# History of the Furry Convention ( The con that started it all)



## OggyWolf (Feb 22, 2011)

Greetings Ladies and Gentlefurs!

I wanted to make a bit of a post in regards to the foundation of furry conventions. As we have individuals all over the world that enjoy furry and everything in it's relation, I thought it would be neat to do a bit of a background. Now I have heard some back and forth on this, but I wanted to present to you what I know... and statements from those that were/are on staff for both versions of the first convention.

ConFurence of Southern California was the FIRST furry con ever held. That's right, first furry convention....ever.

When I came into the fandom I was about 17 years old. Right as ConFurence was changing names to Califur (Southern California). So I witnessed first paw this change over. I have had a few people tell me that these cons are not the same. I usually giggle and shake my head, I was there. I saw the talks AlohaWolf (founder of Califur) had with Confurance staffers at Tess' House (local meeting place at the time for furs in the fandom.)

After a major change up of ownership of the convention (some people were in disagreement on matters and the con was changing some paws), the name was changed to CaliFur. Notice that both have the letter CF. Further proof they are the same convention? Look at the staff lists and you tell me!

http://en.wikifur.com/wiki/ConFurence
http://en.wikifur.com/wiki/Califur

Califur (FENEC)

AlohaWolf (founder)
Rod O'Riley
Zsanene Stevens
Ken Nielsen
Mark Merlino
Glen Wooten
Kay Shapero

ConFurence

Rod O'Riley
Mark Merlino
Zsanene Stevens
Glen Wooten
Kay Shapero

So there you go kids, Califur is the new version of an old con. With a revamp and a shift in staff, we are still alive and kicking! 

CF: Bringing you furry cons since 1989!

Also here's another little bit for you, Stego who has been on the staff since old CF made a post in regards to this matter:

http://stego-s-aurus.livejournal.com/240781.html

I personally hopped onto Califur staff back about 3 or 4 years ago, but I have been going to Califur since it started.

If you are looking to learn more about who STARTED furry see the links below. it is a given that these are not the only individuals that helped to establish furry. Many other notable members can be found with some reading. As this entry is focused on Califur, I have included information in regards to that convention and it's evolution. 

http://en.wikifur.com/wiki/Mark_Merlino
http://en.wikifur.com/wiki/Rod_O'Riley

Fred Patten a noted historian documented the start of the fandom and those related to it. I have posted some highlights, as well as links to his information.

July 1985: Mark Merlino and Rod O'Riley host a Prancing Skiltaire party, the first publicized open funny-animal fan party, at Westercon 38 in Sacramento. It is popular enough to lead to the first furry party a year later.

May 1987: Mark Merlino and the furry party crew encourage the "adoption" of the annual Baycon SF convention in San Jose, California over the Memorial Day weekend as the convention for furry fans to congregate at. There are large furry attendances at this and the next two or three Baycons, but active hostility by non-furry fans eventually causes problems.

August 1987: Mark Merlino and the furry party crew host a furry party at Conspiracy '87, the 1987 World Science Fiction Convention in Brighton (August 27-September 2). This is the first furry event in Britain. Early British furry fans credit this party with introducing them to American furry independent comic books and fanzines, which eventually leads to a British furry fandom around 1992-1993.

January 1989: ConFurence Zero, the first exclusively furry convention, is held 21-22 January at the Holiday Inn Bristol Plaza in Costa Mesa, California, organized by Mark Merlino, Rod O'Riley, and others. ("Zero" because it is considered a test for a "real" furry convention the next year.) Membership is about 90, attendance is 65, including most prominent furry fans from across North America and Steve Kerry from Australia. Art Show auction sales are over $1,100, including $450 for a Susan Van Camp painting.

January 1990: ConFurence 1, the "first real" furry convention, is held 26-28 January, again at the Holiday Inn Bristol Plaza in Costa Mesa, California. Membership is 145; attendance is 130. The ConFurence adds guests of honor (Jim Groat, Monika Livingston, Martin Wagner) and awards (Best Costume, to John Cawley as Zorro the Fox; Art Show Best of Show, to Ken Sample's "Winter Charge"; Best Filk Award, to Kay Shapero's "Furry"). Yarf! issue one debuts at the con.

http://yarf.furry.com/chronology.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Patten


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## OggyWolf (Feb 22, 2011)

Please keep in mind that this is meant to spark individuals into reading more about the fandom themselves. In no way shape or form are Califur and Confurance legally connected. Confurance is fully dead, and Califur is the phoenix from the ashes.


