After the doors close....
This is my first time at Anthrocon, or a con in general for that matter. I was just wondering, at night, after the doors close on the convention center, what do all the furries do? Where do they go? Will there be cake? :b
Honestly, they don't! The CC seems accessable at all times of the con so far for me after two consecutive years. I love to go up to the roof via the glass elevator at night to just relax.
Don't worry. Dr. Kage is to young to attend to, but he does anyways.
well, it's kinda hard to travel 800+ kilometers, stay at a hotel, and fit in with/be welcomed by people twice(and 3,4, and 5 times, even!) as old as you are when you're my age. I'd even be willing to bet I'm one of the youngest furs on this site.
one of these days, I'm really going to strive for a society who judges by intellect instead of age.
Well, the doors don't really close on the convention center until Sunday night after the Con is over; during the Con, the convention center is generally still accessible, with folks sometimes doing tabletop RP games in one of the rooms, or perhaps video gaming, or maybe just taking a few moments to have a quiet moment together.
As far as where furs go? Some go to their rooms- some go to other furs' rooms. Some go to room parties. Some go out to eat. Some go to the "Zoo" (which is a large conference room- ball room, where folks who have little else to do but mingle, draw, and draw, gather and hang out- there's usually at least 200+ furs there at any one time during the Con (or so it seems) ), and some simply enjoy the nightlife of Pittsburgh (though personally I've no idea just what that entails- you'd have to ask someone a bit more knowledged than I).
Will there be cake? Sometimes, yes there is. You just have to be in the right place, at the right time. *smile*
-Shirh Khan
If memory serves, and it usually does, the convention center closes each evening(morning) at 2:00am. After that the attendees are free to roam the streets, some in costume, in search of food and drink.
The rest is a matter rumor and speculation.
rech
servicing the furry flag community since 2009
The Convention Center closes every night. The Zoo, located in the Allegheny Room in The Westin Hotel, is open 24 hours, however.
We really recommend sleeping at some point, however. 
It's also the best time of day to implement the "One-Two-Six" Rule. For each day of the con you should have one hour of sleep followed by two very large cups of coffee and six showers.
Rech
"All love has to die of that there's no help.
My favorite way to end 'em,
Is the orb-weaver spider whose pedipalp,
Enters the female pudendum."
You'll be walking around like a mumbling, twitching zombie, but at least you'll be fresh and clean 
--
iSKUNK!
or kage's 1-6-2 rule:
1 hour of sleep and 6 cups of coffee a day, and 2 asprins an hour!
If it's Uncle Kage shouldn't that be 6 glasses of wine, not 6 cups of coffee.
Sleep? Bah humbug! I don't believe in it! 
this will also be my first con anything too, come to think of it. That is, if I can manage to go... I still feel like I don't know what to expect, even though I probably do
may i refer you to the very first part of the 6-2-1 rule, mr. bah-humbug?
and while we're on the subject of con syndromes, i may as well add some more interesting wikifur articles i found while researching the 6-2-1 rule, almost all of which are on content and terminology that were pioneered in some way by furries, and thus are directly related to this particular convention:
the Adam's mark, at which the first "staircon" was held;
the Blorch, a situation which i hope to avoid when i go to my first con;
the Dorasi Irregulars, an organization giza could probably tell you more about(albeit having to kill you afterwards);
Ghosts, which despite not being as deadly as their namesake, are still a group to be wary of;
Pet auctions, which, despite still having some questions about, i may participate in some day;
a SIG, something i hope to start one day(assuming there's not already one for the particular theme i'm thinking of)
and finaly:
SMOFF. i've seen quite a bit of SMOFFing on these particular forums, althouhg i suppose that's exactly what they were meant for in the first place.
that pretty much covers con terms 101, hope this clears some things up for you ^^.
btw, i hope i'm not being to much of an amrchair conchair here.
I won't be killing anyone. It would cut into my drinking coding time.
Besides, the Dorsai Irregulars have their own website with more info: http://www.di.org/
aha, then how do you explain the disappearance of the guy who beat you in that "coding" competition a couple years ago?
The Dorsai Irregulars want to meet up with these cheap, imitation Dorasi Irregulars...
Also, IIRC, the term FENCH was also created by a (permanently)GAFIA'ed furry fan.
