We are proud to announce the list of confirmed dealers for Anthrocon 2012!  So far we have more than 170 dealerships signed up.  You can find the list and a map of where you can find your favorite dealer in our colossal 2012 Dealers' Room by clicking here.  Don't see your favorite dealer listed?  Never fear!  We still have room left, although you might want to give someone a nudge.  Any questions or comments can be directed by email to dealers-2012(at)anthrocon.org.

Anthrocon's hotel rooms are not yet available for reservations!  On February 2, 2012, at 9:00 AM EST, we will throw open the doors for people to make reservations at the Westin Convention Center (our flagship hotel), as well as our all-within-easy-walking-distance satellite hotels, the Doubletree, Courtyard, Hampton Inn and Omni William Penn. 

Reservations for Westin Hotel suites (and ONLY SUITES) can be made starting...now! Suites are deluxe rooms as described below and are more expensive than regular hotel rooms, which this year will be about $140 ($160 with tax) per night. We make these available early because of the high demand.  Remember, only suite reservations at the Westin are being accepted at this time.  Regular room reservations begin on February 2.

In order to secure a suite, you must send an email to ceo(at)anthrocon.org with the phrase WESTIN SUITE REQUEST in the subject line. Once again: send an email, not a private message.  Include the full (real) name that the reservation will be under, and – very important – include your Anthrocon 2012 membership number which was sent to you by email when you submitted your registration. We will send you back an email with instructions on how to go about reserving a suite through our special contact at the Westin. 

If you did not receive or have misplaced your registration confirmation email, you can email us at registration-2012(at)anthrocon.org and we will tell you. If you have not registered for Anthrocon 2012 yet...well, what are you waiting for? Get to it! Just click here!

Information on Anthrocon's 2012 Artists' Alley is now posted.  Click here to learn more.

PLEASE NOTE IMPORTANT CHANGES FOR THIS YEAR:

• Signups will now take place online between May 7 and June 1!
• Only pre-registered Anthrocon members may sign up online!
• New constraints on space usage in the Alley!
• New rules for "standby" artists!

You can reserve your dealer table for Anthrocon 2012 online! Click here for more information.  Remember, you will need a Pennsylvania state sales tax license in hand prior to submitting the application.

It's that time of year again, the time when my inbox starts getting flooded with files and I have lots of new music to listen to. And for DJs in the fandom, it's time to get in your auditions for the Anthrocon 2012 dances! I am going to be doing things differently this year, so I request that you read this CAREFULLY as I need you to follow instructions to make my life easier. Also please understand that I am not trying to be harsh by being so specific - I am trying to be as transparent as I can with how I look at these demos and give you as much information as I can so that you can blow me away.

Auditioning

The first new thing about auditioning this year is ALL AUDITIONS MUST BE UPLOADED TO SOUNDCLOUD. I would also like to ask that you do not delete the mix from the soundcloud account until I've made my selections. If you're a working DJ who is experienced enough to be playing Anthrocon, there's no reason you shouldn't have one. Auditions should be at least 45 minutes long, no longer than an hour and fifteen minutes, and show your skill level and what kind of music you play. When your mix is uploaded, please send a link along with any other information you think is important that I know to dance-2012@anthrocon.org. Please do not send me boilerplate bios about how much you like music and it is your life; I do not read them. Concrete information about events you've played, skills you have, or things that may be of concern (strange equipment requirements, etcetera) are more what I am looking for.

We are now accepting Registrations for 2012, at the following page: http://www.anthrocon.org/registration .

What's new this year:

Reluctantly, we've got to modestly raise prices, as we've exceeded the size of Hall B.. as well as had to deal with other rising costs, including EMT service and police prescence that is mandated for a convention of our growing size.

Attending Registration will be $45 until December 31st, 2011; $50 from January 1st to June 1st, 2011; and $60 at the door.

Sponsor Registration will be $95 until December 31st, 2011; $100 from January 1st to June 1st, 2011; and $110 at the door.

Supersponsor Registration will be $195 until December 31st, 2011; $200 from January 1st to June 1st, 2011; and $200 at the door. (Note: Only Pre-registered Supersponsors get access to the Supersponsor Luncheon!)

Day passes will be $30 at the door for all three days, and replacement badges will now move to $30 to match ($20 on Sunday).

What this means in short: Pre-registration is 15 dollars cheaper than On-site registration, if you register by the end of the year. It's the way to go for price, convenience, and minimal exasperation of hardworking mongooses.

http://www.anthrocon.org/registration, and register away!

--Chi

Hey Folks,

If you're reading this, that means you're looking at the 2012 website design!  It was built by the multi-talented Cuprohastes. 

While implmenting the design, I took the time to add a few more features to the site:

- Support for the Open Graph Protocol.  Now when you click the Facebook "Like" button on any page, that like will automagically go up on your Facebook wall.  This will help spread the word about us!

- Google Plus One support.  Located next to the "Like" button, you can now +1 any page on the site.

Enjoy the 2012 look and feel!

-- Giza (Webmaster Leopard)

Anthrocon 2012 will be held at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, PA, from JUNE 14 to JUNE 17, 2012.  Please note that this is one week earlier than was previously announced! We hope that this does not cause any inconvenience for any of our members; if it does, we are deeply sorry.  Here is the story:

Pittsburgh has been given a very rare opportunity to host an event that they have been wanting to host for many years.  The only trouble was that the proposed event (and we won't say what it is until it is officially announced) would lie in part over Anthrocon's planned weekend.  The City approached Anthrocon very deferentially and asked us if we would consider moving our 2012 convention just one week earlier to help them realize their collective dream.  As much as we love our adopted home city and would do anything in our power to support them, we were hesitant to change the date of our convention after having announced it.

Pittsburgh replied with, "What if we got you another hundred hotel rooms within walking distance of the Convention Center?"

We said, "Where do we sign?"

So with that agreement, in 2012 we ought to have enough hotel space for just about everyone who wants to stay.  Of course, we would have signed anyway.  Anthrocon is proud to have become a Pittsburgh institution, and as accommodating as they have been to us over the last five years, we were honor-bound to return the favor in any way that we could.

Photos taken by the dragonscales crew are now live at http://www.dragonscales.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=48

As always, permission is granted for noncommercial use of these photos if you are in the photo in question.

Kreggan/Kyreeth

Another great year in Pittsburgh has come and gone!  4,400 furries from 39 countries came to the convention this year, with 854 fursuits in the fursuit parade. All were record numbers. We also raised $11,522 for this year's charity: The Toonseum.

Did you lose something at the con? Be sure to check our Lost and Found forum.

Did you take our post-con survey? If not, it's over here.

Did you take pictures? Please share them in our forums, and feel free to upload them to our Flickr group.

We also made quite a few appearances in the local media this year. Here's some of the coverage that we received:

• The Furries Are Back In Town!, WTAE (video)
• Furries Are Back In Pittsburgh, MSNBC
• Pittsburgh inundated by furries -- fans of animated animals, Reuters
• Return of the furries: Anthrocon in Pittsburgh for sixth year, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
• Furries flood Pittsburgh, Beaver County Times
• Furries Return To Pittsburgh For 2011 Anthrocon Convention, WXPI (Photos)

Many thanks to our hard working staff and volunteers, The Toonseum, and our Guests: Mr. Andy Runton and Mr. Peter S. Beagle, without whom this year's Anthrocon wouldn't have been such a success!

We will see you all back in Pittsburgh next year, for Anthrocon 2012, held from June 21st to June 24th, 2012. The theme will be "A Midsummer Night’s Dream".

Until then, stay safe, and be furry!