Rocky Mountain Fur Con 2016
Closing Time...
As they say, all good things must come to an end, and sadly that is true for RMFC for what has turned out to be yet another successful event! With the help of our guests of Honor Rick Griffin and Snap E. Tiger, we were able to raise $3,588 for Freedom Service Dogs. We had more volunteers than ever before, and despite the selection of a temporary hotel this year, we still managed to gain more attendees than ever before at 1,677. A special thank you goes out to everyone who made this convention a success. Many had fun with the theme, by incorporating cheesy effects into their costumes, or taking advantage of the anaglyph glasses giveaway by making 3D badges! A convention's theme is only a success if attendees participate in it, and you all nailed it.
While this year may have ended, the road does not end here. A path is already being paved toward 2017's theme, Carnival Nocturne, and we will have some surprises for you. In the meantime, stay classy furries! We cannot wait to see you next year!
We're in the home stretch
Time is up! We wrapped up pre-registration yesterday, and we closed out with 849 attendees which is not bad at all! If you missed pre-registration, that's okay, you can still register the day of the con. Prices are now listed on our registration info page. Since our Super Patron gifts are customized, we will not be able to offer those, but all other levels are fair game while supplies last. As always, keep an eye on social media for up-to-date announcements about the exciting events that we have in store for you at the convention this year! It's going to be a blast, and we can't wait to see you there!
2016 Hotel Status
Greetings Attendees far and near!
I just wanted to give a general status update on behalf of RMFC in regards to the hotel that we have chosen this year. As most of you know, we posted the link to reserve a room on Friday. Many rooms were sold out that very night, which caused quite a few folks to send us reasonably concerned feedback about the current hotel, and what it means for them. There were also a number of technical issues with the website that prevented people from getting a room. These concerns have been forwarded through the proper channels, and we will investigate whether or not they can be rectified. So I want to boil down exactly where we are coming from since we found out that the Marriott would be undergoing renovations in 2016.
The process begins with budgetary concerns. Many venues that had both enough space and rooms (including downtown options like the Hyatt) would have doubled our cost for space rental. Guest rooms also would have been double what our attendees were used to paying in years-past. We did not think that such an unexpected cost increase to our attendees would have been fair. Other options we looked at had plenty of guest rooms but not nearly enough convention space to meet our needs. Lastly, other venues we looked at had plenty of space, but already had rooms and events blocked out, so we could not possibly allocate enough space for our attendees. This, in addition to the time crunch, left us with very few exceptionally good options. The little time we were given to act put us in a position where we were also in competition with at least six other conventions our size for space near the same time period. All of these factors left us with a very limited pool to choose from. In the end, we chose Crowne Plaza DIA because they are within our budget, they have the convention space that we require, and they are willing to work with us for this one year.
Our previous room and growth were factored into the decision. It’s worth noting that while the Marriott did have 600+ rooms, RMFC occupied just a little over 200 of those rooms for 3 nights. This leads our numbers to show that the separations between the room availability at the Crowne Plaza and what we used at the Marriott was not very significant even with growth. Now, I know this isn’t comforting to those of you who do not yet have rooms, but this will bring me to my last point.
Our priority right now is to expand the current room block. That being said, we do have other options down the line. The other benefit to this hotel is that there are quite a few others in the vicinity to support the awesome convention space offered by the Crowne Plaza. We have been working on the possibility of overflow long before we announced the opening of the current block. Once again, this process will take a little bit more time, but once we have secured terms that benefit all of our attendees, you will be the first to know.
Every year that we have launched the roomblock, it has sold out in very short time. As with all previous years, we are working with the hotel to see if we can expand that block even further. This process takes time, and requires more negotiating, so patience is needed from all parties. Don’t Panic. We have issues with hotels every single year, and like all years past, we will work through this problem too, and we will host a fantastic convention for all to enjoy.
In patience and solidarity,
Chairman
Rocky Mountain Fur Con
... And we're back!
Pre-Registration is open!
That's right, you can now pre-reg at various levels for 2016! It's not only cheaper when you pre-register when compared to registering at con, but it helps to ensure that we can secure promotional items and resources to make this year's convention even more awesome! You will also spend less time in line, and more time having a blast with your fellow furry friends. As time goes on, we will be releasing more information about the awesome things we have in mind. We already have two spectacular reasons for attending: Guests of honor Rick Griffin, creator of Housepets!, and Snap E. Tiger, owner of fursuit maker ByCats4Cats. Check them both out on our GOH page!As of right now, our official dates will be August 12-14, and we will be moving to the Crown Plaza DIA while the Marriott undergoes renovations throughout 2016. The room block, dealer's registration, and volunteer registration will open soon after the new year.
Our 2015 convention has come and gone, and what a spectacular one it was! We hope you agree. After all 1,640 of you folks showed up, we had 382 fursuits attend the parade, and raised nearly $3,000 for our charity, Freedom Service Dogs. Add that to the awesome artwork, our fabulous events, and friendly company, and we couldn't be more pleased, and we can't wait to do it again for you next year!
And boy do we have some amazing plans in store for you next year at our next event: B-Movie Night! Which will actually take place during the course of three nights. It will be fun, it will be crazy, and at some points quite cheesy! More details will be released soon.
Until then, stay tuned to the site, as well as our pages on social media for the latest news, and chances to win free prizes!