[Anthrocon]/Taking Pittsfurgh by Storm!

Well, it's that time again. Time to take a look back at another convention and sort out the madness, insanity and good times of it all. For those that haven't figured things out, I've been a long time Furry and when presented with the opportunity to cover this year's Anthrocon, I leapt at the chance. Why? The last time I attended was many moons ago, when the convention was still held in Philadelphia and that hasn't happened for quite a long while. So, you have an idea of how long it's been and why the excitement was there for me on a personal level.

The headline here is also somewhat appropriate as before, during and after the con, the threat of rain and crazy weather has abounded in the Pittsburgh area. Call it what you will but this has been a really weird couple of weeks in Southwest PA. So much so that it not only caused damage at our house, but to our equipment some as well...but such is life and here we are, so let's finally get this rollin, eh?

Like so many others, this was an opportunity to meet new friends and some that we never have in person that had traveled out. It was also the chance for a couple of our staff and friends to experience their very first Furry convention. Why not go big, eh? The fact that this year's Anthrocon had managed to pull in Mercedes Lackey and her husband Larry Dixon as Guests of Honor didn't hurt things for us at all either as +Carrie H.C., +Alexandra F, +James Halfhorse and myself are all big fans of their work.

Now, over the years I've been to a lot of conventions, reenactment events, ren faires, music festivals, raves and all manner of other crazy things. that being said, Anthrocon is truly a 24/7 event. I don't mean that in the same sense that other cons have room parties going all night and things like that. No, Anthrocon goes beyond that with a room known as The Zoo that stays open the entire run of the convention (even before and after the event officially starts and ends). Sure, some cons have video rooms that run 24/7 and the like, but nothing that is the scale of the random and crazy that happens in The Zoo.

Which, I think is a pretty good description of Anthrocon as a whole, you just never know what's going to happen to next. Between the panels, meet ups, fireworks, "raves", dance competitions and the other random mayhem around the city...you really aren't sure of what to expect next.

That said, it was still an insane weekend in the city in general. Not only was it 4th of July weekend but the annual Pittsburgh Regatta was going on as well as the Pittsburgh Pirates hosting the Philadelphia Phillies over the weekend too. Add in nearly 5600 Furries into the mix and you've got a crazy time down in the "Golden Triangle".

Recommendation: While admittedly this one may not be for everyone out there, since it is a Furry convention and possibly a bit more limited audience wise than other types of cons, it's definitely something that one should experience if you're a Furry or interested in the fandom at all. Not only are things extremely well run and organized from the top down, but the city of Pittsburgh itself has fully embraced the event and the attendees. That's just something you don't see very often.

Looking for all the pictures of the rave and fursuits? Here's a few links for ya:
Fursuiting: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 Music: A Raver's Dream


Disclaimer: We were invited as members of the press to capture and record our impressions of the event during our time there. However, we also went in buying our own badges (part of their policy). While we did have some extra access that many do not get, we were mainly there just like everyone else and in no way did our slightly added status sway our views on things.

Alright, with that out of the way let's get into things. For those who may not be familiar with how our coverage runs, it's a bit different than most places out there. We try to give you the experience as we had it and nothing more. Why? Well, there's already tons of places out there doing coverage and live streaming of conventions. Knowing that, we feel that being more personal and giving a more "feet on the ground" approach is the best way to handle things. We also don't rate things on a scale of 10 or 100. Why? There's just too many variables and that's pretty much high school level stuff right there.

So, with that said, let's get on with it!

This is the second time we've been to the David Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh for an event this year and I have to say that now knowing the layout much better, was a lot easier getting around and finding new and interesting places utilized by the convention and attendees. The fact that it was warmer than it was back in April for Tekko X-2 also helped this out greatly as well. We were able to enjoy a lot more of the goings on since we weren't freezing our asses off, definitely a plus for all of us!

Now, as I mentioned above, it was a very busy weekend in the city and adding in another 5,577 people into the mix can throw all manner of kinks into the works no matter what the event is. Thankfully, that didn't happen at all. Despite the fact that it was such a busy weekend, the city didn't seem strained that much and while that's not something that the convention would ever have control of, it still does lend to the atmosphere in general. Being able to get in, around and out of the city fairly easily is definitely something that's a plus for any convention's location and Pittsburgh has been great in that regard.

