{CON REPORT} Anthrocon Part III
ka...@my-deja.com
Today I took my time getting up...I wasn’t scheduled for a
Registration shift, and things promised to be slow anyway. We were
getting ready to pre-register furs for the convention next year. Anyway,
after shaking off my sleepies, I headed down to Dealer’s Den at ten,
hoping to get another sketch from Lisa Jennings. She hadn’t started her
table yet, so I hung around and browsed other tables. I ran into Bernard
Doove, and he graciously consented to doing a sketch in my other
sketchbook:) I rounded up two other furs that hadn’t had breakfast yet,
and was heading off to Bennigan’s when Lisa appeared, coming down the
stairs. I told her I would be back, and drove Greyfur and Sean to
Bennigan’s...where we discovered they don’t serve breakfast...oops!. Oh
well...lunch worked for us by that time. When we returned, a little
after one, I made a beeline to Dealer’s Den and handed my sketchbook to
Lisa. She indicated she might not have the time to do the sketch, as her
buttons were selling very well indeed and she was frightfully busy.
Heading upstairs to the Art Show, I discovered that one piece I had
placed a bid on had three other bids higher. It was a beautiful piece by
the Carspeckens, and I told myself I will see it again and have other
opportunities to bid on it. My other piece, a work by Jim Groat, looked
secure, so I wandered through the lobby, looking for my friends and
checking in with Points just to make sure he didn’t need me for
something.
This year was the first year I have been on AC staff,
and I must say I enjoyed the experience. Kagemushi does his best to
express his appreciation for the hard work of his staff members and
volunteers and that makes it an honor to help him out. I managed to get
two experienced friends of mine, Jwyldragon and ShyFox, to help out with
the art show, and my roommate FoxLord was assimilated into Registration
staff:)
It’s true, you do make sacrifices to work, but it is always worthwhile
to me. I was looking forward to the post-con wrap-up at 3:30, as I
wanted to find out how we did in the eyes of the congoers. Most of the
comments were positive, and there were a few suggestions about next
year. I am not sure how workable some of the suggestions were, but they
were dutifully copied down by Kage all the same. All the comments seemed
to be positive and I was very impressed by this con. I salute my fellow
staff members, volunteers, and Kage for their hard work.
At about 4:00, the con was officially over, and
Dealer’s Den was closing. I ran to collect my sketchbook, but Lisa just
didn’t have time to do the sketch this year. Next time, Lisa:) I am
honored she even considered doing it given how very busy she was this
year. After helping Points break down Registration for the final time,
FoxLord and I regretfully informed him that we were going with the
Sylverfox crew to celebrate the con. Points wanted to buy the staff
dinner, and the gesture was deeply appreciated, but the Silverfox
Publications crew has a tradition of a gala dinner Sunday night. At
first, we were going to Chili’s, but when 30 furs descended on Chili’s
we found that other furs were also going there...and we would have to
wait forty-five minutes for seating. Last year, we made the mistake of
going to Lone Star Steakhouse. This year, we opted for Charlie’s Place
instead, the restaurant where the Supersponsors had their lunch. We
called, and they said, “30 people? No problem” We had a marvelous
dinner, and many toasts to the con were proposed. I had forgotten to
bring my camera, much to my chagrin, but three other furs made up for my
poor memory, snapping pictures in abundance. The shadow of parting hung
over the gathering...
After a superb meal, we returned to the hotel, only to discover
He Who Shall Not Be Named had returned and was holding vigil outside the
hotel doors. I shrugged, realizing the con is officially over, and
therefore, he could go inside the hotel at will. Apparently, he was
accosting furs as they entered or left, offering to sell his CDs. I had
heard that he still caused trouble, for the police were called to remove
him later Sunday night. I checked out the Dead Dog party in Silfur’s
room, but the humidity and multiple furs drove me away. We held an
impromptu Dead Dog in Syl’s two rooms, with Bernard Doove, Steve
Corbett, Bill Schmickle, and Jeff Pierce doing sketches in sketchbooks:)
Gary Akins did a sketch of a favorite bunny in my sketchbook(inside
joke), and RebelSqurl did a funny sketch of a vixen fleeing fanboys:)
The room party was mostly quiet, although furs from across the way asked
that we keep it down. Security came up at one point, and warned us that
a police officer was going from floor to floor, breaking up room
parties. Finally, about 12:30, I called it a night, unable to keep my
eyes open. I was very sad, because I knew that tomorrow, I would leave
and many of the furs were going to Syl’s new house for a celebration. I
went to bed after many hugs and tears.
Monday, July 3
Well, had to get up relatively early to get things
packed and haul them down to my rental car. FoxLord got up too, it was
time to say final goodbyes to all the furs. I called Raz and
MysticalStripes, because they hadn’t had time to say goodbye last night
and we both wanted to say goodbye properly. I slowly took one suitcase
after another down to the car....Sylverfox was assembling a caravan that
would go to his place after the con, and all the furs gathered in front
of the hotel to say goodbye. There were many snugs and tears and a group
picture was done. This was the best con I had been to all year, and I
was very loath to leave. Poor FoxLord had arranged his flight to go out
at nine that night, but didn’t have a ride to the airport. He agreed to
come with me, as my flight went out at 3:30 that afternoon. Next year, I
vowed to arrive on a Wednesday, to enjoy a party with Syl and company
after the con. There were a bunch of yuppies that showed up to take over
the hotel, all dressed nattily in their ties and coats...yuck! They
wondered who we were, and what was going on...but we didn’t care.
FoxLord and I had lunch at California Pizza Kitchen
in the King of Prussia mall, and he bought a game to keep him occupied
during the long flight home. We got to the airport with no trouble, and
having an extra fur to haul suitcases was a big help(Thanks FoxLord).
We sat around talking about the con and the furs we had met, hoping we
would both make it to Conifur. My flight was announced, and I
reluctantly departed for home.
This con was one of the best furrycons this year, with Further
Confusion running a very close second. Everything went very smoothly,
and most furs had a fantastic time. Most of the post-con reports on AFF
were very positive and happy. This is unusual for furrydom, as there
are always a couple furs that hated the con. I was very pleased, and
look forward to do
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