http://en.wikifur.com/wiki/Califur

"FENEC ("Furries Enjoying the Natural Environments of California") was conceived by Robert "Alohawolf" Johnson Jr., Dawn Britt, and Dennis Carr with the initial idea of having a furry-themed campout. While riding home from the southern California FurBQ, Dawn had commented to Dennis and his wife, Karmin, about the lack of other camping events such as Feral! in Southern California. Dennis pointed this out while chatting on the Furnet IRC Network, and Robert took charge from there.
As the campout was being planned, additional staffers including Glen Wooten, Zsanene "Zee" Stevens, Trapa, Drewkitty along with ConFurence co-founders Mark Merlino and Rod O'Riley were brought on board. With the demise of ConFurence in 2003, Mark and Robert expressed a desire to see a regional convention maintained in Southern California. The decision was made in early autumn of 2003 to plan a traditional hotel-based convention to succeed ConFurence 2003 with Califur 0 the following year.'


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## Istanbul (Feb 24, 2011)

It was always my understanding that after ConFurence died, Further Confusion rose from the ashes, and Califur sprang up as something run by many of the same people who ran ConFurence.


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## OggyWolf (Feb 28, 2011)

Istanbul said:


> It was always my understanding that after ConFurence died, Further Confusion rose from the ashes, and Califur sprang up as something run by many of the same people who ran ConFurence.



Historical reference speaks volumes. I have heard this before, but still to this day have not seen anything in the form of research or paperwork on the matter. All of the reference above, interviews and statements are my gathered notations on hard proof.

The first Califur was held in 2004... the year after Confurence ended. 

FC was first held according to their wiki in 1999. Yet records stem from 1998.
http://www.anthroarts.org/about.html


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## Ricky (Feb 28, 2011)

Let's use this history lesson to not repeat the same mistakes in the future :V


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## Istanbul (Feb 28, 2011)

OggyWolf said:


> Historical reference speaks volumes. I have heard this before, but still to this day have not seen anything in the form of research or paperwork on the matter. All of the reference above, interviews and statements are my gathered notations on hard proof.
> 
> The first Califur was held in 2004... the year after Confurence ended.
> 
> ...


 
I appear to have been partially incorrect. Further Confusion was formed not after ConFurence's death, but before. It splintered away from CF, taking with it much of their attendance. As FC grew, CF shrank, until it was no more. Califur was then formed by many of the same people who had run CF, several years after FC's creation and shortly after CF's death.


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## OggyWolf (Feb 28, 2011)

Grand statements, though not supported by any form of reference. I always ask people link me to info so I might broaden my understandings.


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## Istanbul (Feb 28, 2011)

Sure, here you go:

http://en.wikifur.com/wiki/Template:Timeline_of_conventions

1996:
CF: 900
FC: N/A

1997:
CF: 1000
FC: N/A

1998:
CF: 1250
FC: N/A

1999:
CF: 850
FC: 691

2000:
CF: 703
FC: 987

2001:
CF: 640
FC: 1114

2002:
CF: 580
FC: 1137

2003:
CF: 470
FC: 1201

2004:
CF: DEAD
FC: 1411
Califur: 328

...and so on. It's hard NOT to see the pattern there.

Particularly telling is the additive nature of the numbers. Year by year, you get 900 -> 1200 -> 1250 -> 1541 -> 1690 -> 1754 -> 1717 -> 1671 -> 1739.

The key jump - the one from 1250 to 1541 - comes on the year when FC is created. From there, there is a little more growth (additive for FC, subtractive for CF), largely stalling until 2005 when FC begins to pick up steam and take its place as one of the top three furry conventions in the world.

As for the claim about staffing, Califur and ConFurence have the following staffers in common:
Mark Merlino
Rod O'Riley
Dawn Britt
Drewkitty
Glen Wooten
Kay Shapero
TigerEyes

Not a 100% transfer, obviously, but enough to be worth consideration. Links follow:
http://en.wikifur.com/wiki/Category:ConFurence_staff
http://en.wikifur.com/wiki/Category:Califur_staff


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## OggyWolf (Feb 28, 2011)

I argue that a number shift does not mean the members were going directly to FC. That can only be proven with reg list comparing. I would have hopes that FC was able to create it's own fan base in the area it was placed. According to your theory, everyone from So Cal went to Nor Cal.

I didn't attend FC till a few years ago. It's also unlikely that no one from Nor Cal attended FC. I know for a fact many furs were quite happy to see a con at the North end of the state. :3

The staff lists you posted are outdated and incorrect. These individuals are not on current staff, which is the listing I posted. They are members that have stayed on staff. I leave it to others to go looking for full staff lists like you have posted to show even more were indeed on both staffs. That was not my intent however, as I wanted to showcase those that are still working to make Califur awesome. 

