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  • 21 Aug, 2019

  • By, Wikipedia

Midwest FurFest
Midwest FurFest (MFF) is a furry convention that takes place in Rosemont, Illinois, usually on the second weekend after Thanksgiving. First held in 2000, MFF is presented by Midwest Furry Fandom Inc, an Illinois Educational Not-For-Profit Corporation that exists primarily for the purpose of holding an annual convention to facilitate education in anthropomorphic literature and art. It also facilitates the donation of funds to non-profit institutions, mainly of which promote the well-being of humans and/or animals. The convention is among the most attended furry conventions in history, peaking at 16,800 attendees in 2024.

Background and history

Midwest FurFest started as a furry focused part of the now defunct DucKon, a Chicago-based science fiction convention. The furry portion of the original convention was started at DucKon 3 in 1994 and was headed up by Robert King. Interest grew each year, and it was estimated that by DucKon 8 (1999) between one-quarter and one-third of those attended present due to interest in the furry component of the convention.

Interest in furry specific activities grew to a size that it was no longer feasible to exist as a part of DucKon, and the convention was spun off in 2000, with the creation of Midwest Furry Fandom Inc., with the first MFF happening in November 2000. The convention has grown from 473 attendees in 2000 to 13,641 in 2022, making it the largest furry convention in the world by more than 3,900 attendees over the previous largest convention, Anthrocon. It has helped raise over US$900,000 for various charities.

Incidents and controversies

2014 gas attack

Main article: 2014 Midwest FurFest gas attack

On December 7, 2014, a gas leak occurred at the Hyatt hotel in Rosemont, which was accommodating attendees. The hotel was evacuated, and 19 guests were hospitalized. Later, an investigation found a broken glass bottle containing a concentration of chlorine powder inside the building. 18 of the 19 people hospitalized were released soon after and the convention continued. Rosemont Police interviewed hotel guests and employees, as well as employees at local stores which sell chlorine. While these interviews and subsequent investigation did not result in any known suspects or charges, police continue to treat this as a crime.

Milo Yiannopoulos

On September 15, 2019, Milo Yiannopoulos announced his intention to attend that year's convention. After significant backlash from other attendees on social media, Yiannopoulos was swiftly banned from the convention the following day.

Bluetooth Low Energy spam attack

Main article: Bluetooth Low Energy denial of service attacks

At the 2023 festival an attendee tweeted that the Android device they used to control their insulin pump had been interfered with by a Bluetooth Low Energy spam attack. They said that if they hadn't been able to fix their Android device they would have had to go to the hospital.

Locations, attendances, and charity donations by year

Year Location Attendance Charity
Donation		 Charity
2000 Arlington Heights, Illinois 473 $3,522 Wolf Park, Valley of the Kings big cat sanctuary, and Chicago House
2001 511 $6,800 Animals for Awareness
2002 Schaumburg, Illinois 685 $6,088 Animals for Awareness
2003 800 $6,500 Animals for Awareness
2004 959 $7,000 Furry Friends Foundation
2005 1,066 $6,800 Wildlife in Need
2006 1,422 $13,049 Safe Haven Wildlife Refuge
2007 1,690 $15,193 Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation
2008 Wheeling, Illinois 1,992 $15,000 Rainbow Animal Assisted Therapy
2009 2,040 $12,799 Kane Area Rehabilitation and Education for Wildlife
2010 Rosemont, Illinois 2,285 $11,300 Castaway Pet Rescue
2011 2,600 $19,575 Animal Education and Rescue
2012 3,216 $40,500 Felines & Canines
2013 3,904 $28,000 One Tail at a Time
2014 4,571 $31,446 Critter Camp Exotic Pet Sanctuary
2015 5,606 $62,021 Save-A-Vet
2016 7,075 $78,482 Felines & Canines
2017 8,771 $85,000 CRISP
2018 10,989 $94,000 SitStayRead
2019 11,019 $224,704 Felines & Canines
2020 Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021 Rosemont, Illinois 9,332 $74,303 Mission Companion Paw
2022 13,641 $106,683.66 The Street Dog Coalition
2023 15,547 $185,758.31 Live Like Roo
2024 16,800 $135,945.95 The Street Dog Coalition

References

  1. ^ Patten, Fred (3 January 2017). Furry Fandom Conventions, 1989-2015. McFarland & Company. p. 170. ISBN 978-1476663814. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
  2. ^ "DucKon - Fancyclopedia 3". 2018-03-13. Archived from the original on 2018-03-13. Retrieved 2023-10-22.
  3. ^ Peregrin, Tony (20 November 2019). "Fur the record". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 2019-11-20.
  4. ^ "Midwest FurFest". Midwest FurFest. 2023-04-02. Retrieved 2023-10-22.
  5. ^ "PREVIOUS CHARITIES". midwestfurryfandom. Retrieved 2023-10-22.
  6. ^ "Police investigating chlorine gas incident at 'Furry' convention as criminal act". UPI.
  7. ^ Mazza, Ed (8 December 2014). "Furry Convention Chlorine Gas Incident Sickens 19 Near Chicago". HuffPost. Retrieved 8 December 2014.
  8. ^ "'Furry' convention disrupted as 'intentional' gas incident sends 19 to hospitals". Chicago Tribune. 7 December 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  9. ^ "The Unsolved Case of the Gas Attack at a Furry Convention". Vice. 11 February 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  10. ^ "'Furry' Convention Disrupted by 'Intentional' Chlorine Gas Attack, 19 Hospitalized". People.com. 8 December 2014. Archived from the original on 5 September 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  11. ^ Dickson, E. J. (2019-09-16). "Furries Got an Alt-Right Troll Banned From Their Convention". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2019-11-20.
  12. ^ Toulas, Bill (2023-12-23). "'Wall of Flippers' detects Flipper Zero Bluetooth spam attacks". Bleeping Computer. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
  13. ^ Midwest FurFest [@FurFest] (December 21, 2018). "While we don't consider attendance numbers to be the measure of success, we are pleased to announce the final attendance for Midwest FurFest 2018: 10,989 attendees. Thank you to everyone who attended this year, and we hope to see you again at Midwest FurFest 2019!" (Tweet). Retrieved December 15, 2022 – via Twitter.
  14. ^ "Midwest FurFest Raises $92,000 for SitStayRead!". SitStayRead. Archived from the original on 2020-11-08. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  15. ^ "Thanks to all our attendees for making this possible — We couldn't have done it without you!". Facebook. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  16. ^ "MFF 2021 wrapup". Midwest Furfest. 23 January 2022. Retrieved 2022-01-23.
  17. ^ Midwest FurFest [@FurFest] (December 4, 2022). "Live from closing ceremonies: Thank you to our 13,641 attendees. You make this convention special!" (Tweet). Retrieved December 15, 2022 – via Twitter.
  18. ^ "Closing Ceremonies: Registration at its peak helped nearly 1700 people an hour. Thank you to our 15,547 attendees. You make this con special". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved 2023-12-05.
  19. ^ "@FurFest you are an incredible community and you are now and furever part of the Roo Family. They raised $185,758.31 for animals with cancer. We laughed, we cried and we sobbed as I read the total. It will help so many people and animals that need us. We will never forget this". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved 2023-12-05.
  20. ^ Midwest FurFest (December 8, 2024). "[Live Dispatch from our Closing Ceremonies] Thank you to ALL of our 16,800 attendees. We wouldn't be who we are without each other". Bluesky. Retrieved 2024-12-10.
  21. ^ Midwest FurFest (December 8, 2024). "Okay LATE ADDITIONS from the crowd to round it to $136,000 even". Bluesky. Retrieved 2024-12-10.
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