You can fine the rest of the pics in the Red Zone Forum or on our FaceBook page
There is no doubt; Idaho has its own fur convention! In its debut the fur fandom from across the country converged on the Boise Hotel and Convention Center to be part of FurIdaho’s first year. Attendees from Idaho were joined by enthusiasts from such far-flung places as Washington, Montana, Utah, Colorado, Pennsylvania and Oklahoma; and, with 249 attendees FurIdaho becomes the second largest first year fan convention in Idaho history!
Yes, 249 is actual people attending, if they bought 3 1-day passes they still count as one person. It’s not based on badges issued; but, people they were issued to. Yes, the distinction is important, lots of cons will go to outrageous lengths to inflate their numbers. I went to a gaming mini-con in Dallas years ago that claimed 100 attendees for a 2-day event…they must have been counting everyone including the janitors to get a number that high.
But, I digress. We’ll never get anywhere if you let me wander like this.
First of all, its time to mention some of the names that made the con happen!
- Robert Wright, FurIdaho 2012 Chairman
- Kasandra Bessey, Vicechair (also of Red Zone fame)
- Borneo Armstrong, Personnel Manager/Guest Liason
- Justin “Inangus” Ash, Margeting Manager
- Katherine Hughes, Registration Director
- Sara Hunt, Staging Director
- Alex Wright, A/V Director
- Bryan Currid, Security Manager
- Wendy Nelson, Day Con Ops Coordinator
- Ben Lockhart, Night Con Ops Coordinator
- Cary Billingsley, Fur Suit Lounge Coordinator
- Michael Green, Dealers and Artists Den Liason.
There are a lot more names that worked behind the scenes, they worked their butts off to bring a great convention to all! I realize its more traditional to recognize the guests of honor before the staff; but, seriously, the amount of work that does into planning a first year convention is a backbreaker and they really deserve the props!
But the Guests of Honor do as well, these are people with experience in the fan genres that are willing to actually share their experiences with others. This is a rare thing these days, as many choose to hoard their knowledge; so, lets see who this year’s guest of honor were:
- A.J. O’Connel, author of Awakenings
- DJ Pwn_3, DJ
- Fine Yound Deviants, comedy/improv acting troupe.
- Fur What It’s Worth, Furry podcasters.
- Hosehead, DJ
- Kadath, anthropomorphic and furry artist.
- Mokusei “Moku” Kaze, anthropomorphic and furry artist.
- Suzette Snyder, in-house artist for Fantastic Journey’s Publishing
- Tanglwyst de Holloway, costumer
FurIdaho made an interesting move and combined the Artists Alley and Dealer’s room, it was a good move that allowed attendees to see everything in one shot and made it much easier for artists and dealers to compare notes as well. You can learn more about the artists by checking out the Red Zone’s photo coverage of the events. The artists and dealers are a key element of the convention experience, and we certainly didn’t ignore them.
| Cat Bellz | Moku |
| Catcher in the Fur | Over the Rainbow |
| Dazia Designs | Phoenix Fire Games |
| Deserted Dreams | Risha Kapoor |
| Fantastic Journeys Publishing | Ryunohito |
| Fur What It’s Worth | Shanella iKacte |
| Howling Wolf Ironworks | Tojo the Thief |
| Kadath | Vintaged Faery Creations |
| Kira D’s Art (Red Zone & Guild Artist as well!) | Vivica Arts |
| Mikarts |
FurIdaho was unique in that it was a 24-hour operation, with furry-themed movies playing all night. So, what else was there to do, you ask? Well, continue on gentle reader.
| Breathing Life into Art | Multimedia in the Fandom |
| Charcoal Drawing Demonstration | One Trick Brony |
| Comic Book Basics | Open Art Jam |
| Derpy Drawing Contest | Open Art Jam Redux |
| Drawing Expression and Conveying Emotion | Pony Pool Party |
| Drum and Bass Dance | RooChi’s Fursuiting Basics |
| Find Your Cutie Mark | Running Wild in Idaho |
| Fur Art: Beyond Deviant Art | Save the Costumes! Repair on the Fly |
| Fur What It’s Worth Live | Shave the Bear |
| Furry Pictionary | Shin Magami Tensei: Fursona |
| Fursuit Handling 101 | Strength and Unity: Breaking Barriers Between Fandoms |
| FYD Improv Hour | Syd Stoat Concert |
| Growing Your Local Community | The Artists Mindset |
| Guest of Honor Headline Dance | Twisty Tails |
| How to (Potentially) Make a Living off Your Artistic Work | Writing the Furry: Including Furred Races in Your Novel |
| How’s and Whys of Self Publishing | Yiffle Ball |
| Let’s Make a Character | YMB Concert |
| MLP: The Winter Wrap Up | Your First Furry Convention |
Obviously, there was no lack of things to do!
Of course no event would be possible without the venue, and the Boise Hotel and Convention Center really stepped up to the plate. We look forward to enjoying this venue again at Tomodachi Fest 2012 in November.
This also marked the first occasion for the Red Zone to bring the full photo room to an event, we featured a choice of 4 backdrops (but everyone seemed to want red) and attendees could see their pictures as they were taken on the secondary monitor. We look forward to bringing the setup to FurIdaho 2013 as well!
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You can find full image galleries in FaceBook or Google+
© 2012 – 2013, Tim Boothby. All rights reserved.
If any of the guests of honor have websites that we didn’t link, drop us a note and we’ll fix it!