And, as a note, the term SMOF (Secret Master Of Fandom) has been around SF fandom for decades. Adding an additional F makes it on context here... but not pioneering in any sense of the term.
Room parties , eating pizza very late at night.
Taking a walk , sleeping ,
Stuff like that
Don't worry , there is ALWAYS something to do during a con!
-------------------
I love you all ..
except for the people I don't like..
Xenia Onatopp , she's all woman 
Mike
yep that is true
Or running after your drunk friends in the street trying to make them understand they won't find a kebab place open at 2 am.
And no , I'm not making this up.
-------------------
I love you all ..
except for the people I don't like..
Xenia Onatopp , she's all woman
theres probably not a kebab place but primanti brothers is open 24 hours.( (the original location in the strip district)
Between the evening and morning, if you're not going to have the recommended MINIMUM of 6 hours of sleep (I recommend 7), along with the MINIMUM of 1 shower (I recommend 2) and
MINIMUM of 2 meals (I prefer 3 when possible), you will pay for it.
You will be tired, dirty, smelly, or hungry.
Even if you can function like that, others will avoid you.
That defeats the purpose of coming to hang out with them.
So, there's even a time to leave the Zoo and sleep before breakfast, if you want to
function at all.
Greetings, FF!
This is my first time at Anthrocon, or a con in general for that matter.
Welcome to the world of Fandom, of which Furry Fandom is an interesting variation! Many Furry Fans have a paw in different fannish interests, and one of the interesting things that they discover is how much they have in common with other, "defined" fandoms - such as Science Fiction (SciFi or SciFi/Fantasy), Mystery, and Anime.
Fan Conventions fall into two broad categories - those which are run as part of a larger commercial enterprise, devoted to and controlled by a specific subject, and those which are truly "Fan-Based", which are organised and run by Fan volunteers.
The first group would include "Star Trek" conventions, which are heavily controlled by the owners of the Star Trek property, which is Universal. The events are approved by Universal, the merchandise sold there is licensed by Universal, and Universal gets a cut of the gate receipts. A major function of such a Con is to help promote and advertise the product, in this case Star Trek. The point is to make money, either directly or through promotion.
Such Conventions would include "Star Wars", "Raiders/Indiana Jones", and "Babylon-V". Any media property where the property owners establish an "official" fan club, will probably control all aspects of a convention dedicated to that property.
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Fan-based conventions, on the other hand, are strictly "amateur-organised" operations, in this case "amateur" meaning "not-for-profit" or benefitting any specific company or property. "Amateur" operations can rival or exceed the commercial conventions in programming and quality, and are usually more fun, as well; you don't feel so much that you are being "sold" something, for one thing.
There is sort of a hybrid model of convention, which is a strictly commercial venture; Comic-Book Conventions fit into this role, where organisers set up a marketplace for product or promotion, the attendees are essentially a consumer audience, and the main business is commerce, whether a place for comic-book dealers to sell retail, or for Comic Publishers to show off their upcoming titles and the creative teams behind them. Much of the actual fan-produced stuff is sort of a side-show here. Currently THE biggest such convention is ComiCon International, formerly the San Diego ComiCon. It has an attendance which will probably exceed 250,000 during the length of the convention, and it has become a major venue for the big media companies to promote Movies, as much as anything else - the actual business of Comic Books is regarded as an afterthought now, a ghetto of sorts, with the best halls and panels set around generating pre-release "Buzz" for things like the latest X-MEN or IRONMAN or BATMAN/DARK KNIGHT movies.
I was just wondering, at night, after the doors close on the convention center, what do all the furries do?
Well - Furry Cons started out originally as "Room Parties" at Sci/Fi Fantasy conventions. I'll get back to that, for it is an important part of the answer; but first...
The fan-based conventions generally have entertainment programming for the enjoyment of ALL the fans, whether they are just fans, or authors or artists who spend the day at dealers' tables or in discussion or presentation panels. This will include stage skits, masquerades for showing off costumes, at least one "social mixer" where everyone is invited to have ice cream or some other refreshment, and generally mill about and get to know one another; then they take seats for a stage performance of the skits or a concert or the masquerade contest, or presentation of awards and recognition.
