History of the Western Pennsylvania Furry Weekend

The following article covers the history of the Western Pennsylvania Furry Weekend.

Pittsburgh Fall Fur-b-que

 * The Pittsburgh Fall Fur-b-que was an afternoon and overnight meet inspired by PandaGuy's Annual Picnic in Glen Echo Park outside of Washingon, DC. The first Pittsburgh Fur-b-que was held the last weekend in September in the front yard of the Swift and Silaria's home, a.k.a. "The Fox & Unicorn Inn."  The event was attended by a dozen local furs from Pennsylvania, Maryland and Ohio.  Swift Fox and his wife, Silaria, provided the main fare while guests brought side dishes and drinks to share.

Pittsburgh Spring Fur-b-que

 * After the success of the first Fur-b-que a second was planned for the first full weekend in June to act as a primer for attending Anthrocon. Held at "The Fox & Unicorn Inn" June's event saw fifteen attendees from Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio and New York.  Swift Fox and his wife, Silaria, provided the main fare while guests brought side dishes and drinks to share.
 * At 10pm the meet moved to Arsenal Lanes in the City of Pittsburgh where the group enjoyed two hours of bowling. A few local fursuiters got in costume, joined in the fun and interacted with other patrons.

Pittsburgh Fall Fur-b-que

 * Celebrating its first year the Fall Fur-b-que was held Columbus Day Weekend and played host to eighteen attendees. The allure of the event was evolving into a relaxing, small social meet providing a unique opportunity for furs to sit down and actually talk and get to know others.  Held again in the frontyard of "The Fox & Unicorn Inn" typical barbque fare was served and attendees contributed side dishes and drinks.Swift  Fox LJ Report
 * At 10pm the meet moved to Arsenal Lanes in the City of Pittsburgh where the group enjoyed two hours of bowling. A few local fursuiters got in costume, joined in the fun and interacted with other patrons.

Pittsburgh Spring Fur-b-que

 * Now in it's second year the Spring Fur-b-que was held the first weekend in June in the front yard of "The Fox & Unicorn Inn" and served up good food, fun and furry fellowship to eighteen guests from Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, Maryland and Virginia. As in years past Swift and Silaria provided the main course and their guests brought side dishes, desserts and drinks.Swift Fox LJ Report
 * This was the first event where we had a basic printed program providing maps to the different venues, space for a sketch and to write down the contact information of the friends you met and an itinerary of the Saturday to Sunday events.
 * At 10pm the meet moved to Arsenal Lanes in the City of Pittsburgh where the group enjoyed two hours of bowling. A few local fursuiters got in costume, joined in the fun and interacted with other patrons.
 * The Sunday morning breakfast spot changed to the local Panera Bread and was dubbed "Sunday Breakfast at Panera Bread." The group met in the VIP room where the socialization continued until noon.  The furs who remained after breakfast went on an outing to the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium.

Pittsburgh Fall Fur-b-que

 * The Fall Fur-b-que was held over Columbus Day weekend. Since the event effectively doubled in size a week before it was schedule to occur, the signature event was moved to the pavillion at Fireman's Memorial Park in Aspinwall.  The change of venue provided plenty of out door space, a spacious pavillion with fire place, rest rooms, volley ball and horse shoe courts and a copious amount of parking. Swift Fox LJ Report
 * Thirty-six furs attended this event from Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia for two days of furry fun and fellowship in the Allegheny Valley.
 * A printed program was created providing maps to the different venues, space for a sketch and to write down the contact information of the friends you met and an itinerary of the Saturday to Sunday events.
 * "Sunday Breakfast at Panera Bread" was followed by more socialization and small group activities at "The Fox & Unicorn Inn" until late afternoon.

Western Pennsylvania Spring Fur-b-que

 * The Western Pennsylvania Spring Fur-b-que was held the first full weekend of June at Fireman’s Memorial Park. The name was changed to give the fur meet a regional feel instead of a local one in the hopes that it would draw out more attendance.  Attendance grew from 36 to 42 as furs came from Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, Maryland and Virginia. Swift Fox LJ Report
 * This was the first year the event had an artist guest of honor. Silvermoon Wolf, a local Pittsburgh furry artist, drew the cover art for the Spring Fur-b-que program.
 * Due to the overwhelming task of coordinating side dishes and desserts for the "pot luck" dinner, the event established the position of Food Coordinator. This position was filled by TOS.
 * At the park, furs took part in pick up games of horseshoes and volley ball, a small group took to playing card games, the artists gathered together to share inspiration and techniques and still other pockets of furs were busy catching up on how things had been since the last time they met.
 * The size of the event precluded the opportunity to continue our night of bowling so instead guests were entertained at “The Fox & Unicorn Inn” or in homes of other local furs.
 * “Sunday Breakfast at Panera Bread” was followed by a trek to the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium. Twenty-five furs, in ears and tails, visited the zoo.

Western Pennsylvania Fall Furry Weekend

 * The Western Pennsylvania Fall Fur-b-que was held over Columbus Day weekend at Fireman’s Memorial Park. Forty-eight guests arrived for our autumn event from Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, Maryland and Virginia.
 * The artist guest of honor for this fur-meet was the talented furry artist from western New York State, Jirashi, who provided beautiful art for the front of the program. Jirashi Gallery at FurAffinity Swift Fox LJ Report
 * At the park, furs took part in pick up games of horseshoes and volley ball, a small group took to playing card games, the artists gathered together to share inspiration and techniques and still other pockets of furs were busy catching up on how things had been since the last time they met.
 * After the event at the park was over, guests retired to the homes of several of the local furs where they were entertained through the rest of the evening and early morning.
 * “Sunday Breakfast at Panera Bread” was followed, at noon, by the traditional visit to the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium. A record thirty furs, in ears and tails, visited the zoo.

