Furnal Equinox

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Furnal Equinox
Furnal Equinox logo

Other names FE
Location
Website
Status Ongoing
First iteration 6-7 March 2010
Organizer(s) Anthropomorphic Events of Ontario
Subject Furry
Resources Photos, videos, reports: Furnal Equinox resources
Furnal Equinox (edit)
Furnal Equinox 2010
Furnal Equinox 2011
Furnal Equinox 2012
Furnal Equinox 2013
Furnal Equinox 2014
Furnal Equinox 2015
Furnal Equinox 2016
Furnal Equinox 2017
Furnal Equinox 2018
Furnal Equinox 2019
Furnal Equinox 2020
Furnal Equinox 2021
Furnal Equinox 2022
Furnal Equinox 2023
Furnal Equinox 2024

Furnal Equinox (sometimes abbreviated as FE) is a regional furry convention held during the month of March in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Announced in 2009 and holding its first edition in 2010, it is Canada's largest furry convention by attendance.

Purpose and Operations[edit]

   
Furnal Equinox
Our mission is to bring together fans of the furry genre together in a laid-back, casual environment to exchange artwork and crafts, share ideas, participate in entertainment, and meet the fantastic creators and fans that contribute to the furry community, all in one of Canada's premier cities. We aim to not only showcase homegrown talent here in Canada, but bring the best furry artists around the world to our members.[1]
   
Furnal Equinox

Furnal Equinox has aimed to promote the goal of showcasing the best local talent and attracting worldwide furry names by inviting two Guests of Honour to the convention every year, one from Canada and one from outside of Canada.[2]

The name Furnal Equinox was conceived by founding member ShiroTora. The chosen name plays upon the convention's date in March, close to the beginning of spring (the vernal equinox).[2]

The convention has raised money every year for charity through its Charity Auction. The convention supported the Mississauga Humane Society from 2010 until 2015, raising over $33,000 for the MHS over six years.[3]

Furnal Equinox is operated by Anthropomorphic Events of Ontario, incorporated in the Province of Ontario as a corporation without share capital (NPO) since June 2009.

History[edit]

Origins and first year (2008 - 2010)[edit]

Prior to Furnal Equinox, there had never been a large, hotel-based furry event hosted in the Toronto area. (Camp Feral has run continuously since 1998 at a summer camp three hours from Toronto.) The Islington Furmeet, created in the summer of 2008 and taking place in Toronto's west end, was a recurring meet in the area that demonstrated the viability of large-scale gatherings.

Through 2008 and early 2009, discussions regarding the feasibility of a hotel event took place on the TorFur Mailing List[4] and the Ontario Furries forum. After initial faltering steps including attempts to determine date and staff members by vote, the discussion moved to a private mailing list in March 2009.

In June 2009, the convention formerly incorporated as Anthropomorphic Events of Ontario, with Pakesh De, Blindsight, Crassadon, Dan Skunk and Scani as its initial directors. Pakesh assumed the role of convention chair, with Blindsight joining later as a co-chair. The two would remain for the following five years. FE was promoted in its first year as "Toronto's First Furry Convention" and formally announced its name on July 1 (Canada Day), 2009.[5]

In July 2009, Dan Skunk was removed from the organization's convention committee due to, in Furnal Equinox's view, irreconcilable differences with the remainder of the concom that were impairing the ability of the convention to continue.[6]

Despite operating as a two-day event, the first Furnal Equinox proved to be a success, breaking the existing attendance record for a Canadian furry convention and exceeding all expectations -- including those of the organizers, who ran out of conbooks midway through registration on Saturday.

Controversy (2010)[edit]

Following the 2010 convention, Dan Skunk made a post on the Ontario Furries website, claiming to be unfairly prevented from helping with the convention and treated rudely by the chairs and staff. The complaint was subsequently deleted. Around the same time, an extended editing dispute between Dan and FE staff took place on WikiFur's Furnal Equinox page.[7]

The dispute finally reached a head with the following events:

  • Dan removed Furnal Equinox's forum from Ontario Furries, and unsuccessfully called for a boycott of Furnal Equinox on the Ontario Furries web site.[4]
  • Furnal Equinox and fellow Canadian convention What the Fur severed their relationships with Ontario Furries through official statements.[6] [8].
  • A number of other regional forums were created: CanadianFurries.ca, torfurs.com, and OntarioFurs.com.
  • Dan created a web page at furnalequinox.org to state his viewpoints.

