Furry Halloween Party/Mini-con

About 8 months ago the voices in my head (the very same ones that told me John Tesh was a musical genius and rice cakes are baby elves) started talking about how it might be a cool idea to rent out a hall and throw a big furry Halloween party. We could keep it small, simple, and inexpensive, throw in a few con-like events, and maybe a group of us furs could get together and have some fun. We were thinking that if we could get anywhere between 30-50 furs to show up, we'd get enough money to pay for some of the hall and we wouldn't go too far into debt. *grins* That WAS what we had in mind, but that plan got tossed into the dumper when we received 50-something pre-registrations! *laughs* Because New England and Northeast furs are the greatest, most generous creatures on the planet, our "little party" drew approximately 150 furs!!! AND, we raised over $200 EACH for The Vital Ground Foundation and Animal Haven! And all of the credit goes to you, dear furs.

At the risk of blubbering like the sentimental bear I am, I'd like to at least try and express my gratitude to all of you for making FurFright 2003 possible.

I want to thank every single fur who padded through those doors on Saturday from the bottom of my grizzly heart. Whether you donated food (a bag of chips or the best damn macaroni and cheese on the planet!), decorations (a bloody hand or a glow stick), time (a minute or a month), talent (muscle, music, dancing, organizing, or just a great attitude and sense of humor), money (an extra dollar or a hundred), or just came to have a good time, if it wasn't for every single one of you FurFright would NOT have happened. A con without furs to create it is just an empty hall.

From Day One the only thing I cared about with FurFright was that everyfur stayed safe and had a good time. I'll be honest, there were times when I thought I had bitten off more than I could chew (which is no easy task for a bear my size! *chuckles*), but Saturday when I saw the smiles on your muzzles, that made all the work and worry worthwhile. I know this might sound stupid, but, thank you for having fun. *smiles*

My only regret is that I didn't have more time to play and talk to all of you. As I sit here and sift through all the registration forms I realize that there were countless furs there whose names I recognize and would have loved to meet, but never had the chance. And for those of you I DID meet, if I seemed a bit stressed and confused, that's only because I was. *smiles*

And now, I'd like to introduce you to some of the FurFright crew (as many as my tiny brain can remember)! THESE are the beasts that made FurFright happen!

-- K'gra (She did damn near EVERYTHING! Head of security, registration, construction, setup/cleanup, putting up with a moody bear without hitting him in the head with a toaster oven, etc. You name it!).

-- Silverpaw (Gave us a huge financial donation, courtesy of his parents who have him too much money for school books, helped with artwork/badges/t-shirts, registration, security, setup/cleanup, endless moral support, loaned me his Creeping Terror soundtrack, and so much more).

-- Nitro (For being the workhorse of the con. *the big bear flashes a toothy smile* Sorry, pal, I couldn't resist the pun. But seriously, you worked your tail off! *grins*)

-- Runtt (Equipment, a loan, construction, setup/cleanup, and big support from a little wah)

-- Bios (decorations, equipment, lights, smoke/bubble machines, bad azz beats, and chainsaw-wielding madness!)

-- Wulven (staff shirts, sign for DDR tourney, water cooler, setup/cleanup, security, and being just a sweetheart of a wolf)

-- Silvermane (tons of incredible decorations, equipment, artwork for the badges, and endless moral support)

-- Silverwolf (setup/cleanup, security, moral support, and embarrassing me by NOT SHUTTING THE HELL UP! *glares at the wolf and shakes his head* God I hate you. *bursts out laughing and huggles his dear friend lovingly* Just teasing, wolfy. But seriously, don't ever do that again. *laughs*)

-- Little Fenix & Bradley (Organizing and running the DDR Tournament, and supplying equipment)

-- Tiberious (Setup/cleanup, plates, cups, napkins, utensils, and everything furs needed to eat! When he said he was bringing enough stuff for 200 furs I thought, "That's WAY too much!". Boy was -I- wrong! *laughs* I'm glad he thinks big! *smiles*)

