total, far fewer than I usually do during this kind of activity. I even invited some other fursuiters to join us, and a couple did. One of them was Coopertom, who grabbed some crayons and drew beside us. I honestly wanted to keep the sketch he made, but the charity staff member who helped us kept it. Funny enough, someone took a photo at the moment Coopertom was there with me drawing, and we ended up featured in the local Pittsburgh news! (Here’s the article: https://www.post-gazette.com/life/goodness/2025/07/09/f...). A shame Koidel was not in that picture, he helped a lot as well.

Even though we didn’t draw for a huge crowd, the people who did stop by were incredibly generous. According to the charity team, we raised more than the average fursuiter who simply carried a bucket. So, mission accomplished! And all proceeds went to Nose 2 Tail Cat Rescue.

Sunset and Parties

Just when I thought I had spent enough time in fursuit (I had been a panda since 13:00 ) we decided to stretch it a little longer to catch the sunset. The sky was glowing around 8:30 p.m., and we wanted to see it from the best spots.
We made plenty of long breaks in the fursuit lounge to cool down (though it’s honestly they don’t have the best fursuit lounges, they are  just rooms with a few fans and water dispensers). But I kept using them.

The sunset turned out to be very beautiful. Riff, Meisarrg, Koidel, Alpaw, Java, and I managed to take some nice photos on the balcony. Then Koidel and I walked down to the waterfront to see the last light disappear. There, I ran into another panda fursuiter named Buk, who told me they had been looking for me. We hugged and took a few pictures, it’s rare to find other panda bears! (Later I found another one, named Ben. There was a time I knew all panda bears, now they all are so new to me, but I’m glad we are more!)

On my way back to the hotel, I bumped into Buddy, the happy dog with the “Popufur” shirt. As soon as he saw me, he lit up and ran over to hug me with such genuine joy. Moments later, I ran into Scribbles the bunny and Pyro the fox waiting for the elevator at the convention center. They were excited to see me and took photos together. I accidentally made them miss their elevator (sorry!)

That five-minute stretch finding these three critters was incredibly meaningful. All three of them had been important to me before I ever attended a furry con. Years ago, I would watch Buddy’s videos and dream of meeting him (I met him the first year I attended my first furry con). I saw Pyro’s fursuit unboxing in a video from 2013 and thought he was one of the cutest fursuiters ever. Scribbles was one of the first people who commissioned me and encouraged me back when I only dreamed of going to a con. And suddenly, there they all were, greeting me warmly.

Later that night, a friend invited me to a party. I sometimes hesitate with those invites, I’m not a big party boy, walking into small rooms full of strangers isn’t always easy to me, but this time I said yes. I had finally gotten out of fursuit after over eight hours, and I still had energy to socialize.

The party turned out to be at Scribbles and Pyro’s room. I met a lot of kind folks, and there was even a corner where people were drawing together, so I joined in. It was warm and welcoming. I stayed there for a couple of hours until the party was over.

After that, I got invited to another party, but that other one was a little awkward. The person who invited me never showed up, there weren’t many places to sit, and I didn’t know anyone. I chatted with one guy for a bit before he left. I grabbed a few snacks but was too shy to take any booze.

Back at my room, I grabbed some booze we had in our fridge, and just at that moment all my roomies got back as well and we drank together while we talked about our day, so it was a very nice way to finish such a great day.

Sightseeing Cruise: A Very Rushing Day

Sunday, July 6th. This was by far the most packed and fast paced day of the whole con. My fault for have planned so many things that day and all those plans were very together.

The day started with the sponsor brunch at 10:30 a.m., which I didn’t want to miss. But we had also booked a sightseeing cruise for 12:30 p.m., and I didn’t want to miss that either. I also needed to defend my bids at the art show, which was closing at noon. So, I suited up early and rushed straight to the art show as a panda bear.

It was overwhelming, in the best way, to see how much interest there was in my artwork. There was even a bit of a traffic jam in the hallway where my and Koidel’s pieces were displayed. People stopped to compliment my work while I was there in suit, and it felt really special, I can’t lie.

I had bid on two pieces myself: one (well, two, the second one was on behalf another friend) from Scurrow, and one from Leaf. Thankfully, I won them both! That made the hustle totally worth it.

