WikiFur - User contributions [en]

Melbourne Fur Con

2026-02-25T23:21:27Z

Hexafox: /* History */ Add 2026 info

{{Infobox convention
| name = Melbourne Fur Con
| logo = [[File:MelbourneFurCon-Blackpaw.png|275px|Melbourne Fur Con logo]]
| caption =
| subject = Furry
| location = {{flagdiv|aus|[[Wikipedia:Melbourne|Melbourne]], [[Wikipedia:Victoria, Australia|Victoria]], [[Wikipedia:Australia|Australia]]}}
| url = https://www.melbfurcon.com
| status = Ongoing
| first = 23-24 February 2019
| final =
| organizer = Melbourne Furry Events
| charity =
| resources = {{con resources}}
}}
'''Melbourne Fur Con''' is a [[furry]] [[convention]] in [[Wikipedia:Melbourne|Melbourne]]. Its first instance, themed "Unity", was held 23-24 February 2019 at the Carlton Scout Hall, with "around 150 total participants", including staff and dealers.<ref name "Eventbrite2020" /> It is next to be held for 21-23 February 2020 at the ibis Melbourne Hotel and Apartments, with the theme "70's Retro Sci-Fi!".<ref name "Eventbrite2020">[https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/melbourne-furry-convention-2020-tickets-57296055043 Melbourne Furry Convention: 2020] - Eventbrite. Retrieved 19 March 2019.</ref>

The event was announced after [[ConFurgence]]'s notice that it would not run as a full-sized convention in 2019. Due to the short lead time, no accommodation has been arranged; however, several nearby options are suggested on the convention website. Events are to include a "Sausage Sizzle" BBQ at opening and closing, a [[dealers' den]],<ref>[https://www.melbfurcon.com/dealers Melbourn Fur Con dealers] (15 listed as of 1 February 2019)</ref> [[fursuit games]] and a [[fursuit parade]] towards a nearby park.

In 2019, the convention supported the [https://dingofoundation.org/ Dingo Discovery Sanctuary] and the 1st Carlton Scouts, raising "almost $2000".<ref name "Eventbrite2020" />
[[File:MelbourneFurConUnity-M33KOR.png|right|thumb|235px|"MFC: Unity" T-shirt design by [[Meekor]]]]
[[File:MelbourneFurCon2020.jpg|right|thumb|235px|Melbourne Fur Con 2020]]
==Organization==
'''Melbourne Furry Events''' ([http://www.abr.business.gov.au/AbnHistory/View?id=34601579428 ABN: 34601579428]; formed 13 November 2018) is a [[Wikipedia:Partnership|partnership]] between [[Kimbo]] and [[Pocket]] ; Sabrina was a founding partner but left after two weeks.

In 2023, after some years of operation under the '''Melbourne Furry Events''' banner, and as many of the staff from the original MFC team had left, [[Pocket]] , [[Sharn River]] and [[Changy]] formed '''Pocket Pals Incorporated''' ([https://abr.business.gov.au/ABN/View?abn=23745170817 ABN: 23745170817]; formed 29 September 2023) as an official incorporated association, as removing the old office bearers from '''Melbourne Furry Events''' was difficult to co-ordinate. '''Pocket Pals Incorporated''' is currently the umbrella organisation to which '''Melbourne Fur Con''' and '''Melbourne Furry Events''' exists.

Aside from the convention, members of the group have organized several in late 2018.<ref>[https://www.furevents.melbourne/meets Meets] - Melbourne Fur Events. Retrieved 1 February 2019.</ref> The partnership's website describes it as "a totally non-profit venture".<ref>[https://www.furevents.melbourne/ Melbourne Furry Events]. Retrieved 1 February 2019.</ref>

Currently as of the 2025 convention, the current executive office bearers for '''Pocket Pals Incorporated''' are:

[[Sharn River]] as Chairperson

[[Changy]] as Secretary

Ruby Rose as Treasurer

==History==
{| class="wikitable"
! Year !! Dates !! Attendance !! Location !! Theme
|-
| [[MFC 2019|2019]]
| 23 - 24 Feb
| 120
| -
| Unity
|-
|[[MFC 2020 | 2020]]
| 21 - 23 Feb
| -
| Ibis Hotel and Apartments
| 70's Retro Sci-Fi
|-
| [[MFC 2023|2023]]
| 24 - 26 Feb
| 280
| Jasper Hotel
| Furtale: a world of fantasy, whimsy and magic!
|-
| [[MFC 2024|2024]]
| 23 - 25 Feb
| 464
| Novotel, Preston
| Cyberchase
|-
| [[MFC 2025 | 2025]]
| 21 - 23 Feb
| 856
| Notovel, Preston
| Old London Town
|-
| [[MFC 2026 | 2026]]
| 20 - 22 Feb
| "Over 1000"
| Notovel, Preston
| Tropical Tails
|}

==References==
<references />

{{Australia}}
{{Conventions Southern Hemisphere}}

[[Category:Conventions]]
[[Category:Victoria]]
[[Category:2019 births]]

Aurawra

2025-08-01T04:27:08Z

Hexafox: /* History */ Add 2025 info

{{Infobox convention
|name = Aurawra
|logo = [[File:Aurawra_banner.png|300px]]
|subject = [[Convention]]
|location = {{flagdiv|aus|PARKROYAL Parramatta,[[w:Parramatta|Parramatta]], [[w:Sydney|Sydney]], [[w:New South Wales|New South Wales]], [[w:Australia|Australia]]}}
|url = http://www.aurawra.org/
|status = Ongoing

|first = July 22 - July 24, 2022
|organizer = NSW Anthro Group<ref name="TwitterAnnouncement">[https://twitter.com/Aurawra_con/status/1175347752026329089 "NSW Anthro Group is proud to announce Aurawra, a full-scale, three day convention held from the 24th to the 26th of July 2020 at Wolli Creek."] - Aurawra, Twitter (21 September 2019)</ref>
}}

'''Aurawra''' is a [[furry convention]] held in [[w:Sydney|Sydney]], [[w:New_South_Wales|New South Wales]], [[w:Australia|Australia]]. Its first instance was held 22 July- 24 July 2022.<ref>[https://www.aurawra.org/schedule Schedule - Aurawra]</ref> After being announced at [[FurJAM]] 2019, the convention was originally planned to be held on 24-26 July 2020 but was delayed due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]]<ref>[https://twitter.com/Aurawra_con/status/1241997952484175873 Unfortunately due to COVID-19, we will have to postpone our 2020 convention until July 23-25th, 2021. All registration will be automatically transferred and we're working with the hotel to move all booked rooms to next year.]- Aurawra, Twitter (23 March 2020)</ref>

The convention is run by the staff of [[FurJAM]] and other organisers and helpers from various New South Wales Furry events.<ref>[https://www.aurawra.org/staff Staff - Aurawra]</ref> The event was originally proposed to run alongside the external kink-focused night club event, [[The Pound (event)|The Pound]].<ref>[https://twitter.com/Aurawra_con/status/1182857193458003969?s=20&t=yoXyrXxpfEC1WftPnXy4Tg We're proud to announce that @ThePoundSydney will be running alongside Aurawra in 2020! We hope you're ready for a rocking time of dancing and fun at the only Furry Night club event in Sydney!] - Aurawra, Twitter (October 12, 2019)</ref>

The name "Aurawra" originates from "bad advice from a [[dragon]]"<ref>[https://twitter.com/Aurawra_con/status/1176352133580353537 A lot of you are surely wondering “Why is it called Aurawra?”. It’s because we took bad advice from a dragon. Don’t trust dragons, they’re insidious and sneaky.] - Aurawra, Twitter (24 September 2019)</ref> (specifically, the "-rawr-"), as well as references to "Au"stralia and the [[Wikipedia:aurora australis|aurora australis]].<ref>[https://www.aurawra.org/ Aurawra]. Retrieved 17 October 2019.</ref>

Aurawra has three mascots, Aster the Crocodile (who was named as a part of a community poll), Billiam the Bilby and Quortney the Quoll.

