The Prancing Skiltaire

2024-02-10T11:38:09Z

24.125.216.221: /* Current */

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[[File:HouseAndSign.jpg|thumb|right|400px|The Prancing Skiltaire]]
'''The Prancing Skiltaire''', also known as the '''Prancing Skiltaire''' or just '''The Skiltaire''', is the given name of the [[furry house]] in the [[SoCalFurs]] region, specifically in [[W:Garden Grove, Orange County|Garden Grove, Orange County, California]], USA.

== Overview ==
[[File:TPSLogoCU.jpg|right|thumb|200px|The Prancing Skiltaire's house sign (closeup). Photo by (?){{who}}]]
[[File:Patches.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Patches the cat lived at the Prancing Skiltaire, until her death in May 2012 (renal failure)]]
This private residence (est. 1980) is owned by [[furry fandom organizer]] [[Mark Merlino]], and it is host to a group of [[furries]] that share their common interests in matters relating to the [[furdom]].

It also hosts, or has been host to, a variety of public events in the past years such as annual holiday get-togethers, [[ConFurence]] and [[Califur]] staff meetings, [[filk]]ing concerts, and their monthly [[house party|house parties]] (which for a time were hosted side by side with another furry house, the [[Rick's Café Terrestrienne]], just located a few blocks east, until [[Rick Calhoun|Rick]] and [[Tess the Red Pony|Tess Calhoun]] moved to the state of [[W:Washington|Washington]] in the mid 2005).

=== Mascot ===

The residence's [[mascot]] (found on the house's sign and business cards), is the [[Skiltaire]], a [[species]] created by Mark initially for a personally-made [[role-playing game]] ('''RPG''').

=== House parties ===

The guests of the monthly house party, held on the second Saturday of each month from 02:00 PM – 10:00 PM, are asked to provide their own food and munchies,<ref>[https://skiltaire.net/party-rules/ ''Party Rules''] page on https://skiltaire.net/ Skiltaire.net]. Retrieved January 12, 2024.</ref> while a barbecue station is available in the backyard (this is the residence's BBQ, not to be confused with the [[FurBQ]], also known as the '''SoCal FurBQ''', one of the largest informal annual gatherings of furries in the SoCalFurs area).

== History ==

The house's name was modeled after traditional Old English naming traditions: e.g. "Red Lion Inn", "The Boar's Head", etc, which signifies a place of abode and commune to weary travelers.

The house is/was host to many furries and has been, in the past, a commune for those furs either displaced from their homes and given residence for rent or in exchange for apprenticeship in Mark's network communication company, ''[[Lantana, Ltd]]''.

The five-bedroom house has a primarily [[furry]]-themed decor, with most of the walls and shelving space decked out with original and re-created [[animation|animation cel]]s of past furry movies, Japanese and Chinese [[manga]], [[artwork|original artwork]] by various [[furry artists]], an extensive collection of DVDs, CDs, music, and offbeat movies, a large collection of [[plush toy|plushie]]s, memorabilia, collectibles, and statuettes, among others.

=== Tiger's Den BBS ===

[[Tiger's Den BBS]] was a furry-themed [[bulletin board system]] ('''BBS''') server located at the location, which ran from 1983 to 1996, before the popularization of the Internet. The servers were located in the far east wing of the house.

As a result of this and Mark's professional skills as a networking engineer, the house was rigged with a more-than-adequate Ethernet network, which was ahead of its time for a personal residence before the popularization of residential [[W:LAN|Local area network]]s ('''LAN''').

=== Firstlight Internet Services ===

The Skiltaire also has a history with [[Firstlight Internet Services]], which was/is a full-service ISP, once primarily based out of [[W:Orange County|Orange County]] ('''OC'''). [[Koyama|Neil Whelchel]], its owner, was a long-time resident at the house, and consequently, partners in maintaining the communication networks provided at [[ConFurence]], along with [[Tigerden Internet Services]].

Many of the residents of the house were given complimentary web space and email addresses, some of which are still in use today. The ISP also hosted [[The Pride Lands MUCK]].

== Residents ==
=== Current ===

{|
|- valign="top"
||
* [[Mark Merlino]]
||
* [[Rod O'Riley]]
||
* [[Changa Husky]]
||
|}

=== Former ===
{|
|- valign="top"
||
* [[Andre Tiger]]
* [[Aronel]]
* [[Bill Fitts]]
* [[Changa]]
* [[Huck]]
* [[Jazmyn Concolor]]
||
* [[KitFox (California)|KitFox]]
* [[Koyama]]
* [[KatVixen]]
||
* [[Kaysho]]
* [[Lee Franks]]
* [[Liana]]
||
* [[Lena]]
* [[Noah Miller]]
* [[Nalia]]
||
* [[Ray]]
* [[Richard Lowman]]
* [[Thylin|Navajo]] ('''Thylin'''/'''Illyira''')
* [[Thalyn]]
||
* [[Talesin]]
* [[Trapa]]
* [[Vchan]]
||
* [[WolfWings]]
* [[Washu]]
* [[Zjonni]]
|}

== References ==
<REFERENCES/>

== External links ==

* [http://prancing.skiltaire.net/ Prancing.skiltaire.net] - The Prancing Skiltaire's official homepage
* [https://www.furaffinity.net/search/?q=The+Prancing+Skiltaire The Prancing Skiltaire] search results in [[Fur Affinity]]
* [https://www.facebook.com/PrancingSkiltaire/ The Prancing Skiltaire] on [[Facebook]]
* [https://twitter.com/#!/Skiltaire_Party/ The Prancing Skiltaire] on [[X (social media)|X]]
* [https://bsky.app/profile/skiltaire.party The Prancing Skiltaire] on [[BlueSky]]
* [https://t.me/+b47ddTNuSpdlNDFh The Prancing Skiltaire] on [[Telegram]]
* [https://www.instagram.com/theprancingskiltaire/ The Prancing Skiltaire] on [[Instagram]]
* [https://www.youtube.com/user/PrancingSkiltaire The Prancing Skiltaire] on [[YouTube]]
* [http://4sq.com/bRe1Nj The Prancing Skiltaire] on [[W:FourSquare|FourSquare]]
* [https://zaubee.com/biz/the-prancing-skiltaire-komx3dlv The Prancing Skiltaire] on [[W:Zaubee|Zaubee]]

=== Media ===

* [https://dogpatch.press/2019/11/25/adult-swim-festival-prancing-skiltaire-3/ ''A furry pilgrimage to the Adult Swim Festival and the Prancing Skiltaire house, Part 1.''] a series article on ''[[Dogpatch Press]]''
* [https://www.flayrah.com/4117/retrospective-illustrated-chronology-furry-fandom-1966–1996 ''Retrospective: An Illustrated Chronology of Furry Fandom, 1966–1996''] article on ''[[Flayrah]]''

{{Furry houses}}
{{California}}
[[Category:California]]
[[Category:Furry houses|Prancing Skiltaire, The]]
[[Category:Events|Prancing Skiltaire, The]]
{{Featured article|Prancing Skiltaire, The}}
[[it:The Prancing Skiltaire]]

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The Prancing Skiltaire