Futerkon



Futerkon – A series of furry conventions, organized in Poland, aimed primarily at the Polish-speaking furry community. The convention takes place annually in August in the Poland, and the convention's main language is Polish. It is a direct continuation of Futrzakon, however includes new staff, new concepts and such.

Structure
Futerkon is considered to be the Polish national furry convention, replacing old Futrzakon formula with new, redesign one and with new organization team, with attendees hailing from all the country's regions, and occasionally foreign visitors. It differs from its predecessor not only in name, but also by the way in which the events are prepared for the attendees. The revised structure of the convention concentrates on involving the attendees with one another, in order for them to interact and meet new people, while still allowing for everyone to spend time among their own friends. The scheduled events take second priority to the integration activities, yet without the exclusion of regular con-time functions such as competitions, tournaments, discussion panels and various workshops pertaining to the convention's theme.

The convention's hosts encourage the attendees to take the time spent at the convention to enjoy themselves, take a break from regular life and get to know new people. The latter is achieved by the large bonfire meet & greet event that is characteristic to Futerkon, followed by a dance. Each year, the convention takes upon a new theme, officially incited from the bonfire onwards (this is considered the opening ceremony), continuing until the 'ending' on the final day of the convention. However, unlike many other conventions that are themed, the scheduled events are heavily influenced by the theme; and, uniquely - Futerkon's events schedule portrays a premeditated story-line, with each day in the schedule being set to follow a theme-related plot. It has a narrative with continuity that reaches an ultimate conclusion by the time the closing ceremony takes place on the final day, also in the form of a bonfire night.

Futerkon's plot focuses around open field games, during which the story unfolds to those who attend the after-dark exploration game.

Most recent addition to the programme's core is a meeting with a guest of honour. Organization invites interesting people from the non-furry world to share interesting stories and show new, interesting things.

Futerkon's organization and administration is run by an independent group, that is not affiliated with any one of the Polish online furry discussion forums in particular. As such, all information pertaining to the convention can only be obtained directly from its website.

Organization
The staff of Futerkon are a team, consisting of the following:
 * Cubey - Chair
 * Gravedigger - Logistics coordinator
 * Pasterz - Programme, plot-line and event coordinator

Each year, with every edition of the convention, various volunteers are recruited who are, among other things, responsible for:


 * Convention's website and registration system
 * Artistic direction pertaining to the theme
 * Graphic design for the site
 * Volunteer support at the convention
 * NPCs played during the events

Past Futerkon organizers

 * Blajn - Communication with attendees
 * Kot - Programme coordinator

Trivia

 * The old custom of having an unofficial second dance and meet party (organized by the attendees at their own leisure) that started on the First Futrzakon continues on, with support of the organization.
 * The theme for the convention is officially announced at the ending ceremony and is held a secret until then. The plans for the themes are, however, made usually for 3-4 years forward.
 * The new name and layout of the convention came from suggestions provided by Futrzakon 2011's attendees' feedback surveys. Thanks to the information obtained, the organizers came to the conclusion that the way Futrzakon was being run differed so greatly from the attendees' expectations, that the plans which evolved from analyzing the feedback gave way to the decision to re-create Futrzakon using new formula, new organizers team and new name.