Later that evening, I went to the garden court and hung out with KT
and several other attendees. KT was making
some "Hello, My Name Is: Crap For Brains" name tags. He briefly explained
the meaning behind this, but I don't recall what it was. I experimented
with the acoustics of the dome (left side of photo).
Two people could be standing next to opposite posts and speak in a low
whisper and be able to hear the other clearly, or one person could stand
in the center and say something and hear the echo a split second later.
When I returned to the table where KT was, I gave him a box
of Giant Pocky as a thank-you for allowing me to share a room with
him and Mycroft Bunny at Anthrocon. It didn't take long for the Pocky
to attract the attention of Frankenkitty, and
then Sonic Blue, both of whom had no shame in begging
for some, and showed their joy of receiving a
stick apiece from KT (Photo 2, Photo
3). Above us on the second floor , Butterscotch
Vixen showed off her new hairdo. Steve
Plunkett and Gracie wandered by, and Kamber and
Bayne posed for some photos under the dome.
Around noon, it was time for the fursuit parade to start. I tried
taking photos in several different areas, but had trouble getting good
lighting.
Parade 01, Parade 02,
Parade
03, Parade 04,
Parade
05, Parade 06,
Parade
07, Parade 08,
Parade
09, Parade 10,
Parade
11, Parade 12,
Parade
13, Parade 14,
Parade
15, Parade 16,
Parade
17
That afternoon, I spent some time in the garden court playing some card games such as Fluxx and Guillotine. At 7:00, it was time for the Pizza Feed, or as they put it, the Pizza Party Gone Wrong. This year, they ordered the pizzas from a local pizza place instead of having the hotel bake them. Thanks to this, there no waiting for the next batch to arrive from the kitchen.
That evening in the video room was furry TV commercials, a replay of the MFM Photo Retrospective, and Midnite Over Minerva, presented by Mitch Beiro. This included his proposal to Minerva at Anthrocon 2000, their wedding later that year at another convention, and Meet Minerva and Moon Over Minerva from Animaniacs. There was also supposed to be a string of all her other appearances, but apparently Mitch brought the wrong tape with him.
Tiger Cowboy hosted the Masquerade, and after
welcoming everyone proceeded to introduce the acts:
Rhinestone Cowboy by BJ (gee, I wonder who
he's supposed to be???)
I Wanna Be Like Mike by Quasi, Rama, Perro,
and Snakeskrit
Dead Skunk in the Middle of the Road by Butterscotch
and BJ
What I Like About You by Sonic Blue
Truck Driver by Butterscotch and BJ
Ring My Bell with Leptress and Jugular
Jaguar
Let Me Be Good to You by Steve Plunkett and
Scarlet Fox
Some ferrets doing... something
Ebay by Quasi and Perro (Photo
2, Photo 3)
Tom Mabe's Revenge on the Telemerketers by
BJ and Butterscotch
Don't Drink and Drive with Innerwolf, Smrgol,
and Kamau
My Ding-a-Ling with Loriana, Aerofox, and
Jugular (Photo 2)
Tiger Cowboy unpacks one of the 35 ferrets
(and
one BJ) to form one of the largest ferret gatherings
at a furry con performing Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy. Soon after the
song was over, the ferrets started flying, (Photo
2), and Tiger Cowboy wound up picking them
up.
The hands behind the ferrets
And finally, an MFM tradition, the Conga Line
(Photo 2, Photo 3)
After the Masquerade, it was time for Adrics Comedy Club. This was followed by the Closing Ceremonies. While waiting for it to begin, I observed Lorianna picking on her mate, and Smrgol posing with his mouse while KT tries to catch up on his cartoon diary (or takes a nap... it's difficult to tell from this shot). When the ceremony began, Tiger Cowboy introduced Commander Kitsune, who I believe is a vetran of one or more of the recent Mid-East conflicts. He also announced that a newspaper reporter had been noticed talking to a few people at the con. Normally, media coverage is discouraged because of negative publicity played up as in "Vanity Fair" and on MTV. However, the relulting story (Part 2, Part 3) wound up being in very good taste. Finally, he introduced the con staff (Photo 2), and then introduced Leptress and Leoness form Tiger Haven, and presented them with $9796 that had been collected over the con. There had been more collected, but someone had broken into the room and stolen some of the money. Three items were put up for bid to make up the difference, including the chance to throw Jugular Jaguar into the pool. The winning bid for this was $250 bid by the con staff, which brought the grand total up to $10,662. Jim Groat came in to the closing ceremonies late, and was very upset that he didn't get to bid on throwing J.J. into the pool, but he was allowed to buy in. Once the con was officially declared closed, furs started heading for the pool. With everyone waiting for the "execution" to begin, Jugular was carried out with his paws bound and controlled by Jim Groat. The cat was placed in position, and thrown in. After he surfaced, it was discovered that this cat actually likes the water. He made his way to the shallow end of the pool, came up the steps, and after a little drip-dry time, proceeded to jump back in.
The last event of the con, (even though it's officially over already). was the Ice Cream Social, held in the atrium area. Three furs, Friskett, Trey, and Nall, had gotten their car and belongings stolen while they were checking in at the beginning of the con. An impromptu mini-auction was held,and IronBadger had offered to auction the opportunity for someone to cut his hair, and donate the hair to Locks Of Love. ShadowCat brushed IronBadger's hair in preparation for the cutting, and Dave Ellis won the opportunity to do the actual cutting (Photo 2, Photo 3, Photo 4, Photo 5). Two other furs, JessK and Tigon, also donated their hair for the auction (Photo 1, Photo 2, Photo 3, Photo 4, Photo 5). In all, $1200 was raised to help them replace their belongings, plus a check for $3500 from Wesha to help replace the car. After a little more socializing, it was time to get some sleep for the long drive home the next day.