From there, knowing I had those pieces, I run to the dock to board the sightseeing cruise. My friend Meisarrg and Java came with me (they were also in the art show, defending pieces they bided for). The crew was checking tickets via email, but of course, my phone decided to have zero signal. I was in full panda mode and unable to pull up the confirmation, but they thankfully just trusted me and let me board (Who can’t trust in such a cute panda face?)

I had picked this particular cruise because some other friends were supposed to be on it, too. But I never saw them during the whole trip. I figured they were on another deck and we were just walking in circles and never got to see each other. Turns out they actually missed the boat entirely! Still, I had a very nice time anyway, I got to see many critters, we got to do the Titanic pose, it was a pretty clear day and the breeze over the ship was feeling very nice.

As soon as the boat docked, it was time to rush again. I ran to the room, showered, changed into human mode, and headed straight to the art show check-out. It was only open from 14:00 to 17:00, and we had also booked the Fuzzy Logic escape room for 16:00.
It took me nearly an hour to get through the art show check-out line, paying for the pieces I won and finalizing my part as an artist. Just as I was finally finishing up, someone from the art show stopped me, telling me there was someone who wanted to talk with me. This person was a good guy named Marauder, who wanted to personally thank me for the artwork and told me how much it had meant to him. I was in a rush, but I paused. That moment was beautiful, and I’m glad I took the time for it.

I got to the escape room 15 minutes late. Embarrassing! It was their last game of the con, and a lot of people were waiting for it. But we did it anyway.
Our team was perfect, five close friends: Meisarrg, Java, Adam Fox, Koidel, and me. For two of them, it was their first time doing an escape room, but we crushed it. We finished in 43 minutes! It was very fun!

After that… I finally had no more plans. We grabbed snacks using the Anthronoms food coupons before they closed forever and went to enjoy the closing ceremonies eating some noms.

Last Fursuit Outing

Before the convention officially ended, we suited up one last time for a final fursuit outing. We made our way back to the waterfront just in time to catch another beautiful sunset. This one felt different, like a quiet goodbye to everything we had experienced. I was having some personal thoughts of how amazing this event had happened and even some hard decisions I had to do during the year but now there was a very peaceful moment, being grateful for being there at that moment.

We sat together at the edge of the water, watching the light fade behind the city skyline. Then we returned to the convention center for one last dance. The final DJ of the night was incredible, and the energy on the dance floor was contagious. It was the perfect way to close the weekend, surrounded by glowing lights, familiar faces, and the beat of music that had kept us going.

As the night came to an end, we headed back to our room, completely exhausted. We turned back into humans.
But we weren’t ready to say goodbye just yet. We grabbed the last of our drinks, ordered some McDonalds snacks, then went down one final time to the waterfront. There, we found our friend Jordan, who joined us as we sat and shared our last moments of the con. It was calm, reflective, and just what we needed. I got to see my friend Jordan before heading to the waterfront and I invited him to join us, he did, so it was very nice to even got to talk with him for a while.

It was, without a doubt, my favorite Anthrocon so far. And one of the most memorable conventions I’ve ever had.

Aviary, Drury Hotel and Train to Washington DC

As a way to celebrate 10 years of that first trip to a furry convention, I wanted to repeat and after plan I had done back then, I couldn’t repeat it with the same people I have been that year but I invited Koidel to live that with me, that was going to Washington DC.

Our plan this year was heading by train, an Amtrak train, I find it convenient because it is just one block away the convention center of Anthrocon, and it always takes you to downtown of the city you’re visiting, but the direct train to Washington DC only departed from there at 5:20 am, and I definitely didn’t want to take that just one day after Anthrocon because we practically wouldn’t have slept, so I booked another hotel from Monday to Tuesday, a cheaper one than the Westin, that was the Drury Hotel, which is just in front of the Westin. I didn’t even know the existence of this hotel, despite being attending Anthrocon 5 times already, I didn’t know anyone staying there, it is a little hidden, it looks like a business building more than a hotel, but it has so many good amenities that makes me want to take it as a second option for a future year if I don’t get in the Westin: it has swimming pool, hot tub, it includes drinks, dinner, breakfast, and it has a very nice terrace on the 8th floor with view to the convention center.

In the past that building was a bank, so even in the underground floor you can check out the huge doors of the safes, it is pretty cool!

