Midwest FurFest August Newsletter

Click on 'Read More' for Midwest FurFest's August newsletter. Find out what's up with furry fandom's coolest (pun possibly intended) convention!

Hello from Midwest FurFest!

It may be sweltering hot, but we're already thinking November in Chicago!
And contrary to popular belief, it's not all that bad...pass the scarves!
:) Keep November 16-18 marked on your calendar. We'd love to see you!

This issue:

-- Hotel/registration info

-- Guests of Honor

-- Programming tracks taking shape...

-- new Nature track

-- Spirituality

-- Constructed Fuzziness

-- Art show panel space

-- Charity Auction -- donors wanted.

-- Did someone say Gaming?

-- Con Book art submissions -- the call goes out

-- Gophers - we need them!

-- Get on our mailing lists...

Hotel/registration info

We'll be at the same hotel as out first milestone gathering - the Sheraton
Chicago Northwest (formerly known as the Sheraton Arlington Park) in the
northwest suburbs. Room rates are $79 per night for single or double-bed
rooms - be sure to contact the hotel DIRECTLY at (847) 394-2000 to make
sure you get the correct, reduced Midwest FurFest rate.

Did you know we are just 45 days away from the deadline for early
registration? Send in your form today and save $10 off the $40
registration fee! Or, if you're really into doing your part for the good
of furrydom, become a sponsor at the $65 level. You won't get a tote bag
or a Sesame Street album, but you will bag a highly-sought-after MFF
T-shirt designed by one of our esteemed Guests of Honor as well as two
special prints from our GOHs drawn specifically for sponsors. But wait,
there's more...hm, then again, wait because we haven't completed the
goodie list yet. But you'll be impressed, no doubt!

Guests of Honor

Midwest FurFest is proud to host three terrific Guests of Honor this year:
Mary Hanson-Roberts (creator of "Along Comes a Candle"), Jessica "Ginger"
Willard (you are familiar with Falstaff, are you not?), and Matt McCullar
(almighty keeper of the Furry Commercials archives). You'll see their
handiwork at MFF -- consult the website www.furfest.org for coming
details.

Programming tracks taking shape...

Programming for MFF is kicking into high gear with the debut of a new
track, Nature. Learn about some of your favorite species in the Real
Life-oriented stream of programming as well as a few other goodies. Don't
forget our other tracks too: Art and Literature, Spirituality, Science and
Technology, and Constructed Fuzziness. For information on confirmed
programming thus far, as well as up and coming information, check our spot
on the website: http://www.furfest.org/tracks

MFF's programming department is also looking for help! We need you to help
moderate your own panel at MFF. This year we've made it easy to sign up
with a handy web-form on site. Please refer to the website for further
information, or email the programming department at
programming@furfest.org. Why not lend a paw or flipper to help make it
even better?

(From Tirran, coordinator of the Spirituality track...)
Being furry, taking a spiritual approach to it, is a highly
individualistic thing. If you have experience you'd like to share, a panel
or workshop you want to help with or run yourself, or an idea about
something you'd like to see discussed, please let us know. Hey, we're
still learning too. ;) Check http://www.furfest.org/tracks/lifestyle for
more info to come.

(From Steve Plunkett, coordinator of the Constructed Fuzziness track...)
The Constructed Fuzziness track covers both puppetry and fursuit panels,
and I'm currently working on panel ideas, including some old favorites,
such as performance tips, as well as new ideas. One emphasis I'm putting
on the track this year is how to fursuit and puppeteer beyond just furry
fandom. There will be panels on how to get started performing for
non-furries, and even tips on how to make a little spare cash doing so, as
well as doing charity work. I'm still looking for panelists and ideas, so
contact me at puppets@furfest.org if you are interested in running a
panel, or helping out. See you in November!

Art Show panel space

Midwest FurFest's artshow is currently accepting reservations for panel
space. Price per panel is $5, with a limit of five. The deadline for
registration is September 30th. Reservation forms are available on the
website at http://www.furfest.org/events/artshow.

Charity Auction - donors wanted. (da da da)

Last year more than $3400 went to three charities as the first-ever MFF
Charity Auction proved highly successful. This fall, we have one charity,
and it's a good one - Animals for Awareness
(http://www.animalsforawareness.org/), which provides vital wildlife
rehabilitation as well as permanent homes for unwanted exotic animals.
MFF will be one of their major contributors this year, so help them out by
1) donating items, and 2) bidding often in Saturday, November 17! To
donate artwork, books, plush, or whatever, read the rules at our website
and let us know what you hope to donate by writing to auction@furfest.org.

Did someone say Gaming?

Oy, do we have gaming! Richard Stewart has amassed a wide variety of
gaming activities for MFF 2001 -- a variety so wide we couldn't fit it all
here. It's all at http://www.furfest.org/tracks/gaming/index_html -- go
there now! Shoo! Shoo! :)

Con Book art submissions - the call goes out

We are currently seeking B&W artwork for this years con book. Please go to
http://www.furfest.org/publications for more information.

Gophers - we need them!

If you have a specific area you want to work with, contact the Gopher
Wrangler in advance - first come, first served! There will be perks this
year for gophers at different levels of volunteering. Anyone working for
at least two hours will be able to access the Gopher Hole, two regular
hotel rooms specifically set aside for gophers on a first-come basis.
Other perks will be available - check the website for more details.
Special this year - the gopher who works the most hours this year will be
awarded a sponsorship to Midwest FurFest 2002!

Get on our Mailing Lists...

Midwest FurFest has two mailing lists available: MFF-Announce is for
official announcements only. You should receive only a few messages per
month maximum from this list. MFF-Talk is a discussion list, a place to
ask questions or talk about Midwest FurFest. The number of messages on
this list will depend on the subscribers. There is also a digest format
available for this list. You can subscribe to any of these lists by
emailing major@furfest.org with any subject, and in the message put:

subscribe mff-announce

or

subscribe mff-talk

or

subscribe mff-talk-digest

When you subscribe to these lists, information will be sent to you on how
to unsubscribe, should you wish to do so later. Major (Majordomo) is an
automated process, you should not send mail to major other than subscribe,
unsubscribe, and other commands that will be explained in your welcome
message. Any questions about Major may be directed to puma@catbox.com

ANY QUESTIONS? Perhaps our website has the answer! It's being updated by
the week, so stay tuned at:
http://www.furfest.org/
It includes contact addresses for many MFF staffers too, as well as a
"who's going" page and pages for ride and room shares.

Midwest Furfest & MFF Newsletter are productions of Midwest Furry Fandom,
Inc., (c) 2001
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