Our time began after a somewhat quick check-in process at the William Penn Omni, just one of the seven hotels that were part of the room block in the downtown area, getting the car parked and unpacking some to settled in a bit. I have to say that our room was amazing and the hotel staff seemed to love having us there. Yes, the Omni is a four star hotel and that level of service should be expected, but we're definitely not their typical guests and was nice to see. Like the rest of the city, they seemed to love having us there as well.

The parking garage across the street was also super convenient and while a little pricey for Thursday and Friday up until 4pm, it wasn't that bad at all when you compare it to so many other cities out there. On the other hand, we were all impressed with the hotel. The room, the staff and just about everything was top notch. Just don't order the food, it's definitely priced at a premium and at $11 for a bagel and coffee, just a weee bit too much. There's plenty of other options that are close by on the way to the convention center to take advantage of here.

Anthrocon did have a shuttle service set up that could be utilized to get to the hotels and DLCC, but most of us didn't feel that the few blocks to the convention center was all that far to make the walk. In fact, most people seemed to have the same idea and weirdly enough I didn't see the shuttle all weekend...I know it was running but it must've been invisible to myself and many others. It's still a great service though to have around for those that may need it due to their hotel being a bit further out than ours, like the Wyndham Grand and the like.

Speaking of that, the downtown area is extremely easy to walk around in. It's not like you're in New York City, Philadelphia or Chicago here. There's never that much sidewalk congestion and the local businesses really do roll out the welcome mat for this event in a very big way. Tons of restaurants, bars and clubs go out of their way to cater to the furvasion that has taken place over the past 8 years. So, if you can, I would suggest walking just to see the city and you just might stumble across a great deal for lunch or dinner in the process!

Now, back to the DLCC as a venue. Anthrocon takes up a lot of space in this cavernous building and unlike Tekko, none of it seemed empty or far apart. Maybe that had to do with the fact that we know the layout a lot better, but I'm thinking that the rooms being utilized were just that much better put together here. The second floor was once again utilized for registration and we found it very well organized. Not only did they have pre-reg lines sorted out by last names, but they also had computers set up for on site registration and easily read signage for dealers, artists and higher tier badge holders as well. By the time we had gotten to registration on Thursday, there was almost no line at all to be spoken of and the process was quick and easy. One thing that we really appreciated was that the badges were pre-printed with our names. They even went as far to ask if everything looked alright on them. That's something you don't typically see or hear about at many cons out there and was definitely a nice touch by the staff. One of us even got asked if a little nick in the nae on ours was alright...just goes to show how far their willing to go to make sure it's all perfect.

At this point, there wasn't much going on since it was still pretty early in the day on Thursday and things didn't really kick off until around 9pm with the first night of "dances". Hell, the official opening ceremonies weren't to take place until 11am on Friday. Needless to say, we had some time to kill. So, while a friend of ours who was a dealer went to check on a few things, we decided to check out what was in the swag bag we had received along with the program book, dining guide and pocket schedule.

Needless to say, we were all really impressed with the levels that the convention staff had gone to in order to provide as much information for attendees as possible. A lot of effort went into making sure that no matter how well you knew the city, you were taken care of as far as being able to find your way about for whatever you might be in need of. This is something a lot of conventions out there could definitely learn from as it's a great asset for those traveling to a new city or just aren't familiar with it in general. Sure, we're local but again, it was still nice to have handy.

I should also note here that the convention itself has a ton of ways to keep in the know of what's going on. They set up several Twitter accounts and broadcast when events will be taking place (and where) on their Google+ and Facebook pages as well. To go even further they set up a static website in case their main site goes down for mobile users and they even set up a convention hotline. Yep, they've pretty much covered everything that you can think of so that you're never far from info that you may want to know about. It's truly a great set up and extremely helpful as well as informative. Take note if you're running a con out there...this is how ya do it folks.