At AnthroCon, this takes the form of a "Social" on the first evening, followed by DJ-hosted dances; on Friday Night, there will be perhaps the Fursuit Masquerade, followed by a stand-up comedy performance by some gryphon or something, and _then_ a dance; on Saturday, there may be a variety show/talent show, highlighting but not exclusively devoted to Fursuit performers; this is usually followed by "Uncle Kage's Story Hour (UKSH), wherein the chairman of the AnthroCon Board, Dr. Samuel Conway, will treat the attendees to a rendition of incidents, anecdotes, and other such affairs of interest to him, some of which are exceedingly strange, a few of which stretch credibility, but all are averred to be ABSOLUTELY TRUE, and all - at least, as he tells them - are very, very FUNNY. A performance of UKSH is usually one of the highlights of the whole convention, and is not to be missed*. And if folks still have any energy left from laughing so hard, there is then another dance.
Where do they go?
Now - except for the dances - the official evening is ended; people who didn't have a chance to grab dinner between the closing of the commerce-part of the convention day and the start of the evening performances, will either go out into the streets looking for a late-night place to dine, or perhaps (if they are old enough) a club to party at; several will inundate the local pizza-delivery businesses, such as Pizza Parma just down the street, for pizza delivery; or retire to the bar at the Westin, or the bar at whatever hotel they are staying at. Many will stay in "the Zoo", a largish ballroom set up with tables for socialising, playing card or board games, or drawing in sketchbooks, or for passing sketchbooks around for others to see. This is also where many of the pizzas wind up being deliverd to. People will wander in and wander out all night. At some AnthroCons in the past - but not all - the hotel has provided a sandwich cart (for a reasonable amount) or a bartender serving beer or mixed drinks, to furry fans who wish to pay, and have proof of legal age over 21. I cannot say if the Westin does this, but other hotels have, in the past.
OF course - not [i]everyone is out prowling for pre-...er, food, nor hangs around the Zoo; some will hang out in the lobby of the hotel - though the Westin's lobby is rather small - or in the internet room, accessing one of the many terminals which Tigerden sets up for convention-goers to use. But eventually, most will make their way up into the hotel rooms, and either spend the evening reading all the comic books or furry novels which they have bought, or have a few friends over for an informal party and share refreshments, or break out the video/PC game consoles, and play computer games.
Now - I mentioned above that Furry Cons got their start as outgrowths from Room Parties at SciFi Conventions. One of the traditions of Fan-based conventions is to set aside a floor, usually one with mini-suites, for the benefit of fan organisations to host room parties. One purpose of the room parties is to attract fans, treat them well, feed them light finger-food snacks or things like in a Tapas Bar, along with drinks, either soft- or alcoholic - and then hit them up with a pitch for a donation or to help sponsor a "bid" for the right to host a major convention. These are called "bid parties", and you make a contribution to stage the bid effort before a committee which appoints a host organisation or host city for the convention, such as WesterCon or even the WorldCon, THE one giant convention held every year in a different city in a different country on a different continent on this planet, where the HUGOs are presented to the best SciFi authors of the year.
The competition for the rights to host such a convention - and the prestige which goes with it - is quite stiff, so naturally every effort is made to have people come into your party and feel welcomed and willing to contribute - bearing in mind that the people next door or across the hall are doing the same thing, and trying to do it better.
Some room parties are for conventions already scheduled, and there will be someone at a table who will take your money to register for their convention, usually at a substantial discount over the at-the-door price; these people will also offer you snacks and finger-foods and drinks, though they might not be as elaborate as those for the bid parties.
Finally, there is the room party which is just thrown because it is an excuse for a party, either by an individual or a group of fans from a specific region, or with a specific special interest, like the local Klingons, or the League of Evil Geniuses (a group of fans devoted to the art of costuming), or the Herbangelists (the evangelical wing of the Church of Herbie).
The whole thing - carried over for Friday and Saturday nights, with half the room parties thrown each night - is like strolling down a market street in a small village late at night, tavern-hopping, poking your head in and seeing who has the best cheese or swedish meatballs or bowls of chili or jumbo shrimp and crackers, who has a bathtub full of Ginger beers or Chocolate sodas or generic softdrinks, who is serving small plastic flutes of champagne or plastic goblets of wine, who has the best room decorations reflecting a theme, who has the best door-prizes, who has the best stickers for your con badge, who gives out the most colorful ribbons for those badges - there are a great many traditions involved in room parties at SciFi conventions.
