The furry fandom is a subculture interested in anthropomorphic animal characters. Some examples of anthropomorphic attributes include exhibiting human intelligence and facial expressions, speaking, walking on two legs, and wearing clothes. The term "furry fandom" is also used to refer to the community of people who gather on the Internet and at furry conventions.
Anthrocon is an annual furry convention that takes place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, each June or July. It caters to furries, which are fans of fictional anthropomorphic animal characters in art and literature. The convention was first held in 1997 in Albany, New York, and moved multiple times before settling at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. Since moving to Pittsburgh in 2006, the convention has drawn millions in financing to the local economy.
ConFurence was the first exclusively furry convention, held annually in southern California from 1989 to 2003. The large furry presence at the BayCon science fiction conventions instigated Mark Merlino and Rod O'Riley to throw "furry parties" at Westercon, Baycon, and other west coast sci-fi conventions in the late 80's. This led to the test gathering in 1989, ConFurence Zero.
Fursuits are custom-made anthropomorphic animal costumes owned and worn by cosplayers and members of the furry fandom, commonly known as "furries"; a furry who wears a fursuit is called a fursuiter. The term is believed to have been coined in 1993 by Robert King. Unlike mascot suits, which are usually affiliated with a team or organization, fursuits represent an original character created by their wearer, and are often better-fitting and more intricately crafted, with features such as a moving jaw. Fursuits are made in a wide range of styles, from cartoonish to highly realistic.
Eurofurence is a furry convention, initially held in changing places in Europe every year, but staying in Germany since 2004. It was originally started in 1995 as a private gathering by nineteen European furry fans who met on the Internet. Attendance has been steadily rising since then, to 5,241 at Eurofurence 28, making it the largest furry convention outside the United States and seventh largest worldwide. The name of the convention derives from its then-contemporary American counterpart ConFurence, emphasising the European nature of the gathering.
A furry convention is a formal gathering of members of the furry fandom – people who are interested in the concept of fictional non-human animal characters with human characteristics. These conventions provide a place for fans to meet, exchange ideas, transact business and engage in entertainment and recreation centered on this concept. Originating in California during the mid-1980s, as of 2016 there are over 50 furry conventions worldwide each year.
Samuel Charles Conway is an American researcher in the pharmaceutical, biomedical and agrochemical fields of organic chemistry. He holds a Ph.D. in chemistry from Dartmouth College. Aside from his scientific career, Conway is known for his activities in the furry fandom, having served since 1999 as chairman and chief organizer of Anthrocon, one of the largest furry conventions in the world. He is a published author, and has acted as a volunteer emergency coordinator, entertainer, and auctioneer.
The Donald E. Stephens Convention Center, formerly known as the Rosemont/O'Hare Exposition Center, is a convention center located in Rosemont, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. Built in 1975, the center has exhibition space of 840,000 sq ft (78,000 m2) and parking available via a Skybridge connected parking garage, which is able to accommodate 8,000 vehicles. It is located near O'Hare International Airport, Allstate Arena, Rosemont Theatre, and Fashion Outlets of Chicago. The facility is named after the late mayor of Rosemont, Donald E. Stephens.
Fur Affinity is a furry-centric art community that hosts artwork, literature, photography, and audio recordings. It was launched in 2005 by a pseudonymous individual using the moniker "Alkora" and was owned by Sean "Dragoneer" Piche through his limited liability corporation Ferrox Art from 2007 until 2015 when it was purchased by virtual world platform IMVU, and then again through a second LLC, Frost Dragon Art, from 2021 until his death in August 2024.
Anime Midwest is an annual three-day anime convention held during July at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare and Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois. The convention is held in the same location as Anime Central.
Furry Weekend Atlanta (FWA) is a furry convention held annually in Atlanta, Georgia. Started in 2004, the convention caters to members of the furry fandom, a subculture focused around fictional anthropomorphic animal characters. Attendance has steadily risen throughout its history, peaking at 15,021 attendees in 2024.
DucKon was an annual science fiction convention held every May or June in the Chicago area between 1992 and 2014. The name is a shortening of DUpage CountyKONvention.
Anthro New England (ANE) is a furry convention that is held annually in the Greater Boston area of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It was first held in 2015 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, but moved into Boston in 2018 at the Boston Park Plaza. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 event was held online. Since 2020, Anthro New England has become one of the top ten furry conventions in the world. Anthro New England moved to a larger venue, the Westin Boston Seaport District hotel for 2023. The latest event in 2024 reached a new attendance record of 4,482 attendees.
Ironclaw is a series of tabletop role-playing games created by Jason Holmgren of Sanguine Games, this series features anthropomorphic characters in a setting inspired by class and religious conflicts during the Italian Renaissance. Additionally, Jadeclaw is a related game that is set in a concurrent East Asian setting.
A fursona is a personally claimed persona resembling an anthropomorphic animal adopted by a member of the furry fandom. Fursonas can provide numerous roles for the creator. According to The New Science of Narcissism, 95% of those in the furry fandom have at least one fursona; with the Anthropomorphic Research Project estimating that the average furry has between two and three fursonas over the course of their life.
Bluesky is a microblogging social media service. Similar to Twitter, users can share short text messages, images, and videos in short posts colloquially known as "skeets". It is owned by Bluesky Social PBC, a public benefit corporation based in the United States.
RainFurrest is a defunct furry convention in the U.S. The convention was made in 2007 to replace a previous convention called Conifur Northwest. In 2013 it became the fifth furry convention to surpass 2000 attendees. It is particularly notable for multiple repeated incidents and managerial failures.
e621 is a furry-themed booru-style digital art website known for hosting primarily pornographic furry content—called "yiff" in the furry fandom. Hosting almost 4 million images as of January 2024, the website is owned by Jan "Varka" Mulders, who is also the CEO of sex toy manufacturer Bad Dragon. e621 has a safe for work (SFW) mirror site called e926, although it runs on the same servers and thus maintains the same adults-only restriction e621 has. e621 is among the most-visited furry websites, alongside the art community FurAffinity.
On December 7, 2014, Midwest FurFest was targeted by a chlorine gas attack, hospitalizing 19 attendees. At the time, Midwest FurFest was the second-largest furry convention in the country, with over 5,400 attendees. The convention took place at the Hyatt hotel in Rosemont, Illinois, from December 5 to December 7.