==History==
Aurawra has been hosted in the following locations. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic however, the convention was forced to delay its inaugural event three times between 2020 and 2021.
{| class="wikitable"
! Year !! Dates !! Attendance !! Location
|-
| 2020
| 24 - 26th July
| Postponed
| Novotel Sydney International Airport, Wolli Creek
|-
| 2021
| 23 - 25th July 30th July-2nd August
| Postponed
| Novotel Sydney International Airport, Wolli Creek Novotel Sydney Olympic Park, Sydney Olympic Park
|-
| 2022
| 22 - 24th July
| 324 <ref>[https://t.me/AurawraUpdates/152 We almost forgot to say, our first year had a fantastic 324 registrants and staff! We're excited to be doubling that number next year!] - Aurwara, Telegram (September 12, 2022)</ref>
| Novotel Sydney Olympic Park, Sydney Olympic Park
|-
| 2023
| 23 - 25th June
| 671 <ref>[https://t.me/c/1436114461/100977 Last year we had 671 attendees!] - Aurwara, Telegram (April 26, 2024)</ref>
| Novotel Sydney Olympic Park, Sydney Olympic Park
|-
| 2024
| 26 - 28th July
| 966 <ref>[https://www.aurawra.org/past-years We had 966 unique furry registrants] - Aurwara Website (Retrieved August 30, 2024)</ref>
| PARKROYAL Parramatta, Parramatta
|-
| 2025
| 25 - 27th July
|
| PARKROYAL Parramatta, Parramatta
|}

===Covid Delays===
====2020====
Aurawra was due to run 24-26 July 2020 at Wolli Creek Novotel Sydney International Airport. Due to the worsening situation regarding the Covid-19 pandemic, registration was suspended temporarily on March 18, 2020. <ref>[https://twitter.com/Aurawra_con/status/1240163540737994752?s=20&t=yoXyrXxpfEC1WftPnXy4Tg In light of the new regulations, we are now in negotiations with the hotel and our other suppliers to discuss our options in order to take the safest course of action. In the meantime we'll be suspending purchases of any new registrations until we have confirmed our heading.] - Aurawra, Twitter (March 18, 2020)</ref> Ultimately a week later, the first event was delayed due to concerns about the Covid-19 pandemic, with the organisers opting to push the event out to July 23-25, 2021. <ref>[https://twitter.com/Aurawra_con/status/1241997952484175873?s=20&t=yoXyrXxpfEC1WftPnXy4Tg Unfortunately due to COVID-19, we will have to postpone our 2020 convention until July 23-25th, 2021. All registration will be automatically transferred and we're working with the hotel to move all booked rooms to next year.] - Aurawra, Twitter (March 23, 2020)</ref>

To honour the weekend, Aurawra hosted a digital event including a Digital Dealer's Den which featured the websites of several of their artists and advertised streams for the artists, as well as a Virtual Fursuit Walk inviting people to post their fursuit pictures and ending with a short video featuring fursuit dancers from FurStep, who are helping out with the Fursuit dance panel at Aurawra!<ref>[https://twitter.com/Aurawra_con/status/1286499864319156226?s=20&t=yoXyrXxpfEC1WftPnXy4Tg Here’s a thread of what you can expect for the Aurawra 2020 Digital Weekend... <thread>] - Aurawra, Twitter (July 24, 2020)</ref>

====2021====
A second delay occurred due to the con hotels contract as a quarantine hotel being extended with the NSW government, forcing them to change locations to the Novotel Sydney Olympic Park and delaying the convention run time till July 30th to August 2nd 2021.<ref>[https://twitter.com/Aurawra_con/status/1392298482434670603?s=20&t=yoXyrXxpfEC1WftPnXy4Tg Due to ongoing covid fears the NSW Government has extended a contract with the Novotel to quarantine Air Service Staff over the dates of our convention. We will now be hosting Aurawra 2021 at the Novotel Sydney Olympic Park from 30th July to 1st of August.] - Aurawra, Twitter (May 12, 221)</ref>

A third and final delay occurred when a particularly virulent strain of Covid caused lockdowns all throughout the Sydney and Greater Sydney region, causing staff to delay the convention forward to the next year, 22-24 July 2022.<ref>[https://twitter.com/Aurawra_con/status/1409739203563319305?s=20&t=yoXyrXxpfEC1WftPnXy4Tg Hello Explorers, With the resurgence of a particularly virulent strain of the COVID virus in Sydney, in the interests of the safety of all our attendees, we are planning to postpone our event until 2022. We will automatically be rolling over all registrations to the new dates. We have already made arrangements with the hotel, and a new date for 2022 will be announced shortly.] - Aurawra, Twitter (June 29, 2021)</ref>

In lieu of running a physical event in 2021, a virtual streaming event took place on Twitch featuring streamers, artists and DJ's from around Australia. <ref>[https://twitter.com/Aurawra_con/status/1417031458103889921?s=20&t=yoXyrXxpfEC1WftPnXy4Tg Hey there explorers, We have some fun stuff planned for the online weekend of (June [July] 30 to August 1) including art, games, DJ's and even a movie night. The schedule should hopefully be published by the end of the week so you'll have an idea of what you can look forward to.] - Aurawra, Twitter (July 19, 2021)</ref> Pins for people who volunteered their time for this event were designed by Meroaw and distributed at the 2022 event.

===2022 - Year One: New Beginnings===
Running from July 22-24, 2022, Aurawra was able to host its first in person event since its announcement three years prior. In the interest of community safety, several safety practices were put in place including limited attendee numbers, room capacities and mask requirements. No extra registrations were sold due to the already three years worth of backlogged registrations and no day passes were available to comply with hotel restrictions. The Guest of Honour was Mamath, who also designed a pin for sponsor registrants. Shirt art was designed by Znackish and a further sponsor bag item, a can cooler was designed by Carni. Pins for con volunteers were designed by ScribblyNoodle.

Due to wet weather, the Fursuit Walk was cancelled with the photo taking place within the panel rooms. Other hosted events include A Game-A-Thon, Smash-A-Thon, a variety of panels, the Dealers Den, a movie and games night, two dance nights, as well as charity auction and opening and closing ceremonies. The convention also introduced the idea of a sticker wall, which was a canvas on which attendees could add their personal stickers, which was later sold at the charity auction.

The next event was announced at the closing ceremony for June 23-25, 2023. Registration was opened at the same time, with the Sponsor tier selling out in twelve hours.
<ref>[https://twitter.com/Aurawra_con/status/1551497045156184065?s=20&t=o6GTMmMvgVqw641mpjATjA it actually only took 12! Our last one sold out at 6:44am this morning, and rego opened around 6pmish!] - Aurawra, Twitter (July 25, 2021)</ref>

===2023 - Year Two: The Lost Empire===
This event took place from June 23-25, 2023, remaining at the Novotel Sydney Olympic Park, Sydney Olympic Park. The [[Guests of Honor]] were [https://kusakidesu.carrd.co/ Kusaki], who performed as a DJ during the Dead Dog Dance, and WickedInsignia, who created the poster for Aurawra's 3rd year. Both Guests of Honor ran a community panel for attendees to visit. Shirt art was designed by Meroaw, and a lanyard was designed for Sponsor registrants by Arinaca, and a sponsor pin was designed by previous year's Guest of Honor Mamath. Pins for convention volunteers were designed by Pumpkinpaws.