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...Except for Furry Room Parties. Among all the flyers posted about for various parties, there might be one or two small notices, usually illustrated with a Furry character of some species, advertising a "Furry Party" in a room, NOT on the party floor. Partly, this is because Furry Fans, while hospitable, are not quite as wealthy as other groups; the parties will often be hosted by a single individual, who could not spring for a mini-suite; and due to historical misunderstandings about what Furry Fandom is about, it is often felt that other furry fans would feel most comfortable, and able to let their fur hang down (so to speak), essentially being their furry selves, if the party were not necessarily thrown open to all comers. Sincerely interested people, whether furry fans or not, were welcome - but not certain snarky individuals who would show up, accept the hospitality, - and then depart with a rude comment about Furries, all the while sickering down the hall.
Furry Parties at SciFi/Fantasy conventions would tend to be relatively tame; several people would lounge in the available chairs, sprawl across the beds or the floor, passing around their sketchbooks to show off sketches, or sketching in those books; pass around binders full of print collections; pull out rare or hard-to-find anthropomorphic comic books, tell stories about other fans, other conventions - and often, watch a videotape of japanese animation ("Anime") or some fantasy movie with a furry critter or dragon in a prominent role; or a collection of episodes of "TailSpin" or "Rescue Rangers" or "ThunderCats", or just episodes of ANIMANIACS featuring Minerva Mink - or even a playing of "The Lion King", for the sole reason that you could watch it in a room full of other fans who would understand and appreciate the same things about it that you did. And of course, there would be the bathtub full of ice and sodas, either in cans or 2-liter bottles, and plastic or styrofoam cups everywhere; and munchies, usually salty snacks like chips and salsa, pretzels, crackers, that sort of thing - compared to the OTHER parties at the SciFi convention, rather low-budget and simple, perhaps augmented with chocolate - for ALL room parties are enhanced with the edition of chocolate, that is one tradition which is universal.
And in the early days of Furry Fandom, the Furry Fans were on the whole an older crowd; while the majority were of age to serve and drink beer or hard liquor - and there were certainly parties where that was available - a surprisingly large percentage of those fans were, if not exactly tea-totallers, for the most part not major consumers of alcohol. Furry Parties could be quite sober.
Nowadays - at our OWN conventions - depending on the venue, you will be able to either promenade down the hall of a "Party Floor", as has been traditional at FURther CONfusion, with all the trappings of a host at the door, room decorations, beverages running the gamut, and tapas-style finger-foods and snacks; or you will find, scattered throughout the hotel, more intimate (as in limited) parties, which more closely resemble the original Furry Parties at the SciFi Cons. And you will find small notices on the convention bulletin board for the ones open to any furry fan, as opposed to strictly private, by-invitation-only parties, which can run from mild to wild, and be of nearly any rating - but for the most part, those are few, and target specific friends - and that sort of party can be found at ANY convention, ANYWHERE, it isn't a strictly "furry" affair.
Will there be cake?
I am quite certain that, at at least one party on one of the nights, there shall be cake. Indeed, someone has already posted a thread, asking for where they could find a decent cake near the convention center.
...The reciprocal question - of where one might obtain an "indecent" cake - was not addressed.
NOTE - *And if it so happens that you DO miss it, it and previous years' performances will be on sale at next year's AnthroCon; The convention Store, which sells the convention T-shirts, will happily sell you a DVD - or several DVDs -of prior performances, one "Story Hour" per DVD. Collect them all!
on Friday Night, there will be perhaps the Fursuit Masquerade, [...] on Saturday, there may be a variety show/talent show, highlighting but not exclusively devoted to Fursuit performers
The Masquerade is the variety show, and is on Saturday...
Mike
you are so knowledgable. how do you know so much? I always wondered how you are able to explain everything so good. Are you a furry god or something?
you are so knowledgable. how do you know so much? I always wondered how you are able to explain everything so good.
Alright - I can take a hint. Fewer and Shorter replies to other people's posts, cut down on the annoying history or back-story.
And the longest explanation isn't necessarily the best explanation; I tend to forget that at times. Honestly, I've seen much better explanations from many other fans on here than I have provided.
Are you a furry god or something?
...Or something.
Definitely Something, alright.
