WikiFur:This week's featured article/Week 7, 2006

Anthrocon is the world's largest furry convention, averaging an attendance of over 2000 in recent years. It is usually held each July in Pennsylvania.

Founded in 1997, Anthrocon itself was an offshoot of the furry Halloween parties held by Aloyen Youngblood; when attendance pushed triple digits, he decided to book a hotel, and organized it as a convention in 1997 with the aid of local friends Points, Rigel and others.

In 1999 the chairmanship of the convention was transferred to Dr. Samuel Conway by Points, and they formally organized the group as Anthrocon Inc. and moved it to the more cosmopolitan Philadelphia area. Its first venue was the Hilton Valley Forge, but due to rapidly increasing membership numbers it was forced to relocate to the larger Adams Mark Hotel in 2001.

Attendance continued to grow: Membership in 2003 was announced as 1,949; by 2004 it was 2,406, making it by far the largest furry convention at that time. Attendance in 2005 dropped slightly to 2,373, due in part to higher parking fees, a different and unfamiliar hotel, and possibly Hurricane Dennis's effect on the southern United States.

In 2005, Anthrocon announced that they would be moving to the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for the 2006 convention. Due to scheduling issues, the convention had to temporarily leave its normal July timeslot, and instead will be held between June 15-18 in 2006. The 2007 convention was held in July.

Since 1997, the Anthrocon Charity Auction has raised more than $56,000 for animal-related charities. Security for the convention has been provided by the Dorsai Irregulars since 2002.