Fursuit parade



The fursuit parade is a scheduled event at a furry convention, in which every fursuiter who has brought his or her own fursuit and would like to show it off is invited to join the parade. The parade winds its way through the convention site and tries to hit all major areas, sometimes even going outside of the hotel. At either the beginning or the conclusion of the parade, there is almost always a photo shoot where a group photograph is taken of all fursuiters.

At Anthrocon, where the idea of a formal fursuit parade originated, through 2006, it occurred on the final day around noon. Due to overwhelming requests from fursuiters, and to not conflict with the Anthrocon art show, the parade has been moved to Saturday afternoon. Fursuiters somtimes bring or are provided noisemakers and similar props such as a drum or tambourine. At Anthrocon 2009, the parade was held on July 4, the American Indepedence Day, and fursuiters from around the world carried flags to represent the nation, US state, or Canadian province that they originated from.

Anthrocon's fursuit parade is traditionally led by Yappyfox who carries a cymbal to identify the path of the parade route. A loop from Baroque Hoedown (the theme music to Disney's Main Street Electrical Parade) may also be played.

History of the Fursuit Parade
The concept of the formal fursuit parade was introduced by fursuiter Yappy Slyfox at Albany Anthrocon 1997. Yappyfox organized the parade as an event for the dealers in the Dealers Room. Since the dealers are unable to attend many events during the course of the convention, Yappy created this event so that the dealers would have an opportunity to see a large number of the fursuits and costumes that are present during the daytime hours. While there have been many additions to the parade route and photo shoots added as supplementary events to the fursuit parade, the tradition of having the parade go through the Dealers' Room is longstanding. Anthrocon 2008's was the only parade to date that did not pass through the Dealers' Room, due to concerns about the parade being too long for all participants to complete safely. In 2009, with the Dealers' Room relocating to Hall B, the fursuit parade passed through the Dealer's Room once more.

While Anthrocon had not previously invited any recordkeeping organizations to officially document its parades, the 2005 Anthrocon fursuit parade had in excess of 140 costumed participants. In 2006, the number was 191.

Since the introduction of the fursuit parade at Anthrocon, it has become a standard event at most major furry conventions. Further Confusion 2006 is believed to be the first to break the 200 barrier, with 202 fursuits. The record is currently held by Anthrocon 2016 with 2100 participants.