NO NO NO! I really enjoyed reading the long well thought out reply. And Ive been going to anthrocon since 2000! (I missed one year though when comic con in San Diego was the same weekend.I`ve been going there since 1994! )
And I dont think that was an insult.I think that was a bit silly but I`m pretty sure it was still praising you.
Mike
that wasnt meant to be a bad thing. I just wanted to say youre very knowledgable about this stuff no need to turn me into a terrorist. Please forgive me if i said something wrong
As far as I know, there is no "party floor" for Anthrocon as we not only have furs with different sleep/work/volunteer schedules, but we also share hotel space with people not affiliated with the convention. Room parties are going to happen, but just be aware: if you wake someone up, there will be problems. The zoo is set aside for more social/noisier pursuits.
Keep in mind the person in the room next to you just *might* be a board member. One never knows.
~Tyrrlin
As far as I know, there is no "party floor" for Anthrocon...
You are quite right - there isn't one. Some conventions do have them, though - and I tried to contrast that in one of the last paragraphs. There is an obscure little "or" buried in that mass of text, and I should have highlighted it.
If I gave anyone the impression that there is a "party floor" at AnthroCon, then I apologize.
...as we not only have furs with different sleep/work/volunteer schedules, but we also share hotel space with people not affiliated with the convention.
Ah! But this is not unique to AnthroCon; other conventions have the same staggered schedules for their staffs, and other "event" hotels, particularly ones adjacent to airports, have guests not connected to the convention, such as Flight Crews for airlines - and these have certain standards of service stated in a contract. One would prefer to fly on a plane which has a fully-rested, unfatigued crew.
And yet - such conventions using such facilities have had a "party floor".
...Now, I am not suggesting that AnthroCon should; I must admit that at the SciFi Cons which I have attended, the parties (and the partiers) have been a shade more "genteel"; folks have fun, drink, and be merry, but it is an orderly sort of "merry"; no one loses their self-control; they are not there to get drunk.
And then there is FURther CONfusion - where the general mood of all those parties on one floor, has a tendency to try and morph into a "rave", and we wish to avoid that...and it still had the problem of jazzed-up fans, loud and rowdy, going from floor to floor, looking for other parties.
Of course - even the rowdiest Furry Convention couldn't hold a candle to some American Legion conventions which I have attended....
Room parties are going to happen, but just be aware: if you wake someone up, there will be problems...Keep in mind the person in the room next to you just *might* be a board member. One never knows.
One would hope that the same consideration would be shown to complete and totally innocent strangers - who may be there for important business, or to consult at one of the world-class hospitals in Pittsburgh for a medical problem, or play against the Pittsburgh Pirates, or even attend a MENSA convention - as one would show to the board member who could ban you from AnthroCon for life.
I also believe that the "Zoo" will be closed at 2am as it will be in the convention center this year, or so I have been lead to believe. Im just a logistics guy though and they dont tell us anything other then were they would like to have something put and bombarded by "Where is the radio? I NEED A RADIO!"
We oblige, take thier name and then sic a rather fast and merciless cheetah to maul them to death or implant virus' into anything they might try to code, in the event that they dont turn in said begged for radio.
We were very strongly considering relocating the zoo based on quite a number of factors. But since the polled opinion rand in favor of keeping it in the Westin by a 2-1 margin, and the biggest factor mentioned was "We want it open late!", we decided that would be best.
OOh... Cake, please.
(( At this rate, we're going to run out of cake, who knews? ))
-----------------------------------------------
David M Stein, DI
"Not Unlike the Toaster, I Control the Darkness"
-- Abby Normal, "You Suck"
So then my choice would be "or death"???
Snippet Blue
1/2 of Bunnies Blue
"Cake or Death?" "cake please" "Were all out of cake!" "So my choice is or death?" "well ill have the chicken then"
Personally, I just wander around with my art pad looking for other people to draw with. Sometimes there are little groups sitting around drawing, other times there aren't. I just love drawing in new and different environments, even if I just wind up sitting outside by myself or with a small group of other nocturnal folk.
Okay, I don't really know much about this PARTICULAR convention, but the last convention I went to had the place accessible at all times, like everyone said, but all the sales and events are closed until morning. We all just passed the time with a Guitar Hero tournament (I won )
BTW that wasn't an Anthrocon, it was a different one. I forget the name.
I'm not sure what they do. I'm still too young to attend
I'm guessing they go back to the hotel and hang out.