Right then, with our quick overview check completed, we decided to get our bearings a bit before the fireworks started later that night. One thing we did notice right off the bat that registration was closely placed to the entrance to the massive Hall B, which would hold the dealer's room and connected to Hall C where the artist alley and Art Show were being held. Not surprisingly the rest of the events were taking place on the third and fourth floor of the convention center once again. The 2nd floor of the building is really only for the large exhibition halls with the meeting rooms predominently being on the upper floors.

We're all pretty much in agreement that this works really well for events and in the case of Anthrocon, it works even better as the bridge that leads from the North side of the DLCC to the East, offers up a great vantage point to people watch from above.

Another nice thing is that, due to this layout, it's not a long walk from the escalators to the dealer's room or to the bridge across to the panel rooms. Sure, that may sound like we're being lazy a bit, but for fursuiters it's definitely a welcome benefit that things are close and easily accessible.

That said, we did notice one thing that could've been a bit better as far as finding our way about. The pocket schedule and online variants of them didn't list room numbers along with the names that had been given to the meeting spaces. Sure, there were banners outside of some of the rooms and they did use their Twitter accounts to list room numbers, but I wonder how many fully understood that the Lecture Hall was on the 4th floor. There wasn't any mention of that. Perhaps in future years they should include the room numbers along with the name in the program. The only reason that we knew where a few things were was because I had looked them up previously via the floor plan map. Again, not a huge issue but may avoid some confusion down the road for those not that familiar with the layout. 

The rest of our Thursday was spent having drinks with old friends, new friends and of course the fireworks. If you haven't seen them in Pittsburgh, you're definitely missing out. One of the cooler aspects of Anthrocon (when it falls on the 4th of July) is that attendees get the chance to have one of the best views of the show from various spots of the DLCC. The most premiere spot of all?

The roof.


Sadly, some close by storms prompted all of us to be ushered off before the fireworks had completed and while it wasn't raining they were afraid that we may all turned into extra crispy furries due to lightening in the area. No easy task to get a thousand people off of there in a quick manner but they did to their best and despite some issues with handling the crowd, they weren't too bad about the whole thing.

After a bit more reveling, we decided to call it a night. Friday was going to be a full day and where the meat of our coverage would really begin. Now, I'd love to say that we got footage of the opening ceremonies, but 11am was a wee bit early for most of our group and the only one that was really up that early was in the dealer room doing their thing. So, it's with regret that I can't really report on that. However, we did manage to get everything set up and going in full swing for the Meet Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon panel that afternoon. I can say though, that my Cookies and Cream Frappuccino, from the Starbucks in the lobby, that morning was awesome and much needed.

I had spent most of the early afternoon wandering about, checking out a couple of panels and snapping away with the camera. I did make a special stop in the dealers room though to see what was going on, pick up a few things and get a few books signed by Mercedes Lackey at her table. Now, I have to say that this is one of the largest dealer rooms that I've come across and the artist alley is no slouch either as it features well over 100 artists each day.

While some of the prices were a bit high on the dealer's end of things, I can see why as this is the world's largest furry convention. That said, many were definitely in a haggling mood from what could gather and that did make things a bit nicer for not only our purchases but I'm sure for several others' as well. That said, the artists were all extremely competitive and all of them were really top notch, but more on that a bit later.


Another nice thing was that the concession stand within Hall B was also open so that food and drink could be bought, which I know several vendors were happy about since they didn't have to walk too far to get food or drink and while a wee bit high, the prices really aren't that bad. This is something that many venues don't or can't really offer at times but it's one that's well worth having around as some may not want to make the trek to local eateries that are close by.

Meeting up with Alex, we headed over to the Lackey/Dixon panel...and didn't get lost surprisingly. We were both shocked that there was no line and the room wasn't that full either though. However, it did provide for a very intimate and great forum for the Q&A that took place over the hour. Well, a little more than an hour since Misty decided she'd start a bit early while waiting for her husband to arrive. Overall it was a great panel and the way that these two interact with not only each other, but the audience as well is phenomenal. We even had Carrie with us via Google+ hangout on my phone, I think she's now going to be forever known as "the girl from the internet".

Anyway, let's just have the footage of the panel do the talking here. Yes, it's long...about an hour and four minutes to be exact...but it's worth every second.

