Pittsburgh Preparing For Freaky Furries Convention

PITTSBURGH, PA - Prepare once again to see folks in freaky furry costumes. The 21st annual Anthrocon, a convention for people who enjoy dressing up as foxes, rabbits, tigers and other animals, is about to descend on Downtown.

For the 12th straight year, the world’s largest gathering of anthropomorphics enthusiasts will take place at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. This year’s Anthrocon will take place June 29 through July 2, likely will be attended by as many as 7,000 people and pump millions of dollars into the city’s economy.

Many ”furries,” as they call themselves, dress in fursuits that usually enclose the body and head. Their dedication to the furry cause is such that they don’t mind profusely sweating in garb Antrhrocon officials say easily can reach temperatures of 110 degrees in a matter of minutes.

Why does someone choose to be a furry? Anthrocon programming director John “K.P.” Cole offered an explanation before last year’s convention.

“To understand who a furry is, you need to understand who a furry was,” he told KDKA-TV. . “Furries were the fat kids that never got picked at recess, we were that skinny, brainy kid that everybody liked to cheat off of but never wanted to hang out with…but being very social creatures like human beings are, we wanted interaction and we found acceptance and friendship in the very warm, smiling, happy faces of cartoon characters who we saw on television. Well, that’s who we were. Who we are now? We’re simply people who never forgot their childhood friends.”

This year’s Anthrocon features seminars such as “Good Fur Day: Self-Confidence, Assertiveness and You,” “Vocal Techniques For Fursuiters,” “Furry Parenting,” and “Deciding Who To Tell About My Tail: Negotiating Conversations With Non-Furries About Being a Furry.”

Photos by Burgh Baby via Creative Commons.