1998 Con Report

      Feral! was a unique furry event where a large group of furs got together outside of the confining atmosphere of a hotel typical to conventions. Instead, it was held in beautiful Camp Arowhon (nestled in the middle of Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada). Being an hour from the nearest town, the location allowed everyone to experience nature.

      I'd first heard about Feral! back in April at the announcement meeting to the Toronto furries. This was also the first time that I'd met any of the furs there. While a little shy and uncomfortable (as nearly all furries are upon meeting more of their kind), I grew accustomed to their... ahem... eccentricities. But the idea of Feral! immediately caught my interest. Soon, I was volunteering to help out and did my small part to assist. Anyhow, many meetings, (mostly) polite discussions and Scoops (tm) later, Feral! was ready to become reality.

      Benjamin, Miami and I left for Feral! early so there would be members of the con staff to meet any early arrivals. Having gotten packed the night before, I spent the morning getting my face painted up. Ben got to my place at around noon and we tried in vain to pack everything into his car. Sadly, the large telescope that I'd hoped to bring (lent to me by the McMaster Physics and Astronomy department) couldn't be taken. We then went to get Miami from work (sadly, he was waiting at the door and I couldn't go in and ask for him :P) and somehow managed to stuff his gear into the car. We stopped at Raunchy Ron for some food. Hmmm... you'd think they'd never served a tiger before.

      We arrived at Arowhon promptly at 4pm and met up with the camp staff. Throughout the whole week-end, they were wonderful to the pack of erratic furries attending. They even had a nice spread of snacks available for us that afternoon, including yummy choco-covered strawberries! They directed us to our cabin and we stowed away our gear quickly.

      Soon afterwards, those furs who'd decided to drive up began arriving. Some of the early arrivals included the Orr family, SuperJay, Bleis, Mishi, Lucius Donkey and Terra! SuperJay's parents had been very kind in arranging to drive Terra to the campground. The early arrivals carelessly signed away their soul on Arowhon's waiver forms before getting down to the business of having fun. The bus bringing the bulk of the attendees to the site was somewhat later than anticipated, but once there everyone settled down for a great meal together.

      All meals were served en masse in the main lodge. The food was always wonderfully prepared and had a vegetarian option for those so inclined (though I'm a born & bred carnivore, myself). Having all meals together really helped bring a sense of community to all the furs attending. Meals became a social occasion where you'd meet your fellow furs and there'd never quite be the same crowd at your table. Unlike the typical con where small groups head out for meals whenever they get a chance, mealtime at Feral! was a time to be with all the furries and socialize over a good, hot meal.

      That evening was quite informal. Most of the furs hung around the area of the main lodge and socialized. There was a small fire outside and some furs pulled out some guitars and marshmallows. A lights-out curfew was set up, but the late night cabin was available for any who wanted to use it.

      The next morning, I was awoken (before the wake-up bell) to the sound of furs searching for the shower cabin. Thankfully, I had the wisdom to shower the night before so I grabbed a little more shut-eye before I got ready for breakfast. Stuffed with pancakes and sausages, I went off to the workshops.

      I'd chosen to take a workshop intensive schedule, having all the slots available filled with workshops I was either taking or teaching. The first workshop, Drawing I: Basic Techniques, was given by a somewhat sleepy Benjamin. He was a little ill at ease with teaching, but relaxed as time went on and knew his stuff inside and out. Next came MelSkunk with Drawing II: Expressions and Dynamic Posing. Mel ran a great workshop with lots of interaction with the individuals and even had a few great visual aids she made just moments before.

      After lunch came more workshops, first Perspective and Drawing from Nature (which Ben and I ran together). With Ben's formal training, he even showed his lovely assitant a few tricks on perspective. The last course of the afternoon was the Costuming IV: Casting Techniques taught by Smash with Rex as the victim... ahem... volunteer demo. While Smash taught the course well, some furs were disappointed (myself included) that he gave no assistance afterwards when others did castings on their own time. Bleis, Lucius, SuperJay and myself worked as a group to make castings of each other. While the other three did full head casts, I only did a face cast since that's all I'll be needing.

      That evening, I spent a fair bit of time making a pair of feline ears for my hat. Ostrich, who was instructing many of the costuming courses, spent a lot of his free time in the Arts and Crafts lodge helping anyone who wanted further assistance with their projects. He was kind enough to show me step by step how to make my ears. He was a great instructor, getting me started on each step and then letting me finish so I'd learn by doing as well. Just from the bits I picked up listening to when he helped others, I'm confident I'll be able to carve myself a foam head.

      Sunday, I took Terry Wessner's (thankfully not Evil Terry) Writing I: Furries as Non-humans. He taught the course well, offering a few hand-outs and then going on to discuss techniques to make your furry characters be more that just 'humans with fur'. He wrapped up by discussing with each fur the specifics of what they had in mind, offering tips on how to enhance their ideas.

      Before lunch, MelSkunk and I ran the Costuming VI: Facepainting course. We had a discussion over techniques, paints and application methods before we paired the furs off. Each did up their partner's face while Mel and I each did our own, giving more tips as they came to up. Everyone was pleased with how their facepaint turned out.

      After lunch, and a group photo, I took a quick shower and went to the A&C lodge to get my headcasting done. Also that afternoon was the Predator and Prey games, but I was under the algenate while it was going on, so I could only listen as the furries tried surviving as either a herbivore, omnivore or carnivore always careful of the Hunter, Disease and the Mack Truck.

      After supper, Arowhon staff arranged so that a lot of the furs could take the traditional War Canoe! (say it like you mean it!) out onto Teepee lake for a quick spin. I'm the fur sitting at the bow. That evening, there was some thundershowers and we experienced a brief power outage before the camp's generators kicked in. Largely everyone staged inside the main lodge and had fun. A fire was built in the fireplace, snacks were brought out, guitars were played, fursuits were donned and everyone had a good time socializing together. A few furs even got on one another's shoulders. Needless to say, the rainstorm did little to dampen everyone's spirits and many said it even made things better.

      Monday morning, everyone had breakfast and started saying their goodbyes to friends new and old and packed up to leave. Those furs taking the bus back loaded up and headed out. Ben, Miami, Terra and I were the last to head out, saying goodbye to the camp staff and thanking them for putting up with all our wierdness (which they'd strangely enjoyed). We drove Terra into Huntsville for her bus back home (unfortunately, it arrived just after we got there, so it was a quick goodbye).

      Saying that Feral! was the best con I've ever be a misnomer since I've only been to two. It would be better to state that Feral! was an incredible event and it exceeded my expectations greatly. I had a wonderful time there and I'm very glad I decided to help (in my meager ways) make the event happen.

I've finally gotten around to adding the photos onto a page for easier viewing, along with short comments.

      Planning work for Feral! 2000 is now well underway and I'm helping again with the planning. This year it will be held at Camp Kinark in Ontario over a 4-day/5-night week-end from August 16th to 20th. More details on Feral! can be found at their website below. Hope to see you there.