MNFurs

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Minnesota Furs (MNFurs)
MNFurs.png
Location
Website
Status Ongoing
Organizer(s) MNFurs (Minnesota Furs)
Subject 501c3 Nonprofit

MNFurs is a group that offers resources to aid the furry community in Minnesota which directly sponsor events mostly in the Minneapolis – Saint Paul Twin Cities metropolitan area; and offers online communication resources for greater Minnesota.

History[edit]

Minnesota Furs (MNFurs) evolved from a small, Twin Cities based, bi-weekly furmeet known as the SNCFurs[1] which started in 2002, which in turn had spun off from the now-defunct Frozen Furs.[2] The original attendance of the SNC meets and small events were less then a dozen people, and has since evolved to a community which supports indoor and outdoor events from 20-125 people and regular bi-weekly meets ranging between 30 to 60 people.

In 2004 the SNC Furs held the first annual picnic which was the start of evolving the group to something bigger. It was their first event with over 50 people in attendance and the groundwork for MNFurs as it is today. The official transition over to the MNFurs namesake was made in 2006, with MNFurs.org registered on 7 August 2006.[3] In 2007 a basic community website was created which was re-made in 2010 to support the growing online presence and communications channels MNFurs supports today.

At the end of 2012, MNFurs took a step forward and started to file the paperwork to become a non-profit. The work is expected to be completed by the end of 2013. This step was done to better work with other non-profit fandom groups in the Twin Cities and to also provide a solid base for the upcoming convention.

Late 2020, In a move to modernize their online platform for people to stay connected (especially in a time of events being cancelled because of COVID), MNFurs created an official Discord server[4] for their members to hangout.

Events[edit]

As well as Furry Migration and Werecamp, MNFurs runs smaller annual events such as the MNFurs Holiday Party (which attracted 53 fursuiters in 2018) and the MNFurs Spring Picnic.

  • March 2010 - Hotel event related to gaming and social at Bloomington West, Minnesota.
  • March 2011 - Snowpocalypse hotel event with a few panels and a dance.
  • October 2011 - October Minnesota Fur Gathering (OMFG) which revolved around Halloween Dance.
  • August 2012 - Cat Days hotel event in Bloomington, Minnesota.
  • September 2013 - ConZero - Hotel preview event after the Fall Picnic to get people into the Ramada Inn space and thinking about what can be done with it.
  • September 2014 - Furry Migration convention at Ramada Minneapolis Airport in Bloomington, Minnesota.
  • August 2015 - Furry Migration convention at Hyatt Regency Minneapolis, Minnesota.
  • ...
  • ...
  • September 7, 2018 - Furry Migration convention at Hyatt Regency Minneapolis, Minnesota.
  • January 5, 2019 - MNFurs Holiday Party[5]
  • May 25, 2019 - MNFurs Spring Picnic[6]
  • September 6, 2019 - Furry Migration at Hyatt Regency Minneapolis. Con-chair Kurst. Theme: The Championship with GoH Tracy Reynolds & Brian Reynolds.

Standard Reoccurring Events[edit]

Annual Picnic[edit]

MNFurs picnic.jpg
The annual MNFurs picnic is held at various different parks in the Central Minnesota area in the Spring and Fall. Attendence is free but special artwork badges are sold to help fundraise and offset the cost of renting the pavilion. In addition to a printed badge, different merch is available for sale sporting the MNFurs / Furry Migration name. Activities include socializing, potluck, yard games, fursuiting and a group photo.

Oval Meet[edit]

MNFurs oval.jpg

Typically, once a month, The organization holds a social meet at the Roseville Oval Skate Park (1309 County Rd C West #1171, Roseville, MN 55113). This event is free to attend. Activities include light potluck, socializing, tabletop gaming, fursuiting, and a group photo.

Holiday Party[edit]

MNFurs holidayParty.jpg
Once a year, around the month of Janurary, MNFurs hosts a Holiday party to celebrate the holidays and the new year. The event takes place in January to avoid other holiday events and plans by the community. Fundraising for MNFurs comes in the form of merch sales and a limited edition printed badge featuring artwork from the local community. Events include a photo studio, group photo, potluck, board games and in some cases, a holiday gift exchange.

Attendance Counts[edit]

Event Date Attendance Count
2024 Holiday Party TBA -
2024 Fall Picnic October 5, 2024 -
2024 Spring Picnic May 25, 2024 205
2023 Holiday Party Jan 7, 2023 170
2023 Fall Picnic October 1, 2023 148
2023 Spring Picnic May 27, 2023 140
Midwinter Frolic 2022 Jan 21, 2022 -
2022 Holiday Party - -

Board of Directors[edit]

For many years Minnesota Furs functioned just fine without a board. Picnics were held, meets happened, and everyone was happy. So why would we change from that?

The simple answer, is that Minnesota Furs grew simply too big to continue on like it had in the past. This became apparent during the running of our first major hotel event in 2010, known as Snowpocalypse (Now known as Midwinter Frolic). While the event was a success, it brought to light several concerns about the future of such large scale events.

Term Year Individuals Citation
2023-2024 Talon & Rocket Dog https://www.mnfurs.org/MNFurs_News/mnfurs/2023-2024-election-results/
2022-2023 Dirge, Snap E. Tiger & Giza White Mage https://www.mnfurs.org/MNFurs_News/mnfurs/your-2023-mnfurs-board-of-directors-election-results/
2021 - 2022 Rico, Drake & Cynthia https://www.mnfurs.org/MNFurs_News/mnfurs/minnesota-furs-2022-elections-results/
2020 - 2021 Rico, Euro, Cynthia https://www.mnfurs.org/MNFurs_News/mnfurs/mnfurs-2020-election-results/
2019 - 2020 Deirdre, Aerak & Twisted https://www.mnfurs.org/MNFurs_News/mnfurs/2019-board-elections-are-over-2019-results/
2018 - 2019 ...
2017 - 2018 Aerak, Deirdre, & Kiguel
2020 - 2021 ...


References[edit]

  1. Announcing the new Minnesota furgroup name: MNFurs!. Retrieved 19 September 2007.
  2. Hey Hey Hey.. I'm gettin a boat. February 3, 2004 post by Callum Lerwick to sncfurs Yahoo!Group. Retrieved 2011 October 30.
  3. whois info for mnfurs.org. Retrieved 19 September 2007.
  4. Discord Announcement October 23rd, 2020
  5. MNFurs 2019 Holiday Party! Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  6. MNFurs Spring Picnic 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2019.

External links[edit]