The bans on Furnal Equinox staff and discussion were fully removed from Ontario Furries in 2013. In June and July 2015, Dan Skunk removed the content at furnalequinox.org and transferred the domain name to Furnal Equinox. As of July 26, 2015, the furnalequinox.org domain redirects to the main Furnal Equinox website.[9]

Subsequent years (2011 - 2016)[edit]

After the 2010 convention, Arc, the convention's head of Security, joined the Board of Directors.

By 2012, Furnal Equinox had doubled in size and expanded to a new wing of the Doubletree hotel. At the conclusion of the 2012 event, it announced a move to the Sheraton Toronto Airport Hotel & Conference Centre, where it remained until 2015.[3]

With additional growth in the past several years, recent conventions have seen the addition of additional programming hours on Friday, and other special events such as a hospitality suite, a fursuit dance competition, and a masquerade.

After several years of working as publicity lead, Scani was announced as the new chair of the convention in July 2014[10], with Olefin also joining the board of directors. Blindsight, Pakesh and Shane remained on the board for an additional transition year before fully handing the reins to a new team in the summer of 2015.

At closing ceremonies for Furnal Equinox 2015, Keianza was announced as the winner of a logo competition that had taken place for the past several months. The new logo will be fully utilized for the 2016 convention.[11]

Around this time, a recurring December event was held called Furnal Solstice. It has not been held since 2017.[12]

(2017 - )[edit]

For 2017, Furnal Equinox moved to its new home of the Westin Harbour Castle, and has been there for all subsequent events.

At the end of the 2018 convention, Scani stepped down from the convention chair role, which was taken over by Aaeden.[13] The month before the 2022 convention, it was announced that Scani had stepped in as the interim chair for that year.[14] On September 18, 2022, Avalanche Cascade was announced as the new convention chair.[15]

Partnership with Cozy Con (2021)[edit]

On July 15, 2021, the convention's Twitter announced a partnership with online convention Cozy Con.[16]

By The Years[edit]

# Year Name Opening Date Closing Date Venue Location Country Theme Guests of Honor Charity Selected Donated Attendance Fursuiters
1 2010 Furnal Equinox March 6th March 7th DoubleTree Toronto Airport Toronto, Ontario
Canada
“Furry Fun & Games” Heather Bruton and BushyCat Mississauga Humane Society $200 330* 40*
2 2011 Furnal Equinox March 11th March 13th DoubleTree Toronto Airport Toronto, Ontario
Canada
“Wild Magic” ZEN and Firestorm Six Mississauga Humane Society $4,000* 450* 110**
3 2012 Furnal Equinox March 16th March 18th DoubleTree Toronto Airport Toronto, Ontario
Canada
“Infurnally Yours” Dark Natasha and Marci McAdam Mississauga Humane Society $8,000* 651* 160**
4 2013 Furnal Equinox March 8th March 10th Sheraton Toronto Airport Hotel and Conference Centre Toronto, Ontario
Canada
“Furries in Uniform” RedCoatCat and Rukis Mississauga Humane Society $6,000* 750* 206**
5 2014 Furnal Equinox March 7th March 9th Sheraton Toronto Airport Hotel and Conference Centre Toronto, Ontario
Canada
“Circus” Sabretoothed Ermine and Sandy Schreiber Mississauga Humane Society N/A 910* 265**
6 2015 Furnal Equinox March 13th March 15th Sheraton Toronto Airport Hotel and Conference Centre Toronto, Ontario
Canada
“Furry Arcade” Xenotropos and H0rs3 Mississauga Humane Society $9,001 1,051 286**
7 2016 Furnal Equinox March 18th March 20th Sheraton Toronto Airport Hotel and Conference Centre Toronto, Ontario
Canada
“Superheroes” Karine Charlebois and TaniDaReal Story Book Farm Primate Sanctuary $5,492.15 1,322 328**
8 2017 Furnal Equinox March 17th March 19th Westin Harbour Castle Toronto, Ontario
Canada
Rock the Fandom Beetlecat, Likeshine, and Pepper Coyote After The Track Greyhound Adoption $10,678.55 1,587 373
9 2018 Furnal Equinox March 16th March 18th Westin Harbour Castle Toronto, Ontario
Canada
“Livin’ Large!” Patto, Rick Griffin, and Fox Amoore Happy Ever Esther Farm Sanctuary $6,000* 1,830* 540
10 2019 Furnal Equinox March 15th March 17th Westin Harbour Castle Toronto, Ontario
Canada
“Graduation!” Moth Monarch, Cat-Monk Shiro, and Don't Hug Cacti Pet Patrol $10,912.62 2,242 908
11 2020 Furnal Equinox CANCELED CANCELED Westin Harbour Castle Toronto, Ontario
Canada
“Retro Rewind” Anyare and Dr.Wildlife N/A CANECELED CANECELED CANECELED
12 2021 Furnal Equinox March 19th March 21th VRchat and Discord Online convention
Canada
“Pixel Purrfect” Anyare and Dr.Wildlife Hobbitstee Wildlife Refuge charity group $10,000**** 3,722*** N/A
13 2022 Furnal Equinox March 18th March 20th Westin Harbour Castle Toronto, Ontario
Canada
“Retro Rewind” Anyare and Dr.Wildlife Hobbitstee Wildlife Refuge charity group $11,500* 2,231 1,000+*
14 2023 Furnal Equinox March 17th March 19th Westin Harbour Castle Toronto, Ontario
Canada
“Tales From the Tavern” Cheetahpaws and Norman Rafferty Hobbitstee Wildlife Refuge charity group $7,128 3,338 1,381
15 2024 Furnal Equinox March 15th March 17th Westin Harbour Castle Toronto, Ontario
Canada
“Under the Sea” KikiDoodle, SewingStuffs Fursuits, and Avian Invasion Procyon Wildlife $14,000+ 3,647 1,381
16 2025 Furnal Equinox March 21st March 23rd Westin Harbour Castle Toronto, Ontario
Canada
“Monsters in Toronto” Silver Dragon, and Monarobot Pending Pending Pending Pending


