Con season 2026
Well the con summer 2026 is over for me so let's get some thoughts out on everything in one go.
Confuzzled 2026
(photo by Stormfloof)
Confuzzled is the old reliable. I've been attending the convention almost annually since 2009 (only missing a couple of years in between) and the con has been in its current venue for a good 14 years now, and outside a few minor tweaks along the years as its grown to accommodate bigger crowds, it has largely remained the same for its duration in the current Birmingham venue. Even outside the convention's official schedule of events, the day-to-day of Confuzzled is consistently similar each year: the meander to the breakfast room for the day's first social catch-up and the post-breakfast chatter at the nearby booths, how the fursuit outings take place, what the evenings end up looking like, what we have for food, it's all pretty much the same routine year on year. This might not sound particularly appetising but there is something neat to having a comfortably familiar experience each year, if you've enjoyed the years before. You know what you're getting into and how to get out most fun out of it, unless something throws a spanner in the works as it has happened in different ways a couple of times over the years.
I had a decently fun time at Confuzzled this year too, but there was indeed another spanner in the works this time - CFz 2026 was the first time that we ended up in the overflow hotel instead of the main convention hotel. For those who've not been to the convention, it takes place within a large hotel which is where a good chunk of the attendee rooms are as well; over the years the convention has negotiated a set of nearby hotels to act as overflow hotels, but this is strictly for lodging purposes and there's no Anthrocon-like co-joined theming going on, or any kind of sign at all that there's a furcon happening nearby. What staying in one of the overflows really highlighted was just how integral being in the main hotel is to the convention.
So much of the con's rhythm is tied to the assumption that you remain within the main hotel, from the barebones acknowledgment of the overflows in announcements to the simple day-to-day social life. Not being able to partake to the same breakfast that every announcement channel, bluesky post and telegram group keep talking about, not being able to do pool trips with your friends to cool down, the inability to put your fursuit on in a whim, the impossibility of any kind of ad hoc adventures or get-togethers because simple things as popping by your room for something is suddenly a whole lot more time-consuming... everything becomes increasingly more convoluted when your abode is a sizeable walk away, and thanks to the general inability to be at the main hotel at particular times you end up feeling incredibly isolated. The heatwave experienced during the con made things doubly more complicated as the simple act of doing a quick fursuiting round meant a lot more walking, heat-resisting and planning. The much-touted shuttle service proved to be a bust when it was revealed that fursuits in the shuttles were effectively banned, meaning I had to brave the heat with my suit as I wasn't comfortable with dressing and undressing in the lounge; the given reason for this was that in the event of an evacuation they would block the passageways, which felt like an incredibly hollow excuse when it was perfectly fine for people to block the said passages with giant crates and suitcases. Ahead of the con we joked that we were rooming at "the reject hotel", but over the course of the long weekend it genuinely felt like that was the case, like we had been placed in a position where it was easy for everyone to ignore us. This climaxed one day with me suffering a massive anxiety attack/depression burst, which left me lying in the bed (and on the floor) of our hotel room from late afternoon/early evening till rest of the day. It was a mental health relapse which I had thought I could easily avoid during what was meant to be a weekend away from real life, but ended up kicking my head with extra strength.
I know this all reads like the bitter, one-issue whinge rant of someone who got unlucky at a room lottery, but I think staying in the overflow genuinely impacts the Confuzzled experience in a vital manner - at least for my day-to-day convention life and for what I seek out of the weekend. I had some good times at Confuzzled too: I met lovely new people, spent time with old friends, had a couple of good gatherings and some fun fursuit experiences too (the one positive of doing The Long Walk was all the public interactions with all the tourists and families visiting the nearby entertainment areas). But I think I ultimately just didn't really get the joy and freedom out of the weekend that I normally get on a regular, routine-like basis out of Confuzzled. When we were driving back on the last day it almost felt like a relief to get back home, and I didn't have the post-con buzz I normally do. So, CFz 2026 left me with a bit of mixed feelings at the end of it all, and has given a little extra fuel for our thoughts of potentially taking a small refresher break from it. And if we do register, we're definitely going with the mindset of main or bust.
Anthrocon 2026
(Photo by DozingUnicorn)
This was my third year in a row of doing AC and it, too, is starting to regularise into something familiar, where I have a rough idea of how things are going to take place over its duration. So much so that for most part, my thoughts from last year are still largely valid and do not really bear repeating. The big major thing here is though, is that I still enter AC with a pure thrill for everything that's going to happen. The truly unique vibe of the con taking over the city and the astounding atmosphere (and fursuiting experience) it brings, the fact that I can spend proper time with all these people I so rarely have the chance to see (Codex, Rychen, Sot, Victor, Vaz, many more, everyone I got to meet properly for the first time this year - love you all), being genuinely overwhelmed at the wonders of the giant Den and the treasures it offers, and even just being happy to revisit some of the restaurants and other hang-outs nearby where I can relive good memories... I anticipate each occasion with great delight and when they do finally come to life, they remain freshly joyous. AC genuinely feels like you're entering into a different world for a couple of days and it has established itself as one of my favourite conventions for that reason.