Other hosted events include A Game-A-Thon, Smash-A-Thon, a variety of panels, the Dealers Den and a single day Artist's Alley on, a movie, showing The Adventures of Tintin, A Pub Quiz night, A Games night featuring MTG tournaments and open play on video games setups in the games room, two dance nights, as well as charity auction and opening and closing ceremonies. Another sticker wall was provided by the convention again this year, which was a printed canvas with the convention's title on it for the convention attendees to stick their personal stickers to, which was later sold at the charity auction.

The closing ceremony featured an AR segment announcing the new convention during which the chairperson of the convention, Shadow, was shown transposed into a virtual space, which showed graphics relating to the announcement of the Aurawra 2024 theme. The next event was announced in this AR segment for July 26-28, 2024, at a new location at The PARKROYAL, Parramatta.

===2024 - Year 3: Mountains of Mayhem===
This took place from June 26-28, 2024, at a new location; The PARKROYAL, Parramatta. Registration opened for the event on July 14th, 2023.

===2025 - Year 4: Tomorrow’s Horizon===
Year 4 will take place on July 25th – 27th 2025, and will be hosted at PARKROYAL Parramatta. Year 4's tag line is "The Future of Yesterday's Tomorrow, TODAY" <ref>[https://x.com/Aurawra_con/status/1817470046924591330] We hope that our loyal customers will reinvest in our next financial quarter with Aurawra Year 4: Tomorrow’s Horizon.
Shareholders will have the option to purchase their attendance in this exciting investment in the coming months.
Keep that portfolio ready for a 2025 Q3 Launch - Aurawra, Twitter (July 25, 2021)</ref>

==Themes==
{| class="wikitable"
! Year !! Theme !! Description
|-
| 2022
| New Beginnings
| ''This year we'll be exploring the unknown and voyaging into uncharted waters to experience new adventures and exciting new discoveries! We hope you can join us for our Maiden Voyage!''<ref>[https://twitter.com/Aurawra_con/status/1216258824580919296 Aurawra is happy to announce the theme for 2020's convention; New Beginnings! This year we'll be exploring the unknown and voyaging into uncharted waters to experience new adventures and exciting new discoveries! We hope you can join us for our Maiden Voyage!] - Aurawra, Twitter (January 12, 2020)</ref>
|-
| 2023
| The Lost Empire
|''We’ve reached the end of our maiden voyage, now what treasures wait in store for us as we explore into the unknown?''<ref>[https://twitter.com/Aurawra_con/status/1551122863817900033 We’ve reached the end of our maiden voyage, now what treasures wait in store for us as we explore into the unknown? We’re proud to announce Aurawra Year 2: The Lost Empire! Registration open now: http://Aurawra.org/store] - Aurawra, Twitter (July 24, 2022)</ref>
|-
| 2024
| Mountains of Mayhem
| ''We hope you're able to join us again next year for Aurawra 3rd Edition: Mountains of Mayhem! So ready your equipment, grab your dice bags, and we'll see you soon!''<ref>[https://twitter.com/Aurawra_con/status/1672960334624346112 Thanks for coming to Aurawra: The Lost Empire. We hope you're able to join us again next year for Aurawra 3rd Edition: Mountains of Mayhem! Registration for next year will be opening on the 14th of July, 2023. So ready your equipment, grab your dice bags, and we'll see you soon!] - Aurawra, Twitter (June 25, 2023)</ref>
|-
| 2025
| Tomorrow’s Horizon
|''We hope that our loyal customers will reinvest in our next financial quarter with Aurawra Year 4: Tomorrow’s Horizon.''<ref>[https://twitter.com/Aurawra_con/status/1551122863817900033 We hope that our loyal customers will reinvest in our next financial quarter with Aurawra Year 4: Tomorrow’s Horizon.
Shareholders will have the option to purchase their attendance in this exciting investment in the coming months.
Keep that portfolio ready for a 2025 Q3 Launch] - Aurawra, Twitter (July 28, 2024)</ref>
|}

==Charity==
{| class="wikitable"
! Year !! Charity !! Amount Raised !! Notes
|-
| 2020
| [https://www.wires.org.au/ WIRES]
| Postponed
| A range of charities that would support those affected by the [[w:2019–20 Australian bushfire season|2019–20 Australian bushfires]] were selected by Aurawra staff with the final choice being decided by community vote. <ref>[https://twitter.com/Aurawra_con/status/1226038384356802560?s=20&t=Yab_rc8jIVPX6tqdqBo0FQ Aurawra will be supporting those affected by the NSW fires, and we need your help choosing how we do so. See here for more details on how we’re choosing our charity this year: http://Aurawra.org/charity] - Aurawra, Twitter</ref>
|-
| 2021
| WIRES
| $1,005<ref>[https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/aurawra Virtu-Aurawra event donation page]</ref>
|
|-
| 2022
| [https://www.twenty10.org.au/ Twenty10]
| $6,978.35<ref>[https://twitter.com/Aurawra_con/status/1552577255842271232 We're proud to announce that due to the generous donations from our community at Aurawra we have raised $6978.35 for Twenty10]</ref>
|
|-
| 2023
| [https://gendercentre.org.au/ The Gender Centre]
| $13,562<ref>[https://t.me/AurawraUpdates/320 We're proud to announce that, as a result of the generous donations made by our attendees, Aurawra was able to raise a total of $13,562 for The Gender Centre.]</ref>
|
|-
| 2024
| [https://www.sydneywildlife.org.au/ Sydney Wildlife Rescue] <ref> [https://x.com/Aurawra_con/status/1804047464036733129] This year Aurawra will be supporting Sydney Wildlife Rescue!
This rescue organisation works in Sydney to rescue and care for sick and injured native wildlife and safely release them back into the wild. - Aurawra Twitter - June 21 2024 </ref>
| $20246 <ref>[https://www.aurawra.org/past-years We raised $20246 for our charity; Sydney Wildlife Centre] - Aurwara Website (Retrieved August 30, 2024)</ref>
|
|}

==References==
<references/>

== External links ==
* [https://www.aurawra.org/ Aurawra official website]
* [https://www.facebook.com/groups/Aurawra/ Aurawra] on [[Facebook]]
* [https://twitter.com/Aurawra_con Aurawra] on [[Twitter]]
* [https://t.me/AurawraUpdates Announcement channel] on [[Telegram]]
* [https://www.instagram.com/aurawra_con Aurawra_con] on Instagram

{{Australia}}
{{Conventions Southern Hemisphere}}

[[Category:18+ event]]
[[Category:Conventions]]
[[Category:Sydney]]
[[Category:2019 births]]
[[Category:2020 events]]
[[Category:2021 events]]
[[Category:2022 events]]
[[Category:2023 events]]
[[Category:2024 events]]

FurDU

2024-09-27T08:40:01Z

Hexafox: /* History */ Adding 2025 venue

{{Infobox convention
| name = Furry Down Under
| logo = [[File:Furry_Down_Under_-_logo.jpg|FurDU|225px]]
| caption =
| subject = Furry
| location = {{flagdiv|aus|[[wikipedia:Gold Coast, Queensland|Gold Coast,]] [[wikipedia:Queensland, Australia|Queensland]], [[wikipedia:Australia|Australia]]}}
| url = http://www.furdu.com.au
| status = Ongoing
| first = April 23-25, 2010
| final =
| organizer = Furry Down Under Inc.
| resources = {{con resources|FurDU}}
}}
{{FurDU}}
'''Furry Down Under''', commonly referred to as '''FurDU''', is a [[furry convention]] that is held annually on the [[W:Gold Coast, Queensland|Gold Coast]], in [[W:Queensland (Australia)|Queensland]], Australia, and is currently the largest, most attended furry convention in the country.

