Furvana 2019


Cash takes an important phone call on the john.
Ocean Shores, WA: a place I fondly remember visiting many times as a kid, staying in modest motels and going to little tourist-y strip malls to buy saltwater taffy before flying a kite or riding a horse on the beach. I definitely wouldn't have ever expected this small seaside town to host a furry convention. But after the downfall of RainFurrest, finding a venue for a furry con in Washington has been a true pain in the ass.

It took a few years for Furvana to get off the ground, and when the dates for the first iteration of the event were finally solidified, I was happy to support a new local con in an unconventional setting. A couple friends and I got a hotel room for Friday and Saturday night of the con, which was held from Sept. 27th-29th, 2019.

Honestly, I initially bailed on the event, because legendary fingerstyle guitarist Leo Kottke was playing a show that weekend in Ellensburg, and I desperately wanted to go. But planning for that got all fucked up, and the tickets sold out. So at the last minute, I was back on the Furvana train. I arranged to re-join my friend Proggy and his hotel roomies.


Wile E. watches us play Roller Coaster Tycoon in the room.
I got a ride up to the con on Friday evening with Jack, a local fur. It was dark by the time we arrived and my first observation was the near-absence of streetlights in the surrounding area, which created both a pleasant lack of light pollution and a sort of eerie atmosphere. It was also cold as fuck. I entered the hotel, the Shilo Inn, and was immediately in love. The place doesn't look like it's been updated since the 90's and has a wonderful ocean theme with lots of dolphins. When I finally met up with Proggy and got to see our room, I was further impressed by more dolphin art, and the presence of a tiny, ancient-looking TV and a corded phone right next to the toilet.

The Ocean Shores Convention Center was a short walk away from the Shilo Inn, but in the complete darkness of night, a bit treacherous while wearing a fursuit head. We did some socializing and some dancing Friday night.

The con, understandably, was small as hell, and the tiny convention center was never particularly bustling at any point during the weekend. The main room had a small cash bar, as well as a piano - any conversation that took place there had to be done over the sound of attendees tickling the ivories and loudly singing Beatles and Queen songs. The Dealer's Den was...you guessed it...small, but with a nice selection of artists. I got a badge commission from Corgilegs Crafts, and a few prints and stickers from other artists.


Reid in the con center.
On Saturday I met up with Gordi for a photoshoot with my shepherd fursuit, Cash. We got some great pics of Cash among the Shilo Inn decor and headed to the beach for some scenic shots, where we ran into my con roomie Lellow. We ended up back in the hotel room hangin’ out while I sought out a convenient means of getting dinner. A furry con being held in a town that didn't even have UberEats yet!? Unthinkable. I finally settled on ordering truffle mac n cheese via room service and drank a bit too much whiskey as I awaited its arrival. It took forever to come and I was thoroughly drunk when it got there. I only vaguely recall eating some of it face-first and realizing I hadn't really had anything with truffle oil in it before and it just made the whole dish taste like dirt to me.

Proggy and I had been invited to not one, but two Airbnb parties that night, held by Furvana attendees who were staying in cabins nearby. The late-night, drunken roadside walk in utter darkness was only a little scary, but entirely worth it when I wound up making s'mores over a campfire and then drinking White Claws in a hot tub with my fursuit head on.


Peering through dolphins.
It was late when we made it back to the Shilo, but we decided to keep goin'. Proggy suited up in Cash, and the suit fit surprisingly well considering he's too tall for it. We headed to the beach, where a group of congoers were chilling around a campfire. We ran into local Olympia furry Mika there and the three of us walked out to the ocean in the darkness, which was so peaceful and pretty it became one of the most memorable moments of Furvana for me. But soon after, it was time for bed…

I was so tired and drained the next day, I didn't even have it in me to take advantage of the horseback rides being offered at the beach, as I'd planned. I did end up watching the small fursuit dance competition. My heart was warmed by the performance of a young fursuiter whose supportive mom had been sitting with them on the sidelines and proudly filmed when it was the kid's turn to dance. Soon after, we had one final small group hangout by the ocean, and then we were off. Proggy and I rode home with Lellow, who put on Neil Young's Harvest in the car, lulling me into a cozy backseat nap after our tiring beachside weekend.

Furvana was definitely a welcome twist on the normal big city convention, and I'm sure it'll be even more fun after it grows in attendance a bit. I look forward to attending again.


A couple more photos from the wonderful shoot with Gordi.




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