Cora Perkins, Assistant Spectrum Editor
Velociraptors, multicolored cats and new blends of creatures roamed the halls of VCU’s Commons last Saturday at the Anthro Society’s annual Richmond Fur Fair, or RUFF. The event offered panels, a photobooth, an artist alley and a place for furries, new and old, to meet and connect.
Planning for RUFF started long before the announcement of the event, according to Dev Partangal, President of the Anthro Society. From figuring out the logistics throughout the last year and a half, to cutting out over 900 badges for the fair while watching My Little Pony, the society had been working hard to make it the best fest yet.
“Most of the planning, like a lot of the bulk of it, took place starting in December, but it took a lot,” Partangal said. “It was a lot of working with The Commons, we had to work with them really, really closely to manage security because that was probably our biggest concern.”
RUFF is Richmond’s first furry-centered convention, according to Partangal. Other furry events are over an hour away, mainly in Virginia Beach or NoVA.
“So that’s how we I we came up with the idea idea for RUFF, because there just wasn’t any sort of free space in Richmond, which didn’t make a lot of sense to us because it is Richmond, it’s such a vibrant, diverse community and there’s tons of furries here, so it just made sense,” Partangal said.
It was important to those in the society for the event to be free, according to Partangal.
“We just want to bring people together and have people have this sense of community, because our main motivation behind making it free is we think that subcultures should be accessible to everyone because furry conventions are inherently a very big expense,” Partangal said. “Most furry conventions their passes cost $70, $80, and it’s not accessible to everyone, so a lot of people can only experience furry community through online methods.”
The event brought furries near and far to the Richmond area, some attendees being VCU students and others coming from across the country.
“Someone came from Las Vegas, they told us during the opening event, there’s so much support,” Partangal said. “It’s been so overwhelming and amazing and I just really it makes me feel really really happy.”
One thing that Partangal wants to really reiterate is that anyone can be a furry.
“So you do not need a fursuit to be a furry and you don’t need a fursona,” Partangal said. “You don’t need anything, there’s no requirements to be a furry.”
The artist alley seemed to be one of the most popular aspects of the fest. A line of different creatures and characters was consistently out the door, leading into a room full of different colored booths. Decorated with pins, stickers, prints, crochet animals and keychains, the booths held many different artists, both long-time furries and those just dipping their toes into the community.
Kassandra Londoño was one of these artists, involved in the community for around nine years, it was not until recently that Londoño started using the term furry to describe herself.
“I can’t say that I’ve been super active in VCU’s furry community, but from what I’ve seen it’s very accepting and kind,” Londoño said. “The anthro club hosts a lot of cool events, some of which I’ve taken part in, and in general is pretty chill overall, there’s a lot more furries than I would have expected.”
Richmond is a diverse place with people from many different walks of life, so it’s important for there to be a place or event here to meet new people who may be interested in becoming a furry, according to Londoño.
“I think that having a con here in Richmond that shows just how many people are supportive and likeminded helps to normalize unconventional hobbies,” Londoño said. “Plus, it helps to support a variety of artists in the area.”
In addition to the panels, meetups and trivia, RUFF had a furry rave to close out the event. With twinkling beats and flashing colors and lights, the rave had attendees shaking their tails and waving their paws.
One of the DJs was Maeve Hickey, also known as Shartchan. The furry community shows out for raves, according to Hickey.
“Furry raves are next level, everyone is always so PLUR and friendly,” Hickey said. “Furry music is super cute and I think they are just magical.”
Attendees didn’t have to register for RUFF to be at the rave, according to Hickey.
“RUFF rave was so insanely successful this year,” Hickey said. “So even if people couldn’t get a ticket to the event, they could still come out and dance with us.”
Beth Jones, an attendee from Smithfield, only recently purchased a fursuit, but has been a furry for about a year and a half. Jones commissioned an artist to bring their fursona, Kibby, to life.
“So my fursona is a cat/shark,” Jones said. “I just really like sharks and I have a black cat, so I was like ‘that would be the cutest combination ever.’”
The event allowed Jones to connect with others interested in similar things.
“Everyone’s nice, everyone complimenting each other’s personas and it makes me comfortable because a lot of spaces don’t accept furries, they see them as weird and everything,” Jones said. “And that’s not true at all, it’s great to have a community where everyone’s good to each other.”
The convention gave space for people, like Jones, to hang out with friends and learn about the community, according to Amanda Easterling, treasurer of the Anthro Society.
“A lot of our attendees, our families who don’t know what furries are or maybe their kids are interested in what a furry is, but they don’t want to spend an exuberant amount of [money] to go to one,” Easterling said.
Furries are often misunderstood, and the event creates a space for the community to be themselves, according to Easterling.
“Yes we’re weird, yes we’re cringe, but nobody can tell us who we are but ourselves,” Easterling said. “I feel like recent years, though a lot of the misconceptions have been starting to die down, which is great for everyone since there’s a lot of craft and art when it comes to furries.”