News
By C. S Anderson |
When we first started vending at various conventions selling our books one of the first communities we ran into was the Furries. What are Furries you ask? Well, we will get to that in a moment. Flash forward a few years and lo and behold the community arrived right here in Ocean Shores. I got to meet Chris Hodges otherwise known as Fritzy Wolf, one of the cofounders of the Furvana event early on and I was impressed by the passion and skill involved in pulling off a convention like this. He was kind enough to answer a few questions for me recently.
CA - Introduce yourself, explain your connection to the event.
Fritzy - I’m Chris Hodges, or Fritzy Wolf as I’m known in the furry community.
Alex Visser (Metal Fox) and I are the founders, owners, and event chairpersons of Furvana.
CA - Please give us a quick background on the event itself, including how it came to Ocean Shores.
Fritzy - For those who haven’t heard of Furries before, we’re a loosely organized group of people from all around the world with one main thing in common: a distinct interest in anthropomorphic characters. That interest can take all different forms, writing, artwork, costuming, music, dance, and so much more. Unlike other Anime or Sci-Fi fandoms that geek out over popular shows or franchises, Furries create our own content. We design characters for ourselves, imagine stories, and sometimes roleplay as these characters. Furvana is just 1 of over 100 such conventions worldwide where Furries can meet and interact.
We started this endeavor with a very small group of volunteers way back in 2016. At the time, Metal Fox and I had only worked smaller roles at other Furry conventions, but we had enough experience to know what worked, what didn’t, and more importantly we weren’t entrenched in old ideas about how something had to be. Because we were starting totally from scratch, we had the opportunity to really build something new and unique to serve the Furry community we love.
We had been searching for a venue for a couple years when I happened to be attending another furry convention down in Portland called Furlandia, and another attendee casually mentioned another unrelated convention they attended in Ocean Shores. They spoke very highly of the area and the people they had worked with, and suggested we give it a shot. Up until then, we had only been looking at venues in the greater Seattle metro area and hadn’t considered a destination venue like Ocean Shores. We thought it was a long shot, would people really want to drive so far? But we decided to try and took a trip out to the beach to see what Ocean Shores was all about. As soon as we stepped out of the car and smelled the fresh waffle cones coming from Murphy’s, we knew Ocean Shores was going to be a winner!
CA - Please explain how the event has ties to and/or supports the LGBTQIA community?
Fritzy - Long before Furvana, the Furry community has always been a welcome safe haven for LGBTQIA people. In fact, some of the very first Furry gatherings were held by a gay couple in California back in the 80’s. We pride ourselves on embracing diversity, encouraging creativity, and creating a support network for each other. So, it’s really no surprise that LGBTQIA people, often cast as the others in society, would find a welcome place in the Furry community. Many Furries will use their animal characters as a means of self-expression and self-identity, helping us to navigate our experiences and challenges, and define who we are as people. That’s a journey many LGBTQIA people are all too familiar with.
As a kid, I had always had a preference for shows with anthropomorphic characters. Some of my favorites were Road Rovers, a Pup Named Scooby Doo, and Space Jam. What I didn’t realize at the time was how vast and wonderful that interest could become. I first identified as a Furry back in 2004, shortly after coming out as gay to my mom and while still processing the death of my father. Needless to say, it was a difficult time for me, and without the support of my friends in the furry community I would have turned out to be a very different person.
CA - What was the number of attendees this year?
Fritzy - This year we saw an explosive level of attendance, with a total of 1,083 attendees. That’s up 89% from our previous event in 2021, far exceeding our projections. Big shout-out to Ocean Sunset Ship & Print and Beach Tyme Crafts for helping us cobble together the extra badges and lanyards when we ran out!
CA - Your thoughts on the future of the event?
Fritzy - Furvana has something really special going for it that very few other furry conventions have, and that’s the community around it. If we’re going to keep growing, we’re going to have to start looking for new places within Ocean Shores to host satellite events and gatherings outside of the convention space. Our next event is going to be undergoing a change in leadership. Although we will still be involved with the convention, both Metal Fox and I are going to be stepping down as event chairpersons. It’s been a long labor of love, but it’s certainly been a labor, and we could use a break. Our convention is 100% volunteer operated top to bottom, and we’ve decided it’s time to hand things off to a new set of paws. We don’t have our new chairpersons confirmed yet but stay tuned to our socials for more info. Currently we are only running bi-annually, but with enough staff and volunteer support we’d love to become a regular annual event.
CA - Talk about what your new role is going to be (as a business owner I am quite interested).
Fritzy - Although I will no longer be a chairperson, I am planning to take up the role of community liaison. I would like to start getting more involved with the people and businesses of Ocean Shores to see how we can help you, and thereby help our own event in the process. I truly think that’s the only way we can continue to grow, the convention center is already bursting at the seams!
CA - I would like to thank Chris for chatting with me about this unique community and event and as a business owner here in Ocean Shores I would like to thank him and all the staff and attendees of Furvana for having the event here in our little coastal community!
More on Furvana can
be found online at:
https://furvana.org/2023/about.html
Photos from the 2023 Furvana convention in Ocean Shorses
can be found online at:
https://www.flickr.com/groups/furvana/pool/page1
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