It's also been really lovely to witness how AC genuinely seems to take pride in becoming a bit of a hot spot for the community's music scene and how much emphasis the convention gives to it in an official manner. Each year I've been at AC they've given various talent around the community a chance to share their creativity in front of an audience, but this year it felt like there was a downright focus on it. There were multiple music events each day and many of them were genuine concerts which for a block of time transported me away from a furry convention to a proper music event. I had a marvellous experience seeing the beautifully confessional songs and charismatic performance of Sideswept Bangs (whose album I already enjoyed but which I'm now listening to with an entirely different set of ears), the gloriously loud maximalism of A Fox Named Coyote and especially I've Seen So Much Pasta for the third time, and then having the chance to chat with all these incredible artists afterwards. Pasta have been mainstays in the AC touring circuit every year I've been and it's really incredible to have witnessed their growth in just three years, with the latest live line-up being a real tour de force who tangibly and visibly energised one another to the point that their set was an honest to god ROCK show, with electrifying resonance and thundering power. It was mindblowingly good and a real highlight of a concert, not just within furry but in general. As someone who really loves music and is really inspired by just how rich and vast the furry music scene has grown over the past decade, AC has become a convention where I can really embrace and experience that aspect of the community, and it feels so wonderful. This was further boosted by the various unofficial events that are becoming regular occurrences in themselves. The Sex Room basement mini-festival was the best way to spend the 4th of July evening, as a small room full of strangers and acquaintances bonded in their shared love for music and community; meanwhile the special room party on Sunday evening which boasted another collection of mini-sets, ranging from straight-from-heart sharing of music to performance art pieces, was something I felt truly privileged to partake in. Both were beautiful evenings and I'll carry the memories with me for a long time.
The main change in my AC shenanigans this year was bringing in Berninger with me as my fluffier representation, rather than Flint. This turned out to be a little bit of a mistake because the absolutely insane heatwave meant that walking around in an immensely heavy, 3-kilos-of-padding-full cartoon kangaroo that's slow to maneuver was a genuine effort at times and necessitated tactical route selections, especially after the first outing almost resulted in a heat stroke. But it was all worth it just to see people light up when he's around. I don't do fursuiting for attention but one of the reasons I love doing it is to brighten up other people's days, and a giant cartoon kangaroo certainly does that. After a while I decided to bring Happy!Bern out more regularly than save him till the end of the con, because without Flint I had to unleash my toony bouncy energy somehow, and that just made everything even more fun as suddenly this larger than life creature had a real welcoming smile. I've noticed over time that Americans in particular seem to absolutely adore Bern, every single time I bring him to the States he gets swamped in a manner Flint never does - poor roo - and as it happened once again, it created some wonderful memories. I didn't suit as much as I wanted to this year, but nearly every time I did it was a really unique, wonderful experience. I say nearly because I probably could have done without tripping and falling on my cartoon kangaroo ass so badly during my first outing that I'm still hobbling around with my left foot (it's a lot better now though!). Survived though - and I'm sure it looked amusing to everyone else so I guess that's a win.
All in all, Anthrocon 2026 was a wonderful experience and I can't wait to come visit there again. It may or may not happen next year - let's see what the flight prices look like later down the line - but I know I'd genuinely be gutted if I missed it.
Sonic Fan Fest 2026
In the middle of the two big furry experiences, I went to Cardiff to attend the much, much smaller Sonic Fan Fest - a cosily tiny Sonic convention. I've been going to a lot more Sonic events in the past couple of years and I really enjoy these brief one-day nerd-outs: there's something very freeing in being in a space where I can indulge in this one singular franchise-based obsession with absolutely no hesitations, with everyone else in the building sharing that same very singular love. It's been one of my favourite aspects of making these bigger steps towards re-integrating with the wider Sonic community in the past couple of years - sharing space with likeminded folk and feeling that sense of community, in a manner that feels a little more laser-focused than the wider communal comfort that the furry events bring.
Because this was a small convention (couple of hundred people max?) the atmosphere was really different as well - you'd frequently see the same people in the same couple of corridors, you'd bump into the guest performers in the bar area or in the elevator and have a casual chat, and generally everything felt super chill and super casual. The musical performances from TJ Davis and Bentley Jones had a fun, communal feel thanks to the small performance rooms where they delighted in interacting with the fans who had turned up to listen. It was also a wonderful way to spend some more time with friends new and old without anyone having to rush anywhere constantly. I managed to grab a few nice bits of merch, too - shirts, stickers, a signed print.
Plus, it was my first time visiting Wales! It was very brief and I mostly just got to see one very small section of Cardiff Bay, but it was very exciting in that sense as well. Would love to visit the place again with more time.
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Con summer 2026 may be over, but it's not the end of this year's furry event fun. I'm still attending Pawsome in October, which'll be my first time attending that con and which I'm very excited by. But I'm equally enjoying the couple of months lull in between, I gotta say. I've had a bit too much travel this year already!
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