FurDU is currently held at two hotels in Surfers Paradise that are connected to each other, Oaks Gold Coast and Crowne Plaza Gold Coast.

FurDU was first held in the [http://www.vibehotels.com.au/default.asp?page=/vibe-locations/gold-coast-hotels/vibe-hotel-gold-coast 'Vibe' Hotel], Surfers Paradise, between the 23rd and 25th of April, 2010. The convention was originally intended to be held in [[W:Melbourne|Melbourne]], but it was later decided during the planning stages (and in conjunction with the original organizers relocating to Queensland) that hosting FurDU on the Gold Coast, a major Australian holiday destination, would prove far more beneficial.

==Programming==
FurDU runs for three days, with programming starting Friday and ending Sunday night (or early into Monday morning). The convention changes its programming each year, these changes are reflected by the addition of new key events and the removal of events that have grown stale in the opinion of the organizers.

Since 2013, the Thursday prior to the start of the convention has become a very popular day for 'pre-con' meet-ups by attendees. In 2014 the Thursday prior to commencement was nicknamed 'Day Zero' by convention organizers even though there was no official programming scheduled for that day.

===Art and merchandise===

Since the conventions founding in 2010, FurDU has offered dealers tables for attendees to sell artwork and merchandise. Between 2010 and 2012 due to hotel space restrictions, the dealers area always shared a common area with the main convention space and it was only possible to offer a strictly limited number of table spaces.

While available table spaces improved at the [http://www.watermarkhotelgoldcoast.com.au/ Watermark Hotel] in 2012, permitting a larger number of dealers to trade, it wasn't until 2013 with the transition to the Outrigger Hotel that FurDU dealers were for the first time able to be provided with separate designated dealers den in which to trade from.

In 2013 and 2014 the dealers den trading hours were restricted to only two days in order to allocate the dealers room for other convention activities on the third.

As of 2019 onwards, FurDU boasts the largest dedicated market for furry artists in Australia. The Dealers Den operates all three days, with the 2023 convention at Crowne Plaza and Oaks Gold Coast also introducing a more laid back artists alley. FurDU also offers its own art and merchandise at store.FurDU.com.au and in person at con operations.

===Fursuiting===

There are several events and other facilities for [[fursuiter]]s. These events change each year with the program, with the exception of the [[Fursuit Games]], [[Fursuit Walk]], and [[Fursuit Photography]] which have been traditionally held since the founding.

The [[Headless Lounge]], an area that only fursuiters can enter where they can freely un-[[suit]] and relax, has progressively increased in size each year as the number of fursuiters in attendance has also grown. Between 2010 and 2012 the headless lounge was a simple cordoned-off area with a gazebo set up for privacy, this area usually shared one of the smaller convention spaces such as a game room or chill-out area.

The transition to the [http://www.outrigger.com/hotels-resorts/australia/queensland/outrigger-surfers-paradise/overview Outrigger Hotel] in 2013 saw the introduction of a separate 70 square meter self-contained room used only as a dedicated headless lounge. This was the first time that the convention had ever been physically able to allocate a separate room specifically just for Fursuiters. In 2014 the same layout with this dedicated room was repeated, however, the fursuit lounge was scheduled to open later on day one as this room was temporally used to house part of the initial registration queue on Friday morning.

==History==
[[File:FurDU_Attendance_Graph.png|thumb|right|300px|FurDU Attendance Statistics]]
FurDU has been held in the following locations;
{| class="wikitable"
! Year !! Dates !! Attendance !! Location
|-
| [[FurDU 2010|2010]]
| 23 - 25th Apr
| 92
| Vibe Hotel, Surfers Paradise
|-
| [[FurDU 2011|2011]]
| 15 - 17th Apr
| 150
| Vibe Hotel, Surfers Paradise
|-
| [[FurDU 2012|2012]]
| 27 - 29th Apr
| 300
| Watermark Hotel, Surfers Paradise
|-
| [[FurDU 2013|2013]]
| 26 - 28th Apr
| 352
| Outrigger, Surfers Paradise
|-
| [[FurDU 2014|2014]]
| 28 - 30th Mar
| 563
| Outrigger, Surfers Paradise
|-
| [[FurDU 2015|2015]]
| 1 - 3rd May<ref>''[https://www.facebook.com/groups/305047158452/permalink/10152635038923453/ Furry Down Under Announces 2015 Dates & Opens Pre-Registration]'' via FurDU official Facebook group</ref>
| 490*
| Outrigger, Surfers Paradise
|-
| [[FurDU 2016|2016]]
| 27 - 29th May
| 533
| The Mantra on View (previously called Outrigger), Surfers Paradise
|-
| [[FurDU 2017|2017]]
| 5 - 7th May
| 600
| The Mantra on View, Surfers Paradise
|-
| [[FurDU 2018|2018]]
| 4 - 6th May
| 680
| The Mantra on View, Surfers Paradise
|-
| [[FurDU 2019|2019]]
| 31st May - 2nd June
| 800
| The Mantra on View, Surfers Paradise
|-
| [[FurDU 2020|2020]]
| 1 - 3rd May
| Postponed*
| The Mantra on View, Surfers Paradise
|-
| [[FurDU 2021|2021]]
| 7 - 9th May
| 639
| The Mantra on View, Surfers Paradise
|-
| [[FurDU 2022|2022]]
| 29th April - 1st May
| 899
| The Mantra on View, Surfers Paradise
|-
| [[FurDU 2023|2023]]
| 12 - 14th May
| 1,219 <ref>''[https://twitter.com/FurDUcon/status/1659164097470947328 Tweet] - FurDU Twitter. Dated/Retrieved May 18, 2023''</ref>
| Crowne Plaza Hotel Surfers Paradise & Oaks Hotel Gold Coast<ref>''[https://twitter.com/FurDUcon/status/1565104645915156490 Tweet]'' FurDU announces contract with Oaks Hotel, Gold Coast.</ref>
|-
| [[FurDU 2024|2024]]
| 19 - 21 April <ref>''[https://t.me/FurryDownUnderA/941 Telegram Channel Message]'' FurDU announces FurDU 2024 dates plus upcoming Tails of Terror event.</ref>
| 1,421
| Crowne Plaza Hotel Surfers Paradise & Oaks Hotel Gold Coast
|-
| [[FurDU 2025 | 2025]]
| 4 - 6 April <ref>[https://x.com/FurDUcon/status/1809407978589847941 "Get ready to unleash the fur-ocious fun at FurDU 2025!"] on [[W:Twitter | Twitter]]. Posted July 5, 2024. Retrieved July 10, 2024.</ref>
| TBA
| Crowne Plaza Hotel Surfers Paradise & Oaks Hotel Gold Coast
|}
''*'''2015:''' A drop in attendance occurred in 2015, which is believed to be attributed to severe weather closing airports on both the Gold Coast and Brisbane on Friday May 1st, 2015 (the first day of the convention) which resulted in a number of flights being cancelled.'' 
''*'''2020:''' FurDU 2020 was postponed until 2021 due to issues related to the [[COVID-19]] pandemic.<ref>[https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2518614671732117&id=1712351495691776&sfnsn=mo ''Unfortunately due to the new laws banning gatherings over 500 people, and our concern for attendees health, FurDU will be postponed until 2021''] post on [[Facebook]]. Retrieved May 21, 2020.</ref>

===Themes===

Furry Down Under features unique theme for each year that it runs. Although the convention has officially been themed since its founding in 2010, this became much more apparent in 2012 during "Carnival" where the venue began to reflect the theme more clearly through the use of stage props, decorations, and theme-specific events. Furry Down Under was postponed in 2020 due to the [[COVID-19]] pandemic.