Vrroom Vroom!

One of the more interesting tidbits here was that one of the driving reasons for their attendance this year (and I hope in future years) was during some Hurricane Katrina relief work that they were doing and a bunch of furries came out. Apparently, the fandom made quite the impression. Even more impressive, and the butt of constant jokes at their table in the dealer's room, was that Larry brought his classic cobra with him to the event. Extremely fitting with the theme of Fast and Furrious this year and goes to show just how much they were into the event as a whole. Though, there was a wee little bit of trouble when he hopped in after the panel and started it up!

Our next big order of business was the reading with Mercedes Lackey later that night and after a quick stop back to our hotel to freshen up a bit after running around like crazy getting pictures and all manner of other things (read: shopping and carrying on), we were once again back in the DLCC. This time, while waiting for the panel to begin, we had totally missed that she was taking a bit of a nap outside the panel room. Can't say I blame her one bit either, it was a long day and it was now 9pm.

Never quite knowing what to expect from a panel like this, we were all curious about just what she would choose to read from. Even more so since it was a reading of her choosing. We were all extremely surprised that she had decided to go with something that isn't that well known to many....in fact, it's not even out yet. Tonight's selection was the first few chapters from her new YA series, The Hunter. Sadly, it won't be coming out until 2015 and it's safe to say that we all definitely want more sooner! Unfortunately, we'll have to wait...so until then, with Lackey's personal approval (yes, we did ask), have the first few chapters...


Again, it was an intimate setting and really for the best for something like this. I should also note that while I didn't get her on camera, the woman that was signing for the event was incredible. She really got into it and gave it her all. I wish I knew her name to give proper credit, but if you know her...let her know that she was awesome!

Given that it was now nearly 10:30pm, we decided that we'd pop downstairs for a smoke or two and to see what was going on outside of the convention center. Now, for those who haven't been there, there is this really great water feature that splits the road which goes underneath. However, what many don't realize is that there's a winding path that leads right down to the river here as well. Being the adventurous types that we are, we decided to head down and see what was going on at the other side of the technicolor waterfall.

What we found is probably one of the more relaxed spots at Anthrocon, if not the entire city of Pittsburgh. The weather was just right and there were only a couple of dozen people at max enjoying the whole of it all. Some of them had even brought hookah's down to enjoy under the ever changing colored waterfalls, others were just sitting about and taking in the view of the North Shore and the city. All around it's probably one of my favorite spots that we ended up in during the whole weekend and a welcome break from the crazy of everything else.

Being that it was still early, we decided to head back up into the convention center to not only get a little recharging done on the cameras and phones, but also to check out the Who's Lion is it Anyway panel. Now, I'm sure that most of you are familiar with the show, Who's Line is it Anyway. This was set up pretty similar except that everyone could get involved if they wanted! Now, I won't get into too much detail here as the show can lean towards the raunchy side of things (much like the actual show), but I can say that we all had a blast watching what was taking place before us. While there's always going to be some misses in an improv event like this, overall it went extremely well run and it was a great way to cap off our second day at Anthrocon.

Okay, so it really wasn't the end all of things for us. Carrie and I had decided we'd hang about outside of the Westin, after walking someone back from our hotel, to see what was going on during the late night hours of the convention and had a blast doing so. If there's one thing to take away from all this so far, the Furry community that gathers at Anthrocon is extremely friendly and we all love to talk...not different than any other con out there really, but we're definitely a social bunch for sure. I think we managed to get to sleep somewhere around 4am by the time it was all said and done...but that didn't stop us from continuing our assault on Anthrocon early on Saturday.

Too cute!

Saturday started off with a quick breakfast along with coffee and then heading over to the convention center once again. Yes, you will walk a lot if you're not staying at either the Westin or Marriott Courtyard which are right next to the convention center. We pretty much took it easy and wandered about taking pictures, popping into a panel here and there and checking out the artist alley in a bit more detail. We also decided to commission a couple of badges for ourselves as well. I mean it is AC and can't not do that, right?

Carrie and I couldn't pass up the opportunity and she did an awesome job! If you're curious to see more of her work just head on over to her Fur Affinity account for more!

