Age Questions (for those under ages 18 and 21)
Yes. If you are under 18 years old at the time of the convention, you need permission from your parents (or a court-appointed guardian) in order to attend. This rule is necessary due to unfortunate situations in years past. Permission is obtained by downloading and printing out the minor consent form. (Which will be found on our registration page in the months leading up to the convention.) Your parent or legal guardian must fill out the form, and then have it taken to a notary and signed in the notary's presence. The other way permission can be obtained is to have your parents come to the convention with you and fill out the parental consent form on site. This leads us to... There are two pages on this site that can help. The first is "What is Furry", and the second is "About Anthrocon". Show these to your parents. A lot of young folks take the wrong tactic when trying to explain Furry Fandom to their parents, in that they spend so much time concentrating on what our fandom is not that they wind up giving a very bad impression. Tell them instead what it is. If you have any questions, you can contact us -- or better still, have your parents email us. We'd be happy to explain to them what we are all about. You can also introduce your parents to some of our honored guests from the past. If you cannot convince your parents what Furry Fandom is all about, you can tell them, "THIS is what Anthrocon is all about." http://jamesgurney.com/ Why not ask your parents to come to the convention with you? According to our 2007 membership stats, there were a number of people over age 40 who attended the convention. We intend to have a few get-togethers and other events for Parents of Furries. If they worry that they might be bored, the Pittsburgh area has tons of things to see and do, so they might wind up having just as good a time as you do. It is also worth pointing out that the Chairman's parents have attended the convention every year since 1999. Minors under the age of 10 must be accompanied by their parents at all times; they need not pay for admission, however. From 10 to 17, Minors may feel free to spend as little or as much time with their parents as they wish once the minor has their badge. We do recommend careful planning of meet times and contact plans if minors wish to spend extended time on their own. No. It must be your parents, or a person named by the court to be legally responsible for you. We recommend that you send a photocopy to us (make sure the notary seal is legible) with your registration form and bring along the original to the convention. This way you have something to back you up if the mail gets lost or your bags get misrouted on the way to the convention. No. You must be 18 to get a hotel room. If you will be staying overnight, we strongly recommend against making rooming arrangements with anyone that you do not know personally (and by that we mean face-to-face, not someone you met over the internet); better still, it should be someone that your parents have met and whose company they approve. Anthrocon prides itself on providing a safe environment for its attendees, but we are nonetheless a large gathering of people from all parts of the world, and one should be appropriately cautious. No, there's no need to wait. As long as you will turn 18 before the convention starts, you do not need to have your parents' permission -- although if you live with them, we really do recommend you let them know where you will be. No use making them worry! If you are, then you will be in the company of more than 3000 people who are just as weird as you are, so what does it matter what your friends think? You need to get SOME form of photo identification that lists your date of birth. The best we can recommend is to get a U.S. passport. It serves as positive identification anywhere in the world and you can get one even if you are very young. If you cannot get a passport, then you should bring as many pieces of identification as you can: birth certificate, school ID, anything official. If you have any questions, you can contact us ahead of time and we can see what we can work out. We hear this one every year from dozens of people. It won't work. No. Pennsylvania State Law is very strict about underage drinking. If we as organizers learn of underage drinking, we are required by law to report it. If you are under 21 years old, please do not consume alcoholic beverages while at the convention. Bookmark/Search this post with: |