Western Pennsylvania Spring Furry Weekend
Swift Fox LJ Report

Western Pennsylvania Fall Furry Weekend
Swift Fox LJ Report


 * In 2005, the Western Pennsylvania Fall Furry Weekend added a Friday night social event. This event was based off of a currently pre-planned monthly furmeet, but was moved in order to work with the Furry Weekend.


 * This meet functioned as entertainment for furs who wished to arrive early, and has become a staple of later Western Pennsylvania Furry Weekends.


 * This event had been held at Ashe's (Former Social Chair of the Furry Weekend) Apartment. However, as the event has grown a private residence is no longer feasible and the Friday Night Event, now under the direction Xavier Fox Shandi, Chairperson of Programming, at our Hotel location.

Western Pennsylvania Furry Weekend 2006

 * In 2006, with Anthrocon being hosted in Pittsburgh, the Western Pennsylvania Furry Weekend was consolidated into an annual convention. Most of its programming was organized at the Comfort Inn Pittsburgh North. The Western Pennsylvania Fall Furry Weekend 2006 was held from October 6 to 8 and attracted 71 registrants, of which 66 attended for the duration of the weekend. Shawntae Howard was the artist guest of honor and Animal Friends was the benefiting charity.
 * Through the work of Akira Shima and his staff the charity auction raised $500. One of the guests wrote a check matching what the event raised.  Finally, by making the donation directly to Animal Friends' Capitol Fund, the event was able to take advantage of a program where a local philanthropist was matching all donations made to that fund.  So through hard work, the attendee's charitable nature, and some savvy business sense, the furry weekend raised $2,000 for its charity.

Western Pennsylvania Furry Weekend 2007

 * The Western Pennsylvania Furry Weekend returned in 2007 to the Comfort Inn Pittsburgh North from October 5 to 7. It attracted 92 attendees, 24 of which were fursuiters. 2007 also introduced the Western Pennsylvania Furry Weekend's first Midnight Menagerie, which attracted 8 acts. The featured artist was Brendan Roo and Animal Friends was again the benefiting charity, which received $657 in donations from con-goers.

Western Pennsylvania Furry Weekend 2008

 * The Western Pennsylvania Furry Weekend 2008 took place over the weekend of October 3-5 at the Comfort Inn, Pittsburgh North and Aspinwall Fireman's Memorial Park, with 108 fans in attendance. The featured artist was Mehndi X. $1200 was raised for the Beaver County Humane Society.
 * A heartfelt thank you from our Charity. - SwiftFox, WPAFW forums (3 December 2008)

Western Pennsylvania Furry Weekend 2009

 * 95 attended Western Pennsylvania Furry Weekend 2009, which took place October 2-4 at the Comfort Inn, Pittsburgh North. $1200 was again raised for the convention's charity, the Beaver County Humane Society.

Western Pennsylvania Furry Weekend 2010

 * 112 attended Western Pennsylvania Furry Weekend 2010, which took place October 1-3 at the Comfort Inn, Pittsburgh North. $1200 was again raised for the convention's charity, the Beaver County Humane Society.

Western Pennsylvania Furry Weekend 2011
The Western Pennsylvania Furry Weekend 2011 took place over September 30-October 2, 2011. The featured artist was Kyote. 97 furs attended, with $1700 donated to ClarionPAWS.

Western Pennsylvania Furry Weekend 2012
The Western Pennsylvania Furry Weekend 2012 took place over September 28-30, 2012. 98 furs attended, with $2230 donated to ClarionPAWS.

2013
The Western Pennsylvania Furry Weekend 2013 took place over October 11-13, at the North Park Lodge in McCandless, Pennsylvania. The featured artist was Akira Shima.

WPFW 2013 had 132 attendees, and raised $1714 for their charity, Hide-e-Hole Ferret Rescue.

2014
The Western Pennsylvania Furry Weekend 2014 was held over October 3-4, at the Boyce Park Four Seasons Activity Center. There were 133 attendees, who raised "over $3800" for the convention's charity, Hide-E-Hole Ferret Rescue.

2015
Western Pennsylvania Furry Weekend 2015 was held over October 9-11 and had 175 attendees, at the North Park Lodge in McCandless, Pennsylvania.

The event raised $3121 for Going Home Greyhounds

2016
Western Pennsylvania Furry Weekend 2016 was held over October 7-9 at the North Park Lodge. $5,666 was raised for Going Home Greyhounds.

2017
Western Pennsylvania Furry Weekend 2017 was held over October 20-22 at the North Park Lodge, with 280 attendees. $7,336 was raised for the White Oak Animal Safe Haven.

2017 Fur-b-que
Fur-b-que (and fireworks) apparently started on Tuesday, July 4, 2017 and was organized by WonderDawg.

2018
Western Pennsylvania Furry Weekend 2018 was held over October 5-7 at the North Park Lodge, setting new records for attendance with 369 attendees, as well as charity with $10,336 raised for the White Oak Animal Safe Haven.

2019
Western Pennsylvania Furry Weekend 2019 was held October 4-6 at the North Park Lodge. The charity was The Amazing Spirit of Wildlife (TASOW) of Slippery Rock, PA, which brought several reptiles for display and interaction. The announced attendance was 398, with the total charity raised being $12,884.05.

2020
Western Pennsylvania Furry Weekend 2020 was scheduled to be held on October 9-11. However, on June 15, 2020, it was announced that WPAFW 2020 would be cancelled due to the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic.

A Virtual WPAFW was held on-line on October 10-11. While the number of viewers is not known, $2,471.79 was raised for TASOW.

2021
Western Pennsylvania Furry Weekend 2021 is scheduled for October 8-10.