The Artist Alley at Anthrocon is definitely run a bit differently than most conventions, they have a lottery style set up due to the fact that only so many can get in. Sure, they're using Hall C for artist alley, but it's shared with the space for the Art Show so it's only half the space. Even with that, they still had just about 140 artists on Friday and Saturday with Sunday being a bit less in number. Another thing that many conventions don't do is a centralized check out process. While this may be a little confusing for some, it does work and aleviates the need for artists themselves to deal with sales tax. This one area that could use a little more attention though. When we had gotten in line, there were only two people checking people out. A third was soon added, but the line still moved pretty slowly. Perhaps in the future 4-5 could be the magic number there.

Speaking of the Art Show, there really was some amazing stuff in there, but sadly no pictures or video was allowed inside the area. The only shot we were able to get, after asking, was from outside of the area, basically what you could see before entering any way. One piece of note was one by Larry Dixon, which hasn't been out in public in over 12 years...so, just goes to show how much faith was put in on his account for such an exhibit to be had. I really wish we could've gotten some pictures of the works on display and for sale, but that's just another reason to go again next year!

Now, the only other things that we were really looking forward during the rest of the day were the parade, the Floor Wars competition and the "rave" later that night. The rave was mostly since the one and only Renard would be spinning and that's just not something you miss, ever. That's getting a bit a head of ourselves though and I have already done a good bit of coverage of the rave already.

That said, we decided that after a quick bite to eat and picking up our newly badges and getting them laminated right on site (which btw, is awesome!) that we'd get a good spot staked out for the parade. This year, they managed to get 1,300 fursuiters into it during an attempt to set the Guinness World Record...and while the official count isn't in yet...it definitely seems like other conventions are going to have a hard time topping this one.

Number of fursuiters in the Anthrocon 2013 Fursuit Parade: exactly 1,300 #AC2013
— Anthrocon, Inc. (@anthrocon) July 6, 2013

Anyway, here's the parade in it's entirety for your viewing pleasure...

The side seating during Floor Wars

At this point, we were ready for even more action so we headed over to the Westin to check out the already started Floor Wars dance competition. Interestingly enough, this wasn't just for fursuiters and there was a class for non-suiters as well. The things that were happening on the floor that afternoon...mind blowing.

This really is one of those events that more people should make an effort to get out to. Yes, there is the main dance competition but having the back and forth that happens along with the unknown of the music that will be played is just mental. It was great fun and while we didn't stick around for the whole event, we were impressed with how well it was handled by the officials and judges. However, they could probably use a bit more seating toward the back of the room and maybe a little better organization of it in general. That's just a small thing in the grand scheme of things and they use the space in the best way that they can from what we could see. Either way, the point still stands...check this out in future years! Even if just for a little bit, it's extremely worth it.

With that said, here's some of the video that we snagged while we watched:

Carrie and Alex ready to go!

At this point we had been rejoined with Alex once again and decided that heading back over to the hotel was the best thing to do so we could relax a bit before the rave later that night. Changing, food and showering was in order here, let's be serious.

So, once ready we headed back into the now somewhat cooler and less rainy night. After a quick bite to eat at Monte Cello's, a place that Alex recommended that we stop at (awesome food too!), we were ready to hang out outside the Westin once again until the party got under way. Once again, there was no shortage of goings on and we even ran into Raptor Jesus while outside.

Seriously, the area outside of the Westin is probably one of the best place to "people watch" if there was one during Anthrocon. Nearly everyone has to pass right by it and there's no shortage of crazy antics happening all around you either. Again, we're a friendly bunch and socializing is definitely something we excell at.

I've already covered the rave in spades with the still images and a little bit about it in an earlier piece, but I have to say it again. The raves at Anthrocon are literally insane and shouldn't be missed at all. There's really no other way to put it and I won't even try. I think that Renard put it best when, at the end of his set and the night, he said "I've been DJing in Toronto for years and every time, Anthrocon is the best rave I ever DJ". If that's not an endorsement right there, I don't know what is.

A sea of glowing joy...