* 2010: "The Beach"
* 2011: "Nightlife"
* 2012: "Carnival"
* 2013: "Steampunk - The World Of Tomorrow"
* 2014: "Fhloston Paradise"
* 2015: "Jurassic Safari"<ref>[https://twitter.com/FurDUcon/status/490727252665987072 Tweet] on the FurDU account on [[Twitter]]. Dated July 19, 2014. Retrieved August 15, 2014.</ref>
* 2016: "Cartoons - Toon Town"
* 2017: "The Outback" <ref>[https://twitter.com/FurDUcon/status/774497257072783360 Tweet] from the FurDU Twitter. Dated September 10, 2016. Retrieved September 26, 2016.</ref>
* 2018: "Film Noir"
* 2019: “Apocalypse - Back To The Beach”
* 2021: "Mad Science" <ref>[https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10156653927609263 Post] from the FurDU Facebook. Dated June 5, 2019. Retrieved September 5, 2019.</ref>
* 2022: "Pirates"
* 2023: "Retro Gaming - Game On!"
* 2024: "Space - Furbidden Planet"
* 2025: "Gods and Monsters"

===Special guests===

FurDU first started featuring special guests (usually one local, and one international) as part of the convention content in 2012. Since then, it has featured the following special guests;

* 2012: [[ActFur on Air|Actfur On Air]], Dustin, Lupie, [[Anthrax]], [[W:Matt Hollywood|Matt Hollywood]]
* 2013: [[StuCat]], [[Foxamoore]]
* 2014: [[Silverfox5213|SilverFox]], [[Foxamoore]], Vurt
* 2015: [[Jaye Stoat]], [[Macroceli]]
* 2016: [[Pepper_Coyote|Pepper Coyote]]
* 2017: [[Kyell_Gold|Kyell Gold]]<ref>[https://twitter.com/FurDUcon/status/787928267164487680 Tweet] from the FurDU Twitter, Second 2017 GOH Announced Dated 13 Oct 2016. Retrieved January 1, 2017.</ref>, PJ Saber (aka [[Kaz_(Australia)|Kaz]])<ref>[https://twitter.com/FurDUcon/status/786480625389674496 Tweet] from the FurDU Twitter, First 2017 GOH Announced Dated 17 Oct 2016. Retrieved January 1, 2017.</ref>, Deus Ex Moose
* 2018: [[Darren Close]], Luvbites (BearPatrol, Electrixocket), Tracey Butler.<ref>[https://twitter.com/FurDUcon/status/891892631906603008 Tweet] from the FurDU Twitter, Second 2018 GOH Announced Dated 31 Jul 2017. Retrieved September 28, 2017.</ref>
* 2019: [[Foxamoore]], [[Pepper_Coyote|Pepper Coyote]], [[Muttasaur]], [[StuCat]]
* 2021: [[Faux Veritas]], [[Skyhigh Studios]]
* 2022: [[SunsetScorpion]]
* 2023: [https://magicdawolfy.com/ Magicdawolfy], [[Adler the Eagle]]
* 2024: [[Toxi_De_Vyne|Toxi De Vyne]], [[Jib_Kodi|Jib Kodi]]

===Charity===

Furry Down Under has sponsored the following [[charities]]:

* 2010: [http://www.wildlifewarriors.org.au/ Australia Zoo Wildlife Warriors]
* 2011: Australia Zoo Wildlife Warriors
* 2012: Australia Zoo Wildlife Warriors
* 2013: [http://www.awlqld.com.au/ Animal Welfare League of Queensland], raised ~$4,600 AUD<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/groups/305047158452/permalink/10151656794613453/?comment_id=10151656873853453&offset=0&total_comments=4 Comment by FurDU volunteer] on the FurDU Group on [[Facebook]]. Dated April 30, 2013. Retrieved September 4, 2014.</ref>
* 2014: Animal Welfare League of Queensland, raised $4,296.80 AUD<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152142712390945&set=gm.10152481845143453&type=1 Post] on the FurDU Group on [[Facebook]]. Dated May 12, 2014. Retrieved September 4, 2014.</ref>
* 2015: Animal Welfare League of Queensland, raised $5,883.60 AUD<ref>[https://twitter.com/JetDingo/status/595504102819278848 Tweet] by [[Jet Dingo]] on [[Twitter]]. Dated May 5, 2015. Retrieved May 5, 2015.</ref>
* 2016: Animal Welfare League of Queensland, raised $3,740 AUD
* 2017: Animal Welfare League of Queensland, raised $4,318.25 AUD
* 2018: Animal Welfare League of Queensland, raised $4,095 AUD
* 2019: [http://freshstartrescue.wixsite.com/freshstart Fresh Start Rescue], raised $7,000.00 AUD<ref>[https://www.facebook.com/FreshStartRescue/posts/2367617153295730 Post] from the Fresh Start Rescue Facebook. Dated June 6, 2019. Retrieved September 5, 2019.</ref>
* 2021: Fresh Start Rescue and [https://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/about-us/nsw-rfs-and-brigades-donations-fund The NSW Rural Fire Service and Brigades Donations Fund], raised $5,570 AUD<ref>[https://t.me/FurryDownUnderA/622 FurDU Announcements] message from FurDU's [[Telegram]] channel. Dated/Retrieved December 6, 2022</ref>
* 2022: Fresh Start Rescue, raised $7,500.00 AUD<ref>[https://t.me/FurryDownUnderA/703 FurDU Announcements] screenshot & message from FurDU's [[Telegram]] channel. Dated/Retrieved December 6, 2022</ref>
* 2023: Fresh Start Rescue, raised $14,000.00 AUD<ref>[https://t.me/FurryDownUnderA/913 FurDU Announcements] screenshot & message from FurDU's [[Telegram]] channel. Dated/Retrieved May 18, 2023</ref>
* 2024: Fresh Start Rescue, raised $17,220.00 AUD <ref>[https://x.com/FurDUcon/status/1783737210577232125 "A huge thanks to everyone who made it to FurDU 2024."] on [[W:Twitter | Twitter]]. Posted April 26, 2024. Retrieved July 10, 2024.</ref>

===Venues===

Furry Down Under has been held in the following hotel venues;

* 2010: Vibe Hotel, Gold Coast.
* 2011: Vibe Hotel, Gold Coast.
* 2012: Watermark Hotel, Gold Coast.
* 2013: Outrigger Hotel, Gold Coast.
* 2014: Outrigger Hotel, Gold Coast.
* 2015: Outrigger Hotel, Gold Coast.
* 2016: Mantra On View, Gold Coast.
* 2017: Mantra On View, Gold Coast.
* 2018: Mantra On View, Gold Coast.
* 2019: Mantra On View, Gold Coast.
* 2021: Mantra On View, Gold Coast.
* 2022: Mantra On View, Gold Coast.
* 2023: Crowne Plaza Hotel Surfers Paradise & Oaks Hotel Gold Coast
* 2024: Crowne Plaza Hotel Surfers Paradise & Oaks Hotel Gold Coast

==Organization==

Since 2016, the FurDU convention has been owned and operated by [[Furry Down Under, Inc]]. a registered [[non-profit association]].
.
The association's committee is elected each year in keeping with its rules and bylaws. Elected management committee members are charged with the running of the convention, while also managing the association's general affairs.
The elected chairman of the association also resides in the FurDU convention as its chairman.

Prior to its incorporation in 2016, FurDU was owned by the founders; [[Oz Kangaroo]] and [[FlameDrake]], and operated with a volunteer committee of close friends.

