News:Califur 4 gets mixed reviews

May

A new hotel and the steampunk theme were the most noticeable things about Califur this year. Held May 15-18 at the Hyatt Regency in Irvine, California, the fifth Califur convention attracted 587 registered attendees.

After con staff felt that they had outgrown the Holiday Inn, they arranged for Califur 4 to be held at the Hyatt Regency. Califur 4 did not come close to filling the event space in the hotel, as there was a wedding, a senior prom, and other events the same weekend. Hotel staff put up a black curtain to separate Califur areas from space being used by the other events, which annoyed some Califur attendees. There were reports that non-Califur people, some possibly drunk, were disregarding the curtain and bothering Califur attendees. Some attendees felt that the convention was unwelcome at the hotel, but most still admit that individual hotel staff were friendly or at least professionally polite.

The tabletop gaming, video theater, and electronic gaming rooms, while not 24 hours, were open all during convention hours and generally got good reviews.

Some attendees were dissatisfied that some panels seemed to have no lead or none that showed up. The guests of honour this year were Keovi, Kitsumi and SteamFox, who each had their own panel.

The Ice Cream Social, which usually consisted of bowls of ice cream, was replaced with ice cream bars, which left some attendees dissatisfied.

The fursuit parade, which disappointed some seeing as it was mostly in the back areas of the hotel, nevertheless consisted of approximately 43 fursuiters and was enjoyed by many attendees.

The pet auction raised around $600 for the convention charity with many 'pets', but some found it to be "creepy" or "just sad".

The cabaret raised around $1500 for the convention charity, and while it went a little long, had positive reviews.

The "Inventors' Feast" on Saturday was reported as being "very nice"

The con book, while smaller size than typical convention books, got positive reviews.

A subject of controversy among attendees was the filming for a documentary tentatively titled American Furry. While many were upset as they felt they had been filmed without consent, others were hopeful for positive exposure, and the filmmaker stated that those who had not given their consent could opt out of the final product.