Furry Convention Returns to Boston Area for Second Year

The 2015 Maltese Fur-Con will take place August in Waltham.

furry

Photo by ElliotKoda on Flickr

File this under “So this is happening (again).” On New Year’s Eve, the Maltese Fur-Con opened pre-registration for its 2015 convention, so it looks like Boston will host a mystery-themed furry convention for a second time.

For those unfamiliar, a furry convention is a gathering of folks who dress up like anthropomorphic animal characters with human-like qualities—Disney’s Robin Hood is an oft-used example. They’ve been likened to LARPing (live action role-playing) and Renaissance fairs. Other furry conventions have seen thousands of attendees and have everything you’d expect from a full-fledged convention like Comic Con.

While the inaugural Maltese Fur-Con, named after the film Maltese Falcon, didn’t see as many attendees as longer-running conventions, according to the convention chair on their website, nearly 200 people gathered at the Hilton in Logan Airport last year. Who knew there were so many furry enthusiasts in Boston?

You can check out photos from the 2014 convention online, which show attendees dancing, playing games, and drawing, among other things.

The second annual Maltese Fur-Con has a “Weird West” theme, with plans for panels, live entertainment, and the “Masquerade” talent show, for which attendees are asked to keep it PG-13 at most.

Minors can attend—but those under 13 must be accompanied by an adult, and those 13 to 18 need to sign in with a signed permission slip and parent or guardian present (details online).

The 2015 convention will take place August 14-16 at Embassy Suites in Waltham. Pre-registration is open online at maltesefurcon.com, where they’re also accepting applications for volunteers and sponsors.