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==

* [https://furdu.com.au/ FurDU] - official website
* [http://www.furaffinity.net/user/furdu FurDU] on [[Fur Affinity]]
* [https://www.facebook.com/groups/305047158452/ FurDU] on [[Facebook]]
* [https://twitter.com/FurDUcon FurDU] on [[Twitter]]
* [http://community.livejournal.com/furrydownunder/profile FurDU] on [[LiveJournal]] (inactive)

{{Australia}}
{{Conventions Southern Hemisphere}}

[[Category:Conventions]]
[[Category:Queensland]]
[[Category:Australia]]
[[Category:2010 births]]
[[Category:18+ event]]
[[it:FurDU]]

Aurawra

2024-04-26T09:45:49Z

Hexafox: /* History */ Add 2023 attendance

{{Infobox convention
|name = Aurawra
|logo = [[File:Aurawra_banner.png|300px]]
|subject = [[Convention]]
|location = {{flagdiv|aus|[[w:Sydney Olympic Park|Sydney Olympic Park]], [[w:Sydney|Sydney]], [[w:New South Wales|New South Wales]], [[w:Australia|Australia]]}}
|url = http://www.aurawra.org/
|status = Active
|first = July 22 - July 24, 2022
|organizer = NSW Anthro Group<ref name="TwitterAnnouncement">[https://twitter.com/Aurawra_con/status/1175347752026329089 "NSW Anthro Group is proud to announce Aurawra, a full-scale, three day convention held from the 24th to the 26th of July 2020 at Wolli Creek."] - Aurawra, Twitter (21 September 2019)</ref>
}}

'''Aurawra''' is a [[furry convention]] held in [[w:Sydney|Sydney]], [[w:New_South_Wales|New South Wales]], [[w:Australia|Australia]]. Its first instance was held 22 July- 24 July 2022.<ref>[https://www.aurawra.org/schedule Schedule - Aurawra]</ref> After being announced at [[FurJAM]] 2019, the convention was originally planned to be held on 24-26 July 2020 but was delayed due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]]<ref>[https://twitter.com/Aurawra_con/status/1241997952484175873 Unfortunately due to COVID-19, we will have to postpone our 2020 convention until July 23-25th, 2021. All registration will be automatically transferred and we're working with the hotel to move all booked rooms to next year.]- Aurawra, Twitter (23 March 2020)</ref>

The convention is run by the staff of [[FurJAM]] and other organisers and helpers from various New South Wales Furry events.<ref>[https://www.aurawra.org/staff Staff - Aurawra]</ref> The event was originally proposed to run alongside the external kink-focused night club event, [[The Pound (event)|The Pound]].<ref>[https://twitter.com/Aurawra_con/status/1182857193458003969?s=20&t=yoXyrXxpfEC1WftPnXy4Tg We're proud to announce that @ThePoundSydney will be running alongside Aurawra in 2020! We hope you're ready for a rocking time of dancing and fun at the only Furry Night club event in Sydney!] - Aurawra, Twitter (October 12, 2019)</ref>

The name "Aurawra" originates from "bad advice from a [[dragon]]"<ref>[https://twitter.com/Aurawra_con/status/1176352133580353537 A lot of you are surely wondering “Why is it called Aurawra?”. It’s because we took bad advice from a dragon. Don’t trust dragons, they’re insidious and sneaky.] - Aurawra, Twitter (24 September 2019)</ref> (specifically, the "-rawr-"), as well as references to "Au"stralia and the [[Wikipedia:aurora australis|aurora australis]].<ref>[https://www.aurawra.org/ Aurawra]. Retrieved 17 October 2019.</ref>

Aurawra has three mascots, Aster the Crocodile (who was named as a part of a community poll), Billiam the Bilby and Quortney the Quoll.

==History==
Aurawra has been hosted in the following locations. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic however, the convention was forced to delay its inaugural event three times between 2020 and 2021.
{| class="wikitable"
! Year !! Dates !! Attendance !! Location
|-
| 2020
| 24 - 26th July
| Postponed
| Novotel Sydney International Airport, Wolli Creek
|-
| 2021
| 23 - 25th July 30th July-2nd August
| Postponed
| Novotel Sydney International Airport, Wolli Creek Novotel Sydney Olympic Park, Sydney Olympic Park
|-
| 2022
| 22 - 24th July
| 324 <ref>[https://t.me/AurawraUpdates/152 We almost forgot to say, our first year had a fantastic 324 registrants and staff! We're excited to be doubling that number next year!] - Aurwara, Telegram (September 12, 2022)</ref>
| Novotel Sydney Olympic Park, Sydney Olympic Park
|-
| 2023
| 23 - 25th June
| 671 <ref>[https://t.me/c/1436114461/100977 Last year we had 671 attendees!] - Aurwara, Telegram (April 26, 2024)</ref>
| Novotel Sydney Olympic Park, Sydney Olympic Park
|-
| 2024
| 26 - 28th July
| TBA
| PARKROYAL Parramatta, Parramatta
|}

===Covid Delays===
====2020====
Aurawra was due to run 24-26 July 2020 at Wolli Creek Novotel Sydney International Airport. Due to the worsening situation regarding the Covid-19 pandemic, registration was suspended temporarily on March 18, 2020. <ref>[https://twitter.com/Aurawra_con/status/1240163540737994752?s=20&t=yoXyrXxpfEC1WftPnXy4Tg In light of the new regulations, we are now in negotiations with the hotel and our other suppliers to discuss our options in order to take the safest course of action. In the meantime we'll be suspending purchases of any new registrations until we have confirmed our heading.] - Aurawra, Twitter (March 18, 2020)</ref> Ultimately a week later, the first event was delayed due to concerns about the Covid-19 pandemic, with the organisers opting to push the event out to July 23-25, 2021. <ref>[https://twitter.com/Aurawra_con/status/1241997952484175873?s=20&t=yoXyrXxpfEC1WftPnXy4Tg Unfortunately due to COVID-19, we will have to postpone our 2020 convention until July 23-25th, 2021. All registration will be automatically transferred and we're working with the hotel to move all booked rooms to next year.] - Aurawra, Twitter (March 23, 2020)</ref>

To honour the weekend, Aurawra hosted a digital event including a Digital Dealer's Den which featured the websites of several of their artists and advertised streams for the artists, as well as a Virtual Fursuit Walk inviting people to post their fursuit pictures and ending with a short video featuring fursuit dancers from FurStep, who are helping out with the Fursuit dance panel at Aurawra!<ref>[https://twitter.com/Aurawra_con/status/1286499864319156226?s=20&t=yoXyrXxpfEC1WftPnXy4Tg Here’s a thread of what you can expect for the Aurawra 2020 Digital Weekend... <thread>] - Aurawra, Twitter (July 24, 2020)</ref>

====2021====
A second delay occurred due to the con hotels contract as a quarantine hotel being extended with the NSW government, forcing them to change locations to the Novotel Sydney Olympic Park and delaying the convention run time till July 30th to August 2nd 2021.<ref>[https://twitter.com/Aurawra_con/status/1392298482434670603?s=20&t=yoXyrXxpfEC1WftPnXy4Tg Due to ongoing covid fears the NSW Government has extended a contract with the Novotel to quarantine Air Service Staff over the dates of our convention. We will now be hosting Aurawra 2021 at the Novotel Sydney Olympic Park from 30th July to 1st of August.] - Aurawra, Twitter (May 12, 221)</ref>

