Brazilian Furry Wants to Attend U.S. Furcon

Dear Papabear,

I saw your website and you helping other furries on various kinds of situations - and i would like to ask if you could help me on this one.
I'm a 19 year old person who lives in Campo Grande (Brazil), i'm part of the furry community a few years and sometimes i watch videos of people going to FurCons to have fun or meet new people/furries in there. I always wanted to go into one of these, but somehow the country where i live rarely gets to host a furcon. So, the first thing i do need (which is very obvious, hah) is money to travel to the US (because english is the easiest language for me to speak) plus it seems like they host majority of FurCon events. However, even if i would need money, i'm sorta lost. I don't know top priorities i should be doing so i could go to a FurCon. I also have a little fear that, for being pratically not someone with alot of money, i wont get a fursuit without getting dosh first - but i'm scared that some people might mock me because of the lack of a fursuit. If you can help me find out my primary requirements to going into a FurCon, it'd be great!

Anonymous Person (19 from Brazil)

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Hi, Fellow Furry!

While there are furcons in other countries (such as Germany, Canada, Japan, and Australia), yes, the vast majority are in the United States. I have no idea what furry life is like in Brazil (interestingly, when I type in “furry Brazilians” in Google, I get sites about breast implants. What? LOL), but it sounds pretty sparse, so coming here for a visit does make sense. I’m glad to hear you are interested in doing that!

Before I continue, it might interest you that there is a very small furcon in São Paulo called Abado that is held during Carnival (http://abando.com.br/) that has about 80-100 attendees each year. You might give that a shot....

Anyway, you sound like you know just enough about furries to be dangerous, but not well informed :-) Like many people, you apparently believe that all furries have fursuits (or at least partials). This is likely because most videos you see online are of fursuiters, but this gives a misleading impression. The truth is, only about 1 in 5 furries own one. Even those who can afford a good suit often don’t get one because it takes a special kind of urge to go through all the discomfort of wearing a fursuit. Really good fursuiters also enjoy performing in them, and a lot of furries aren’t really into that, either.

So, get the notion that you need a fursuit out of your mind. You don’t. You don’t even need a fursona. What you DO need is a love of furry anthros. That’s it.

Getting that straight, we still have to discuss how to prepare for a furry convention. Let’s say you have enough money to travel to the United States, and you have your passport, etc. The next thing to do is choose which furcon to attend. A lot of furries might recommend Anthrocon in Pittsburgh because it’s the largest (about 5,000-6,000 attendees), but I wouldn’t suggest that for a newbee because it could be very overwhelming. Now, if you enjoy large crowds of people you don’t know and lots of confusion, then by all means, go for it. But I would suggest something more moderate in size (but not TOO small), such as Furry Fiesta in Dallas, Texas, or Biggest Little Furcon in Reno, Nevada, or Furry Weekend Atlanta in Georgia. These cons are large enough to have a good experience with a diverse crowd of around 2,000 furries, but not so large as to be overwhelming.

To prepare for a furcon, I recommend a couple things. If at all possible, go with one or more friends. That way, you’ll always have someone to hang out with to share the experience. Especially good if you have difficulty making new friends in foreign lands. Might not be an issue with you if you are gregarious. Next, after picking your con of choice, find out all you can about it. Go to their website and read all the rules and information there. Most furcon sites include rules about behavior at the con, which basically are common sense about acting civilized, not getting drunk, not bringing weapons, or disturbing other guests at the hotel or convention center. Also, as soon as it’s available, check out the program schedule online and select which forums and events you wish to attend.

If at all possible, bring money money money. You are gonna wanna shop in the Dealers’ Den and buy stuff, especially when it’s your first con. In addition, try to get a room with a small refrigerator and microwave oven; then, go to a nearby grocery store and buy food and drinks there. You will save a lot of money versus eating out all the time while at the con.

As early as possible, make a reservation at the main furcon hotel. Many cons have back-up hotels for overflow, but you’ll want to be in the center of the action, so stay at the main hotel.

Some of the larger cons have “party floors.” This is just what you might imagine, with a full floor being reserved for the kinds of furries who like to drink and party. I would not recommend this for you, especially since you’re an international visitor and also underage for drinking alcohol in this country.

Stick to attending organized events, such as stage shows, the forums, dances, and the fursuit parade. All of these are a blast and you will enjoy them a lot.

Be wary of “overly affectionate”furries who might invite you to their rooms. Furries have a reputation for being a bit oversexed, and it is not entirely undeserved. While most are cool, there is a noticeable minority who would probably very much enjoy taking an exotic young woman such as yourself upstairs and having some kinky fun. Don’t let yourself be pressured, and don’t go anywhere with someone you don’t know into a private room or other non-public area.

Again, most furries are cool and there will be many opportunities for you to make new friends if you leave yourself open to them.

I hope you are able to attend a con soon!

Bear Hugs,

Papabear