Eurofurence

Eurofurence is a furry convention held in changing places in Europe every year. It was originally started in 1995 as a private gathering by nineteen European furry fans who met on the Internet. Attendance has been steadily rising since then, to 1066^[1] at Eurofurence 17 (held in 2011), making it the largest furry convention outside the United States. The name of the convention derives from its American back-then-counterpart ConFurence, emphasising the European nature of the gathering.

Since the year 2000, Eurofurence is no longer organized by individual persons but rather by the German Verein Eurofurence e.V., which serves as an administrative body for the convention.

Contrary to most American furry conventions, Eurofurence traditionally took place at youth hostels. In 2007, Eurofurence was first held at a hotel (the Hotel Ringberg in Suhl).

Locations

Eurofurence has been held in the following locations:

• 1995-06-30 to 1995-07-03 : Kaiser-Wilhelm-Koog, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany (Eurofurence 1)
• 1996-07-18 to 1996-07-22 : Linköping, Östergötland, Sweden (Eurofurence 2)
• 1997-08-21 to 1997-08-24 : Bodstedt, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany (Eurofurence 3)^[2]
• 1998-08-01 to 1998-08-05 : Heeze, North Brabant, Netherlands (Eurofurence 4)
• 1999-07-22 to 1999-07-25 : Berlin, Germany (Eurofurence 5)
• 2000-08-10 to 2000-08-13 : Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany (Eurofurence 6)
• 2001-07-22 to 2001-07-25 : Kirchen (Sieg), Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany (Eurofurence 7)
• 2002-08-15 to 2002-08-18 : Oberbernhards, Hesse, Germany (Eurofurence 8)
• 2003-08-21 to 2003-08-24 : Samopše, Středočeský kraj, Czech Republic (Eurofurence 9)
• 2004-08-26 to 2004-08-29 : Olpe, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany (Eurofurence 10, commonly called EFX by the organisation committee)
• 2005-07-21 to 2005-07-24 : Nürnberg, Bavaria, Germany (Eurofurence XI)
• 2006-08-23 to 2006-08-27 : Nürnberg, Bavaria, Germany (Eurofurence 12)
• 2007-09-05 to 2007-09-09 : Suhl, Thuringia, Germany (Eurofurence 13)^[3][4][5]
• 2008-08-27 to 2008-08-31 : Suhl, Thuringia, Germany (Eurofurence 14)
• 2009-08-26 to 2009-08-30 : Suhl, Thuringia, Germany (Eurofurence 15)
• 2010-09-01 to 2010-09-05 : Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany (Eurofurence 16)
• 2011-08-17 to 2011-08-21 : Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany (Eurofurence 17)
• 2012-08-29 to 2012-09-02 : Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany (Eurofurence 18)
• 2013-08-21 to 2013-08-25 : Magdeburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany (Eurofurence 19)
• 2014-08-20 to 2014-08-24 : Berlin, Germany (Eurofurence 20) ^[6]

Themes

Since Eurofurence 8, Eurofurence has had a "theme" every year, with T-shirt designs and venue "dressing" to reflect same. The following list comprises the themes to date:

• Eurofurence 8 (2002) - The F.I.A. (Furry Intelligence Agency)
• Eurofurence 9 (2003) - Cunning Little Vixens
• Eurofurence X (2004) - EFX : The Movie
• Eurofurence XI (2005) - Songs of the Old Ages
• Eurofurence 12 (2006) - The Hounds of Blackwhite Castle
• Eurofurence 13 (2007) - The Unlucky Thirteen
• Horrorfurence 14 (2008) - From Dusk till Dawn
• Eurofurence 15 (2009) - 1001 Arabian Nights
• Eurofurence 16 (2010) - Serengeti
• Eurofurence 17 (2011) - Kung Fur Hustle
• Eurofurence 18 (2012) - Animalia Romana
• Eurofurence 19 (2013) - Aloha Hawaii!
• Eurofurence 20 (2014) - CSI Berlin ^[7]

Guests of Honour

Since Eurofurence 5, Eurofurence has had a guest of honour almost every year (possibly except for Eurofurence 6&9). The following list provides an overview of the Guests of Honour so far:

• Eurofurence 5 (1999) - Lisanne Norman, author of the Sholan Alliance series of books
• Eurofurence 7 (2001) - Lisanne Norman; Lee "Chairo" Strom, Fursuiter, Puppeteer, and member of the Further Confusion organising team since 2003; Mark Merlino, co-founder of ConFurence, the original Furry Convention
• Eurofurence 8 (2002) - Dr Samuel "Uncle Kage" Conway, Chairman of Anthrocon, the world's largest Furry Convention
• Eurofurence X (2004) - Timothy Albee, Creator of Kaze: Ghost Warrior
• Eurofurence XI (2005) - Heather Alexander, Celtic Folk/World Rock Musician
• Eurofurence 12 (2006) - Dark Natasha, furry artist, winner of Best Anthropomorphic Published Illustration at the Ursa Major Awards in 2002
• Eurofurence 13 (2007) - Lance Ikegawa, costume designer and Steve Gallacci, Creator of Albedo (Steve Gallacci was unable to attend the convention due to family matters.) Alexander James Adams appeared as musical guest.^[8]
• Eurofurence 14 (2008) - Watts Martin, writer and fanzine editor/publisher, and once more Steve Gallacci.^[9]
• Eurofurence 15 (2009) - Jimmy Chin, furry artist and fursuiter
• Eurofurence 16 (2010) - Stan Sakai, comic author, creator of Usagi Yojimbo
• Eurofurence 17 (2011) - Jim Martin, a distinguished Puppeteer
• Eurofurence 18 (2012) - Peter S. Beagle, novel and fantasy fiction author, creator of The Last Unicorn ^[10]
• Eurofurence 19 (2013) - Warrick Brownlow-Pike, Andy Heath and Iestyn Evans from "Mongrels", the hit BBC comedy was the guests of honor this year ^[11]
• Eurofurence 20 (2014) - Not announced yet

Quotes

• "Anthrocon may be the biggest fur convention in the world, but Eurofurence is the best." - Dr Samuel Conway, EFX (2004)

Main events

• Pawpet show - Furry handpuppet story with custom plot, music and effects
• Stage fever - Fursuiting acting show
• Big Blue Dance - Disco with live DJ, light effects and live mixed background animations
• Group Photo
• Fursuit parade
• Art Auction - Bidding for art
• DDR Tournament

References

External links

• Eurofurence web site