A third and final delay occurred when a particularly virulent strain of Covid caused lockdowns all throughout the Sydney and Greater Sydney region, causing staff to delay the convention forward to the next year, 22-24 July 2022.<ref>[https://twitter.com/Aurawra_con/status/1409739203563319305?s=20&t=yoXyrXxpfEC1WftPnXy4Tg Hello Explorers, With the resurgence of a particularly virulent strain of the COVID virus in Sydney, in the interests of the safety of all our attendees, we are planning to postpone our event until 2022. We will automatically be rolling over all registrations to the new dates. We have already made arrangements with the hotel, and a new date for 2022 will be announced shortly.] - Aurawra, Twitter (June 29, 2021)</ref>

In lieu of running a physical event in 2021, a virtual streaming event took place on Twitch featuring streamers, artists and DJ's from around Australia. <ref>[https://twitter.com/Aurawra_con/status/1417031458103889921?s=20&t=yoXyrXxpfEC1WftPnXy4Tg Hey there explorers, We have some fun stuff planned for the online weekend of (June [July] 30 to August 1) including art, games, DJ's and even a movie night. The schedule should hopefully be published by the end of the week so you'll have an idea of what you can look forward to.] - Aurawra, Twitter (July 19, 2021)</ref> Pins for people who volunteered their time for this event were designed by Meroaw and distributed at the 2022 event.

===2022 - Year One: New Beginnings===
Running from July 22-24, 2022, Aurawra was able to host its first in person event since its announcement three years prior. In the interest of community safety, several safety practices were put in place including limited attendee numbers, room capacities and mask requirements. No extra registrations were sold due to the already three years worth of backlogged registrations and no day passes were available to comply with hotel restrictions. The Guest of Honour was Mamath, who also designed a pin for sponsor registrants. Shirt art was designed by Znackish and a further sponsor bag item, a can cooler was designed by Carni. Pins for con volunteers were designed by ScribblyNoodle.

Due to wet weather, the Fursuit Walk was cancelled with the photo taking place within the panel rooms. Other hosted events include A Game-A-Thon, Smash-A-Thon, a variety of panels, the Dealers Den, a movie and games night, two dance nights, as well as charity auction and opening and closing ceremonies. The convention also introduced the idea of a sticker wall, which was a canvas on which attendees could add their personal stickers, which was later sold at the charity auction.

The next event was announced at the closing ceremony for June 23-25, 2023. Registration was opened at the same time, with the Sponsor tier selling out in twelve hours.
<ref>[https://twitter.com/Aurawra_con/status/1551497045156184065?s=20&t=o6GTMmMvgVqw641mpjATjA it actually only took 12! Our last one sold out at 6:44am this morning, and rego opened around 6pmish!] - Aurawra, Twitter (July 25, 2021)</ref>

===2023 - Year Two: The Lost Empire===
This event took place from June 23-25, 2023, remaining at the Novotel Sydney Olympic Park, Sydney Olympic Park. The [[Guests of Honor]] were KusakiDesu, who performed as a DJ during the Dead Dog Dance, and WickedInsignia, who created the poster for Aurawra's 3rd year. Both Guests of Honor ran a community panel for attendees to visit. Shirt art was designed by Meroaw, and a lanyard was designed for Sponsor registrants by Arinaca, and a sponsor pin was designed by previous year's Guest of Honor Mamath. Pins for convention volunteers were designed by Pumpkinpaws.

Other hosted events include A Game-A-Thon, Smash-A-Thon, a variety of panels, the Dealers Den and a single day Artist's Alley on, a movie, showing The Adventures of Tintin, A Pub Quiz night, A Games night featuring MTG tournaments and open play on video games setups in the games room, two dance nights, as well as charity auction and opening and closing ceremonies. Another sticker wall was provided by the convention again this year, which was a printed canvas with the convention's title on it for the convention attendees to stick their personal stickers to, which was later sold at the charity auction.

The closing ceremony featured an AR segment announcing the new convention during which the chairperson of the convention, Shadow, was shown transposed into a virtual space, which showed graphics relating to the announcement of the Aurawra 2024 theme. The next event was announced in this AR segment for July 26-28, 2024, at a new location at The PARKROYAL, Parramatta.

===2024 - Third Edition: Mountains of Mayhem===
This event is scheduled to take place from June 26-28, 2024, at a new location; The PARKROYAL, Parramatta. Registration will open for the event on July 14th, 2023.

==Themes==
{| class="wikitable"
! Year !! Theme !! Description
|-
| 2022
| New Beginnings
| ''This year we'll be exploring the unknown and voyaging into uncharted waters to experience new adventures and exciting new discoveries! We hope you can join us for our Maiden Voyage!''<ref>[https://twitter.com/Aurawra_con/status/1216258824580919296 Aurawra is happy to announce the theme for 2020's convention; New Beginnings! This year we'll be exploring the unknown and voyaging into uncharted waters to experience new adventures and exciting new discoveries! We hope you can join us for our Maiden Voyage!] - Aurawra, Twitter (January 12, 2020)</ref>
|-
| 2023
| The Lost Empire
|''We’ve reached the end of our maiden voyage, now what treasures wait in store for us as we explore into the unknown?''<ref>[https://twitter.com/Aurawra_con/status/1551122863817900033 We’ve reached the end of our maiden voyage, now what treasures wait in store for us as we explore into the unknown? We’re proud to announce Aurawra Year 2: The Lost Empire! Registration open now: http://Aurawra.org/store] - Aurawra, Twitter (July 24, 2022)</ref>
|-
| 2024
| Mountains of Mayhem
| ''We hope you're able to join us again next year for Aurawra 3rd Edition: Mountains of Mayhem! So ready your equipment, grab your dice bags, and we'll see you soon!''<ref>[https://twitter.com/Aurawra_con/status/1672960334624346112 Thanks for coming to Aurawra: The Lost Empire. We hope you're able to join us again next year for Aurawra 3rd Edition: Mountains of Mayhem! Registration for next year will be opening on the 14th of July, 2023. So ready your equipment, grab your dice bags, and we'll see you soon!] - Aurawra, Twitter (June 25, 2023)</ref>
|}

==Charity==
{| class="wikitable"
! Year !! Charity !! Amount Raised !! Notes
|-
| 2020
| [https://www.wires.org.au/ WIRES]
| Postponed
| A range of charities that would support those affected by the [[w:2019–20 Australian bushfire season|2019–20 Australian bushfires]] were selected by Aurawra staff with the final choice being decided by community vote. <ref>[https://twitter.com/Aurawra_con/status/1226038384356802560?s=20&t=Yab_rc8jIVPX6tqdqBo0FQ Aurawra will be supporting those affected by the NSW fires, and we need your help choosing how we do so. See here for more details on how we’re choosing our charity this year: http://Aurawra.org/charity] - Aurawra, Twitter</ref>
|-
| 2021
| WIRES
| $1,005<ref>[https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/aurawra Virtu-Aurawra event donation page]</ref>
|
|-
| 2022
| [https://www.twenty10.org.au/ Twenty10]
| $6,978.35<ref>[https://twitter.com/Aurawra_con/status/1552577255842271232 We're proud to announce that due to the generous donations from our community at Aurawra we have raised $6978.35 for Twenty10]</ref>
|
|-
| 2023
| [https://gendercentre.org.au/ The Gender Centre]
| $13,562<ref>[https://t.me/AurawraUpdates/320 We're proud to announce that, as a result of the generous donations made by our attendees, Aurawra was able to raise a total of $13,562 for The Gender Centre.]</ref>
|
|}

==References==
<references/>

== External links ==
* [https://www.aurawra.org/ Aurawra official website]
* [https://www.facebook.com/groups/Aurawra/ Aurawra] on [[Facebook]]
* [https://twitter.com/Aurawra_con Aurawra] on [[Twitter]]
* [https://t.me/AurawraUpdates Announcement channel] on [[Telegram]]
* [https://www.instagram.com/aurawra_con Aurawra_con] on Instagram