Not only the do they take up the entire Spirit of Pittsburgh ballroom in the DLCC, but they fill it with light and sound as no other can. We thought that the set up at Colossalcon and Anime North was impressive, but this was in a whole other league. Between the video screens going on, laser show, fog and the sheer wave of sound that washed over the room, it's just hard to beat.

I won't even try to and hope that other conventions in the future take notice. Furries know how to party and the world's a better place for it...


We had a blast during the entire night and got some insane footage from up on stage which, for me personally, was an awesome experience in and of itself. Carrie and Alex both proclaimed that Renard was trying to kill them with his set and it was truly explosive. I haven't seen that much energy in a room in a very long while and from my vantage point on stage, I could see that the whole sea of revelers was feeling the same thing as we were. This one night alone was worth the price of admission.

Needless to say, we took the stairs after the rave...

Deciding that we weren't done for the night, we figured that we'd pop outside of the convention center and have a smoke or two before heading back for the night. At this point we ended up running into a couple old friends of ours that had attended a panel we hosted during Colossalcon and spent the next couple of hours BS'ing. It wasn't until a bit after 3am that we were asked to move along by an extremely nice security person. Though, she did have a fork in her pocket and we all know that's the universe's most deadly weapon. So, after a bit of joking we packed it in and headed back to the hotel, check out was only a few hours away...


A few hours of sleep down and then we had managed to get everything we needed together and out in time for check out. We honestly were sad to leave the Omni, they had been great and there was still some unfinished business that we had to get to by visiting their new bar, Speakeasy, but we'll just have to plan for that the next time we're down that way.

Either way, we made our way down to the DLCC for one last go around of the dealer room and artist alley since Alex really hadn't gotten to get a really good look everything the previous day. She also got her key card for the hotel signed by Larry Dixon as well...why? Well, the artwork on it was one of his pieces and how do refuse getting that signed?! He even remarked to both Carrie and her "I see you found the freebie", which...knowing us...of course we had!

We did get a few other things signed throughout the weekend as well from both Lackey and Dixon as well as a copy of The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle, who Alex and I found out was an alumni of UPitt and was also extremely nice to everyone that had come to his table. Not that we didn't expect that, but you never know, right?

With that out of the way, we had one last stop to make...the Dance Competition Finals. While we didn't have a ton of time to watch, what we did catch was awesome. Once again the Spirit of Pittsburgh ballroom was completely packed and the dancers really brought their all. Interestingly enough, after each two minute performance, the judges weighed in on what they had seen. This was both for the good and the bad...almost reminding us of how a lot of talent shows on TV work.

Sadly though, we were only there for a few of the performances before we had to get moving, otherwise we would've stayed there all day to watch all of it. That said, I did find out that Sky was the winner this year and from what we had seen all weekend, it was definitely deserved!

The good thing is that we did manage to get a few of the ones we saw on film and without further ado, here they are:



On a side note, this also gave Carrie and Alex ideas for next year...don't ask, you probably don't want to know and I probably am lined up to help make a couple of partial suits now!

Overall the experience we had at Anthrocon was amazing. Yes, there were a few problems here and there that we ran into and we didn't always know where we were going to get to places, but that's something you deal with at any convention. It also just supports the saying that "It's not when you get there, it's how you get there" and we definitely had a blast getting around and seeing everything that we did. So, if you've gotten this far, I commend you.

Again, Anthrocon probably isn't for everyone and it's target audience is a lot smaller than your typical anime or general geek convention but it is growing. That said, from the people running the event to the guests, performers and even the city itself...this convention is something that's amazingly special. I don't know if it's just because everything fell into place in just the right way this year or if it's that the event is so well run that it's impossible for that not to happen, but it was really that good. I can't say that enough, I know, but it's the truth of the matter.

Either way, if you've ever thought of going to Anthrocon, just go. You don't need a fursuit, you don't even a tail and ears. If you love all things anthropomorphic or furry, this is an event that you really shouldn't miss. So, make your plans now and you wont' be disappointed. The only way that someone can't have a good time is if they actually try not to. I know that our whole staff that was there had a blast and we're all looking forward to covering next year's event...so bring on Anthrocon 2014: Secret Societies!