RBW

RBW (Rather Brilliant Weekend, formerly Red Blue & White) was the UK's first and, at its peak, Europe's second largest furry convention. Held annually in London, England, it attracted furs from across the UK, Europe and the US, but was cancelled in 2011 due to competition from other local events which made it hard to break even.

Background
Founded in 1998, the LondonFurs had a long tradition of an annual Christmas meal. However, over the years, the group had grown to such a point as to make an annual dinner for all impractical. When Rapido became responsible for the group in 2006, he replaced the meal with a much larger event, Red, Blue and White (originally London Boat Party).

Taking place after the 2006 Christmas LondonFur Meet, the party attracted around 85 furs who were entertained by music and a live performance by 2, The Ranting Gryphon aboard a leisure boat sailing the River Thames.

In 2007 the event was expanded into a full two day convention format, albeit one that took place in a bar in the City of London. Selling 242 tickets, the event continued to focus around the boat party, but also offered a wide range of events on-shore.

After the success of 2007, organisers sought to emulate the format of larger conventions by hosting the 2008 event in the Royal National Hotel, Bloomsbury, London. Unfortunately, Rapido announced his resignation in the summer preceding the event, causing uncertainty regarding the event's future. Fortunately the efforts of the remaining team allowed RBW 2008 to proceed.

RBW 2009 moved venues once more, to London's Docklands, and was generally hailed as a great success. The traditional boat trip was retained and a full convention programme was organised around this central point. The moniker of Red, Blue and White was dropped in favour of Rather Brilliant Weekend.

It was announced by email on February 2nd, 2011 that RBW would not be running as a fully-fledged convention for that year. The boat party - the starting point of the convention and often the highlight - would remain, but the rest of the convention was cancelled; the RBW staff cited a lack of growth in attendance numbers and that the British furmeet and convention scene was too "saturated". It was not stated whether the convention would return in 2012.

On July 28, 2011, it was stated by Miyabi in the UKFur forums that, due to other commitments by the staff, and the party boat not being available on various suggested dates, there would be no boat party in 2011, but that it was likely to return in 2012.

Guests of Honour
Guests of Honour have included:
 * 2006 - 2, The Ranting Gryphon
 * 2007 - 2, The Ranting Gryphon, Ultraviolet, Fatkraken
 * 2008 - Zen, Timduru, Cheetah

Themes

 * 2006: None
 * 2007: Furs in Black
 * 2008: The Masters of Alchemy
 * 2009: Good Vibrations
 * 2010: Space Cowboys

Charities

 * 2007 - Mammal Trust UK - £1331.23
 * 2008 - Wetland and Wildfowl Trust - ~£1100
 * 2009 - UK Wolf Conservation Trust - £1868.45
 * 2010 - Siberian Husky Welfare Association - £6396.90

Staff

 * Tryst – Technical Provisions
 * Graafen Blackpaw – Convention Operations
 * Russet – Event Scheduling
 * Codewolf – Head of Security
 * Bariki – Master of Ceremonies
 * Matt Lion - Health and Safety
 * Cosmo - Dealers' Den
 * Kittiah – Music and Entertainment
 * Miyabi - Branding (from 2009) and New Media, Conbook
 * Twll - Conbook
 * Loki - Head Gopher In Charge
 * Paper Kup - Photographer

Organization
RBW was run by the Anthropomorphic Representation Foundation, a company set up to raise awareness within the United Kingdom of people who enjoy, feel, or choose to represent themselves through anthropomorphic characters. A.R.F. is registered as a private company limited by guarantee, no. 6471539 (incorporated 14th January 2008).