That Monday I said goodbye to some friends, I had lunch with some others (the ones I couldn’t see during the cruise), and we had no other plans but we wanted to have a chill day, even that way we walked to the aviary of Pittsburgh, which is small but pretty good, you can see very close some eagles, owls, penguins and many other birds.

We returned to the hotel, spent some time on the hot tub and the swimming pool, where we found other furries we got to talk with, we had dinner that was included on the hotel and got some drinks. We packed our luggage more properly (earlier that day I just threw all my stuff in my suitcases and closed them as I could), and went to sleep very early, something that was not difficult for how tired we were feeling, and that extra day was something we definitely needed.

Train to Washington DC

Tuesday, July 8th. We had to wake up at 4am and went to the train station, a shame it was delayed a whole hour and we had to wait in the station doing not so much. I love traveling by train, it’s probably my most favorite way of transportation: to see the rail map, to check all the places we’re going to see through the window, to just relax and see the landscapes passing outside, and even going to the coffee shop walking through several wagons. Food tends to be not so good on trains, but I guess that’s also part of my experience (the coffee was decent, tho, and one of the best coffees I’ve ever had was precisely on a train, but this was from Naples to Rome, in Italy).
 The only problem with this one is that the air conditioner was extremely high, and that’s a struggle I tend to have in general at indoors in the United States, I don’t know why there people love to have AC as if they were into freezers (and in winter, they love to have indoors like if it was an oven), and that’s the reason why I always return with flu (right now, while writing this, that… I’m back home now, I started this journal at the airport, continued in my flights, and I’m still typing while I’m back home… and I got sick).
 Fortunately I was wearing a hoodie (now I learned I need to carry a jacket or a hoodie with me when traveling to the USA in summer, so every time I get in an indoor, I can wear it), but my hands were too cold. Koidel was suffering even more because he forgot his jacket in the luggage, and we checked the luggage.

Washington DC

This part of the trip was pure tourism. We visited the National Archives, the Museum of the American Indian, and the Museum of American History. One of the best things about Washington D.C. is that all the museums are free, which made it even easier to jump from one to another.

I finally got to see the Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial up close. Ten years ago, when I first visited, both of those landmarks were under renovation, but this time the White House was the one under repair.

At one point, all traffic in the area was suddenly stopped. Police blocked off the streets, and a long motorcade passed by with tinted vehicles and American flags. We said that we might’ve just seen the president, though we’ll never know.

On our last day in the city, we had plans to meet up with some local furries at 18:00,  but we were completely free when it was not even 18:00, we were just sitting down the stairs of the Lincoln monument seeing the start of the sunset, and we thought it was going to be a good idea to take some scooters (we were moving around by transit and by scooters) and check out the Thomas Jefferson monument because why not and it was in our way to where we were going to meet them. But partway there, the sky opened up with a torrential downpour. There was nowhere to take shelter. The rain was cold, heavy, and punishing, one of those storms that soaks you completely in seconds.

We abandoned the scooters and made our way, dripping wet, to the restaurant where we were meeting these guys. We must’ve looked like we’d swum there.

Still, we changed clothes afterward and refused to end the trip on a soggy note. That night, we went to a gay karaoke bar and I sang “I Want It That Way” with a group of strangers (we joked we had just formed our boy band), followed by “Don” by Miranda. I’m not really a bar or karaoke person, but it was fun. And it was the right kind of silly energy to close the adventure.

Final Thoughts

Looking back, I’m amazed by how much fit into just a few days. What started as a celebration of a milestone, ten years attending furry conventions, turned into something much bigger. This trip gave me surprises, reconnections, deep emotions, and a sense of fulfillment I didn’t expect (also wearing that super duper hyper cute fursuit, aaaaah, I really love it!!) . It wasn’t just about the convention or the new fursuit. It was about what all of it meant to me now, ten years later.

I came home feeling tired, but also inspired, grounded, and incredibly lucky. Lucky to still be part of something that brings me so much joy. Lucky to keep creating. Lucky to have met and shared time with people who matter.

If you crossed paths with me during this trip, even for a second, thank you. And even if you got to read this journal to this point, say meow on the comments and also thank you very much!

And if you’d like to see the photos (some taken by me, some shared by friends, some found online), you can check them here:  https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/ilur4gqmt8tl3fz3fe8hi/AF...