(*) Estimated.

(**) Estimated In Fursuit Parade.

(***) Online Attendance Registered.

(****) A total of $20,000 was split 50/50 among Furnal Equinox and Hobbitstee Wildlife Refuge charity group.[17]

References[edit]

  1. About Us, Furnal Equinox website (archive on archive.org, archive dated March 24, 2015). Retrieved August 12, 2015.
  2. 2.0 2.1 FAQ, Furnal Equinox website (archive on archive.org, archive dated March 24, 2015). Retrieved August 12, 2015.
  3. 3.0 3.1 History, Furnal Equinox website (archive on archive.org, archive dated February 10, 2015). Retrieved August 12, 2015.
  4. 4.0 4.1 The founding of a furry convention in Toronto, furnalequinox.org by Dan Skunk (archive on archive.org, archive dated March 24, 2015). Retrieved July 26, 2015)
  5. Furnal Equinox: coming to Toronto in March 2010!, furry.ca forum thread (archive on archive.org, originally posted July 1, 2009, archive dated August 17, 2012). Retrieved July 23, 2015.
  6. 6.0 6.1 FE Statement re: Ontario Furries, furnalequinox.com, posted August 3, 2010. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
  7. Furnal Equinox talk page, WikiFur. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
  8. What The Fur and Ontario Furries, Feli, WTF forum thread (archive on archive.org, originally posted July 29, 2010, archive dated August 17, 2012). Retrieved July 26, 2015.
  9. furnalequinox.org. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
  10. Chair announcement, Furnal Equinox Facebook page. Posted July 16, 2014. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
  11. Furnal Equinox 2015 Closing Ceremonies, Furnal Equinox YouTube page. Posted June 8, 2015. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
  12. https://www.facebook.com/events/496127190770303/?locale=ms_MY&paipv=0&eav=Afblunq4jgwDzxrUAwmDDJF8TuMdJj-0b0XCbrhtrQFoX_AsXJGyuuad0X1IhfR01DU&_rdr Furnal Equinox 2017 on Facebook
  13. Facebook post. Retrieved January 14, 2019.
  14. [1] post. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  15. Furnal Equinox - A New Era from Furnal Equinox. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  16. "While March is still a ways off, we thought a little event to bring folks from our community together again would be great this fall. As it happens, so did our new partner: @cozycononline!" Posted July 15, 2021, retrieved Sept 1, 2021
  17. "Recap on our #FEPixelPurrfect numbers!" Posted on March 21, 2021, Retrieved March 27, 2024

External links[edit]


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