Anthrocon 2018
Last weekend, I was once again in Pittsburgh for Anthrocon, continuing my streak of attending every single Anthrocon so far. As usual, I got there a day early, on Wednesday, and stayed to Monday morning with roomies Marauder and Joey Gatorman.
Let's start with the improvements. I'm sure there were many more but of the two I noticed the most, the first was in scheduling. I'm glad they moved the fursuit games to Friday afternoon. I couldn't participate the last two years because it was in an early Sunday morning slot. The second improvement I noticed was they had pretty much eliminated the line for the fursuiter tag pickup. In previous years, they needed to do some recordkeeping to avoid giving out multiple tags to the same person. There were so many fursuiters picking up tags after the opening ceremony on Friday that even a slight delay resulted in a long line. This year, they simply punched a hole in the con badge and that was the indicator that the fursuiter had gotten a tag. Simple and clever. Of course, I've already heard people complaining that con badges are collectibles and should not have holes punched in them but I don't mind.
As usual, Anthrocon was an overwhelming mass of activities from morning to late night for three days (this year, actually three and a half days) in a row and that's the way I like it. I picked and chose panels, events, games, and meetups. I fursuited a lot more at this Anthrocon than the previous year's, probably to make up for the last few cons where I was a bit meh on that. And somehow, in the midst of all the activities, I found time to meet up with and chat with long-time friends. And in some cases, they found me.
Also as in past years, I took some side trips on the way to and on the way back from Pittsburgh. On the way to Pittsburgh, I stopped in Johnstown to capture some Munzees and in Greensburg for Munzees and lunch. (Had to use the special in the Primanti Bros app, of course!) On the way back from Pittsburgh, I had an overnight stay in Gettysburg. The battlefield park has many plaques, statues, and cannons, which reminded me of my visit to Valley Forge. I also visited the covered bridge on the edge of town, two of the observation towers, and some geological features. (Devil's Den, Little Round Top, and a stone bridge with dinosaur toe tracks) I didn't have a proper sightseeing plan for my visit so it's good that there were geocaches, munzees, and some Flagstack flags at all the key locations so I knew where to go.
Let's start with the improvements. I'm sure there were many more but of the two I noticed the most, the first was in scheduling. I'm glad they moved the fursuit games to Friday afternoon. I couldn't participate the last two years because it was in an early Sunday morning slot. The second improvement I noticed was they had pretty much eliminated the line for the fursuiter tag pickup. In previous years, they needed to do some recordkeeping to avoid giving out multiple tags to the same person. There were so many fursuiters picking up tags after the opening ceremony on Friday that even a slight delay resulted in a long line. This year, they simply punched a hole in the con badge and that was the indicator that the fursuiter had gotten a tag. Simple and clever. Of course, I've already heard people complaining that con badges are collectibles and should not have holes punched in them but I don't mind.
As usual, Anthrocon was an overwhelming mass of activities from morning to late night for three days (this year, actually three and a half days) in a row and that's the way I like it. I picked and chose panels, events, games, and meetups. I fursuited a lot more at this Anthrocon than the previous year's, probably to make up for the last few cons where I was a bit meh on that. And somehow, in the midst of all the activities, I found time to meet up with and chat with long-time friends. And in some cases, they found me.
Also as in past years, I took some side trips on the way to and on the way back from Pittsburgh. On the way to Pittsburgh, I stopped in Johnstown to capture some Munzees and in Greensburg for Munzees and lunch. (Had to use the special in the Primanti Bros app, of course!) On the way back from Pittsburgh, I had an overnight stay in Gettysburg. The battlefield park has many plaques, statues, and cannons, which reminded me of my visit to Valley Forge. I also visited the covered bridge on the edge of town, two of the observation towers, and some geological features. (Devil's Den, Little Round Top, and a stone bridge with dinosaur toe tracks) I didn't have a proper sightseeing plan for my visit so it's good that there were geocaches, munzees, and some Flagstack flags at all the key locations so I knew where to go.