-- Pixel (for loaning us lots of equipment, helping with registration/security, setup/cleanup, and believing we could actually pull this off. Oh, and your sick sense of humor made me smile over the course of the con and kept me from leaping out a window to my death (even though at times it seemed like a pleasant idea). *smiles*)

-- Alley Cat (Setup/cleanup, registration/security, equipment, resident wise-ass, and provider of limited edition candy to the hungry bear. *the fat bruin rears up and begs for another treat*

-- Julie (Registration, jam, setup/cleanup, radiators, giving the stressed bear huggles and backrubs when he needed them most, more jam perhaps, and just for being her usual sweet, supportive self)

-- Kasi (Setup/cleanup, decorations, equipment, registration/security, printing (you and your computer saved the day more than once!), and stunning the crowd with her raving prowess!).

-- Rossweisl Wolf (Handling security and parking like a professional . . . because he IS! Outstanding job! *smiles*)

-- Logarth (tending the headless lounge, equipment, Gatorade (yum!), and cleanup)

-- Sedge (setup/cleanup, registration, security, and rockin' the hizouse!)

-- Punk Tiger (artwork/graphics, fans, kindness and support, and thrashing like no one else can!)

-- Flare (Setup/cleanup, equipment, huggles, music)

-- Alanya (Setup/cleanup, huggles, and sushi)

-- Mikey Fox (supplying those incredible plushies for the winners of the DDR tourney)

-- Piccillo (Artwork for badges, rallying the troops on the NEFur list, taking care of the staff by making them badges, helping in so many ways, and being a hell of a nice fur!)

-- Twitch Wolf (For loaning us his big azz 32" TV for the DDR tourney!)

-- Shatter & Mythrill Dragon (for being kind enough to take pictures and video of the event!)

-- Morgan (cooking and making the best damn mac and cheese I've ever tasted! Though, the entire batch ended up lasting all of 4 seconds! *grins*)

-- Windcaller (For using her time and talent to make us FurFright programs. They never made it to the con, but the effort and gesture is greatly appreciated)

-- Zero (cleanup and super, super excellent happy fun-time!)

-- Spots (cleanup and being such a nice cheetah)

-- Dalia & Skorzy (promotion and endless kindness and support)

-- Grizz (for making FurFright his first con, helping us setup/cleanup, taking a bunch of great photos, and for giving me a bottle of fruit juice when I needed it most. *grins and winks*

-- Enigmas (cleanup, and big, soft coonhuggles!)

-- Darius (security)

-- ALL the artists who showed up and helped in any way (Fennec, Taurin Fox and Cray, Dalia, Winged Siamese, Silvermane, Silverwolf, Louie Furrywolfy, White Wolf, Centaur, Spade, Piccillo, Bob "Wazzat?" Gifford, Orion)

-- My dogs Tama & Rama

-- Joel, Mike, and the bots

-- Porkchop sandwiches!

-- Spooky spider

-- AND ALL FURRIES EVERYWHERE!

So many beasts pitched in and helped that I couldn't keep track of them all. If I forgot anyone I apologize. Everyfur who showed up on Saturday, you have my undying gratitude.

When this grizz was stressed out to the point of mauling inanimate objects, I told those furs closest to me that if I even THOUGHT about organizing another con they should smack me in the face with a shovel. But when I saw all you beasts having a blast on Saturday, and read all your kind posts, I started thinking . . . *buries his face in his paws and laughs* Oh God . . . get the shovel.

Peace, love, and happiness to all! *the fat bruin gathers everyfur in his arms and gives them a loving bearhuggle* I love you furs!

--Bear (Belic)

Photos/Video: To document the event, and promote future cons, I'd like to get copies of any/all photos and video that were taken at FurFright. If you took pics could you PLEASE send me copies? Toss the images on a CD and mail them to me (email me for my address), toss the photos up on a website, and/or snail-mail printed copies. Whatever you can do will be greatly appreciated.

Lost and Found: If you lost or found something at FurFright, please email us and we'll see if have it in our possession, or can help reunite it with its owner.

Lost items: Key, Black leggings, Bear's mind.

Please email us and give a description of the items if they're yours.