{{Australia}}
{{Conventions}}

[[Category:18+ event]]
[[Category:Conventions]]
[[Category:Sydney]]
[[Category:2019 births]]
[[Category:2020 events]]
[[Category:2021 events]]
[[Category:2022 events]]
[[Category:2023 events]]
[[Category:2024 events]]

Melbourne Fur Con

2024-04-26T09:04:33Z

Hexafox: /* History */

{{Infobox convention
| name = Melbourne Fur Con
| logo = [[File:MelbourneFurCon-Blackpaw.png|275px|Melbourne Fur Con logo]]
| caption =
| subject = Furry
| location = {{flagdiv|aus|[[Wikipedia:Melbourne|Melbourne]], [[Wikipedia:Victoria, Australia|Victoria]], [[Wikipedia:Australia|Australia]]}}
| url = https://www.melbfurcon.com
| status = Ongoing
| first = 23-24 February 2019
| final =
| organizer = Melbourne Furry Events
| charity =
| resources = {{con resources}}
}}
'''Melbourne Fur Con''' is a [[furry]] [[convention]] in [[Wikipedia:Melbourne|Melbourne]]. Its first instance, themed "Unity", was held 23-24 February 2019 at the Carlton Scout Hall, with "around 150 total participants", including staff and dealers.<ref name "Eventbrite2020" /> It is next to be held for 21-23 February 2020 at the ibis Melbourne Hotel and Apartments, with the theme "70's Retro Sci-Fi!".<ref name "Eventbrite2020">[https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/melbourne-furry-convention-2020-tickets-57296055043 Melbourne Furry Convention: 2020] - Eventbrite. Retrieved 19 March 2019.</ref>

The event was announced after [[ConFurgence]]'s notice that it would not run as a full-sized convention in 2019. Due to the short lead time, no accommodation has been arranged; however, several nearby options are suggested on the convention website. Events are to include a "Sausage Sizzle" BBQ at opening and closing, a [[dealers' den]],<ref>[https://www.melbfurcon.com/dealers Melbourn Fur Con dealers] (15 listed as of 1 February 2019)</ref> [[fursuit games]] and a [[fursuit parade]] towards a nearby park.

In 2019, the convention supported the [https://dingofoundation.org/ Dingo Discovery Sanctuary] and the 1st Carlton Scouts, raising "almost $2000".<ref name "Eventbrite2020" />
[[File:MelbourneFurConUnity-M33KOR.png|right|thumb|235px|"MFC: Unity" T-shirt design by [[Meekor]]]]
[[File:MelbourneFurCon2020.jpg|right|thumb|235px|Melbourne Fur Con 2020]]
==Organization==
'''Melbourne Furry Events''' ([http://www.abr.business.gov.au/AbnHistory/View?id=34601579428 ABN: 34601579428]; formed 13 November 2018) is a [[Wikipedia:Partnership|partnership]] between [[Kimbo]] and [[Pocket]] ; Sabrina was a founding partner but left after two weeks.

Aside from the convention, members of the group have organized several in late 2018.<ref>[https://www.furevents.melbourne/meets Meets] - Melbourne Fur Events. Retrieved 1 February 2019.</ref> The partnership's website describes it as "a totally non-profit venture".<ref>[https://www.furevents.melbourne/ Melbourne Furry Events]. Retrieved 1 February 2019.</ref>

==History==
{| class="wikitable"
! Year !! Dates !! Attendance !! Location !! Theme
|-
| [[MFC 2019|2019]]
| -
| -
| -
| -
|-
|-
| [[MFC 2023|2023]]
| 24th - 26th Feb
| -
| Jasper Hotel
| Furtale: a world of fantasy, whimsy and magic!
|-
| [[MFC 2024|2024]]
| 23 - 25th Feb
| 464
| Novotel, Preston
| Cyberchase
|}

==References==
<references />

{{Australia}}
{{Conventions}}

[[Category:Conventions]]
[[Category:Victoria]]
[[Category:2019 births]]

Melbourne Fur Con

2024-04-26T09:00:07Z

Hexafox: Add history table

{{Infobox convention
| name = Melbourne Fur Con
| logo = [[File:MelbourneFurCon-Blackpaw.png|275px|Melbourne Fur Con logo]]
| caption =
| subject = Furry
| location = {{flagdiv|aus|[[Wikipedia:Melbourne|Melbourne]], [[Wikipedia:Victoria, Australia|Victoria]], [[Wikipedia:Australia|Australia]]}}
| url = https://www.melbfurcon.com
| status = Ongoing
| first = 23-24 February 2019
| final =
| organizer = Melbourne Furry Events
| charity =
| resources = {{con resources}}
}}
'''Melbourne Fur Con''' is a [[furry]] [[convention]] in [[Wikipedia:Melbourne|Melbourne]]. Its first instance, themed "Unity", was held 23-24 February 2019 at the Carlton Scout Hall, with "around 150 total participants", including staff and dealers.<ref name "Eventbrite2020" /> It is next to be held for 21-23 February 2020 at the ibis Melbourne Hotel and Apartments, with the theme "70's Retro Sci-Fi!".<ref name "Eventbrite2020">[https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/melbourne-furry-convention-2020-tickets-57296055043 Melbourne Furry Convention: 2020] - Eventbrite. Retrieved 19 March 2019.</ref>

The event was announced after [[ConFurgence]]'s notice that it would not run as a full-sized convention in 2019. Due to the short lead time, no accommodation has been arranged; however, several nearby options are suggested on the convention website. Events are to include a "Sausage Sizzle" BBQ at opening and closing, a [[dealers' den]],<ref>[https://www.melbfurcon.com/dealers Melbourn Fur Con dealers] (15 listed as of 1 February 2019)</ref> [[fursuit games]] and a [[fursuit parade]] towards a nearby park.

In 2019, the convention supported the [https://dingofoundation.org/ Dingo Discovery Sanctuary] and the 1st Carlton Scouts, raising "almost $2000".<ref name "Eventbrite2020" />
[[File:MelbourneFurConUnity-M33KOR.png|right|thumb|235px|"MFC: Unity" T-shirt design by [[Meekor]]]]
[[File:MelbourneFurCon2020.jpg|right|thumb|235px|Melbourne Fur Con 2020]]
==Organization==
'''Melbourne Furry Events''' ([http://www.abr.business.gov.au/AbnHistory/View?id=34601579428 ABN: 34601579428]; formed 13 November 2018) is a [[Wikipedia:Partnership|partnership]] between [[Kimbo]] and [[Pocket]] ; Sabrina was a founding partner but left after two weeks.

Aside from the convention, members of the group have organized several in late 2018.<ref>[https://www.furevents.melbourne/meets Meets] - Melbourne Fur Events. Retrieved 1 February 2019.</ref> The partnership's website describes it as "a totally non-profit venture".<ref>[https://www.furevents.melbourne/ Melbourne Furry Events]. Retrieved 1 February 2019.</ref>

==History==
{| class="wikitable"
! Year !! Dates !! Attendance !! Location !! Theme
|-
| [[MFC 2019|2019]]
| -
| -
| -
| -
|-
|-
| [[MFC 2023|2023]]
| -
| -
| -
| -
|-
| [[MFC 2024|2024]]
| 23 - 25th Feb
| 464
| Novotel, Preston
| Cyberchase
|}

==References==
<references />

{{Australia}}
{{Conventions}}

[[Category:Conventions]]
[[Category:Victoria]]
[[Category:2019 births]]