Rod O'Riley
Zsanene Stevens
Ken Nielsen
Mark Merlino
Glen Wooten
Kay Shapero

Is the current list of members still on staff from the original con, sans a few amazing staffers like Stego. :3 He's so awesome he gets his own mention. 

This post is in no way shape or form a comparing of Califur to FC. They have very different intentions and considerations in regards to their ideals. This IS a post however about the staff making a revamped convention, and calling it Califur.

CF 1.0 had a list of reasons why it died off. Reading on those reasons can be found in the links above. I hold my stance on the fact the Califur having made MAJOR changes is ran in a completely different manner.


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## Istanbul (Mar 1, 2011)

It is highly likely that many furs from northern California had been attending ConFurence, and chose to attend FC once it was created. If you had been going clear across the state to attend a furry convention, and then one opened close by, the results are fairly obvious.

It is also highly likely that, when CF's attendance began a sharp decline and FC's attendance began a sharp ascent, a lot of SoCal furries decided to go with the trend and attend FC instead of CF. It's not hard to see how that would snowball.

If you're looking for absolute, 100% ironclad proof that FC's creation had nothing to do with CF's demise, then yes, you win. I would argue that no one has that information, as it would require registration lists from both FC and CF some 10+ years ago. That said, you'd have to be willfully ignoring the obvious trends not to reach similar conclusions.

The staff list I posted is correct and accurate; you seem to be assigning motivations to me that I do not have. I never claimed that the people I listed are currently involved in Califur's production. I am only saying that they were involved in ConFurence, and then they were involved in Califur. If it is your claim that WikiFur is inaccurate, then I strongly endorse you correcting the link. That's the beautiful thing about WikiFur: if something is wrong, you can fix it.

That said, I'm sort of sensing an agenda here, so I'm going to agree to disagree with you, and let the readers of these posts reach their own conclusions.


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## OggyWolf (Mar 1, 2011)

I never said the wiki links were not correct. I also AGREE that your staff posting is CORRECT as an over all listing of some of the higher ups for the convention. I think you are missing what I am saying. I posted people that were still on the Board for Califur that were on staff for Confurance. 

That's it nothing more. I didn't post this to create any sort of comparison between any con besides Califur and Confurance. Again, this has NOTHING to do with FC. Honestly, I could argue that in the decline of Confuance, people went to AC or Furry Fiesta. Which, some did. I am not making any sort of argument stating that people did not stop going to CF 1.0. ( Why do I refer to it as CF 1.0? In the Califur reg system Califur is called CF 2.7. 2 for the current con, Califur and the .7 for the year number.)

 In fact, I AGREE with you that there was a decline. FC is just a huge invalid part of this topic. My agenda as a staff member of Califur, who was there for the creation of Califur.... is to dispel some major rumors going on about:

1) Who started the first furry convention.
2) Who created Califur
3) How Califur evolved from CF 1.0, with a lot the same people.
4) What the major differences are in ideals between CF 1.0 and Califur.

I more than invite people to read the history of both Califur and Confurance, to form their own opinions. This back and forth debate I have found quite productive in allowing me to see how some of these opinions might have been formed.


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## Istanbul (Mar 1, 2011)

OggyWolf said:


> Honestly, I could argue that in the decline of Confuance, people went to AC or Furry Fiesta.



This would be very difficult, since ConFurence died in 2004 and Furry Fiesta was born in 2009.


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## OggyWolf (Mar 1, 2011)

Exactly my point, as FC started in 1999 >.>. Just because a con finished or ended at a given date, does not indicate that individuals went to another specific con. \o/ I'm glad we can agree. :3


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## Istanbul (Mar 3, 2011)

OggyWolf said:


> Exactly my point, as FC started in 1999 >.>. Just because a con finished or ended at a given date, does not indicate that individuals went to another specific con. \o/ I'm glad we can agree. :3


 
That's true. You can choose to ignore the almost linear correlation between the decline in CF's attendance and the increase in FC's attendance. You can also choose to ignore the fact that CF's attendance began to decline on the same year that FC was born.

Frankly, you can plug your ears and shout "LA LA LA INCONTROVERTIBLE PROOF OR IT DIDN'T HAPPEN", but that doesn't make it any less true...


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## OggyWolf (Mar 6, 2011)

Nothing like that at all. I am not ignoring you, just politely disagreeing.


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