darrelx's stories

Get a Free Membership to ConFurence 2003!
Wed 29 Jan 2003 - 19:20

It's called the Furry West Homesteader Act of ConFurence 2003, and it means FREE MEMBERSHIPS to those who participate.

All it takes is to reserve your hotel room at the Hilton before February 15, and you and your roomates (up to 4 per room) can get FREE MEMBERSHIPS to ConFurence 2003: The Furry West. You can also phone the Hilton at 818-843-6000 during business hours.

CF2003 takes place on April 25-27 at the Hilton Burbank Airport and Convention Center in Burbank, California (northern Los Angeles County). If making reservations online, use the 3-letter event code "COC" to get the correct rates ($102 standard, $135 Suites, extra $20 for 3rd and 4th guests per room)

Remember: Your reservations need to be made BEFORE February 15, and you need to send in the Homesteader Act form (PDF Format) by March 1 (Pre-registration deadline) to claim your free memberships.

More information is online at confurence.net/cf2003

CF2003 Mailings on the way!
Sat 4 Jan 2003 - 11:36

The Progress Report mailing just went out yesterday and today. If you were a member of CF2002 or pre-registered for CF2003, watch your mailbox for a large envelope.

Why is it so large? Because to save money on postage, we inserted the InFurNation newsletter (published by the folx at furrystuff.com) into the envelopes being used for our own mailing.

The ConFurence Group purchases InFurNation subscriptions for members of ConFurence as a benefit of membership, but since funds were low on their end, it worked out better that ConFurence paid for the shipping instead of for subscriptions.

Dealers and Artists: All the mailings included both the information packets for Dealers and Artists in them. Information on getting a Dealer's Room table, Space in the Artshow, or submitting artwork or advertising in this year's Souvenir Program book are all included in the mailing.

Ursa Major nominations close Jan. 7
Mon 30 Dec 2002 - 13:59

Many people are confused, thinking that the Recommended Reading List for Anthropomorphic Artwork and Literature is actually the Nominations for The Ursa Major Awards.

However, the Reading List is simply a compilation of works that *qualify* for the Ursa Major awards, not the nominations themselves.

There is still about a week to send in your nominations to the Ursa Major awards, so that we can create a ballot containing the top 5 nominees of each of the nine categories.

ConFurence 10% discount on Airfare
Fri 13 Dec 2002 - 16:14

Southwest Airlines has been named the official airline for ConFurence 2003: "The Furry West".

When flying Southwest into any of the 4 major airports in the area, use our "Nogotiated Corporate Rate code" of J8534 and you will receive a 10% discount off Southwest's already low airfare.

Free CF Memberships for Homesteaders
Wed 27 Nov 2002 - 00:28

The ConFurence Group is proud to announce The Furry West Homestead Act of CF2003.

In keeping with ConFurence 2003's "The Furry West" theme, people who stake their land claim early (ie: reserve a hotel room for ConFurence by February 15, 2003) can get free memberships to the convention for themselves and up to 3 of their roomates.

ConFurence 2003 Hotel Reservations online
Mon 11 Nov 2002 - 20:05

You may now make hotel reservations for ConFurence 2003 via Hilton's online reservation system at Hilton.com for ConFurence 2003. The 3-letter group code for our event this year is "COC"

Standard rooms are $102 per night, and Jr. Suites are $135 for up to two people. Third and 4th guests are an additional $20 per night.

Stay tuned for an announcement at LosCon 29 (Thanksgiving Weekend) regarding the "Furry Homesteading Act of CF2003." More details later, but keep your hotel reservation confirmation number handy to be designated a "Furry Homesteader" with special benefits.

New Guests added for ConFurence 2003!
Mon 21 Oct 2002 - 17:30

Two new guests, Joe Staton and Omaha Sternberg have been added in the last few weeks to the fast-growing Guest Lineup at ConFurence 2003.

Joe Staton is best known for illustrating the recent Scooby Doo Comic Books, Creating the original E-Man, Teddy-Q, and Michael Mauser characters in the early 70's, and most recently did work on Furry Ninja High School, which is being released in a couple weeks by Shanda Fantasy Arts.

Joe has worked for 27 publishers with 82 different editors over the last 30 years, and is quite a talent in the industry. There is a Bio of Joe Staton online with more information about the artist.

Our next guest announcement, Omaha Sternberg, needs very little introduction to most furry fans. Having created the original Cabaret Fur-le-Dance at ConFurence 3 in 1992, Omaha takes her name from the exotic dancing feline created by Reed Waller and Kate Worley. The Cabaret Fur-le-Dance was originally started to raise money for Reed Waller's medical bills (he fought cancer and beat it!) and continues to be a tradition at ConFurence with different named charities each year.

Omaha returns to ConFurence 2003 after not being able to attend for the last few years, and she will be very welcome, indeed.

ConFurence Calls for Western Artwork
Sat 12 Oct 2002 - 09:11

The theme for ConFurence 2003 (April 25-27, 2003 in Burbank, California) is "The Furry West" and The ConFurence Group is gearing up for a rootin' tootin' high-falootin' shindig.

This is a call to all artists for western themed anthropomorphic artwork for use on the CF website, in advertising, for at-con signage, and in the Souvenir Pogram Book.

"Western Themed" includes anything along the lines of the old west, native american life and mythos, early spanish american pueblos and missions, life as a forty-niner (the miners, not the football team), and the U.S. Cavalry before the turn of the century. If you're a history buff and can think of other topics to include, we'd love to see it!

Special Note: This year's Souvenir Program Book will have color on some of the inside pages! Therefore, we will accept more than just your black&white lineart for submission into the program book.

ConFurence 11 Video on DVD and VHS
Sat 12 Oct 2002 - 03:20

The 2-hour long Souvenir Highlight Video of ConFurence 11 (April, 2000 in Irvine, California) is now available from The ConFurence Group on both VHS tape and DVD.

Tapes are $15 each, and are dubbed directly from a digital master in NTSC format on T-120 HS media.

DVD's are $19 each, digitally mastered and written to DVD-R media, with a full-color wraparound DVD Case, and a chapter index insert. There is no region coding, and the aspect ratio is anamorphic 4:3 (full screen).

Furry Track at Conjecture (Oct 18-20, San Diego)
Fri 11 Oct 2002 - 21:33

Next weekend's Conjecture, a new Fantasy / Gaming / Literary Science Fiction convention in San Diego will have a large Furry programming track.

Conjecture is run by the San Diego Speculative Fiction Society, which is a non-profit corporation formed to advance SciFi/Fantasy fandom in and around San Diego.

Conjecture's Dealer's Room is being run by Darrel L. Exline, known to most of you as the director of The ConFurence Group. Their Art Show is being run by Glen Wooten (artist Terrie Smith's husband).

Several of the discussion panels on the tentative schedule will be familiar to furry fans, with input from several noted authors. There will also be a Furry Party on Friday Night of the Convention.