Carolina Furfare cancelled after area devastated by Hurricane Helene

In the wake of the devastation rendered by Hurricane Helene, Carolina Furfare released a newsletter on October 1 stating the cancellation of the event that was to occur this weekend, and indicating that the hotels and facilities were needed in order to assist with rescue and sheltering efforts after the Hurricane hit the mountainous region.

This weather event hit the top ten most fatal and costly hurricanes in the United States even before full recovery efforts could be finalized. People who pre-registered have been given the option to roll over to next year, or to Bewhiskered 2025; due to the cancellation being so close to event day they cannot guarantee refunds for now.

A history as rough as the mountains

Carolina Furfare was known as Blue Ridge Furfare prior to this year. This name change was due to it moving out of Asheville to the city of Hickory to the east. This convention has a very volatile history of forces beyond their control disrupting their event since their founding in 2020.

• 2020 - They held their first successful gathering in Asheville, NC in mid-March. However, soon following this, the COVID-19 pandemic prevented any in person gatherings for a year.
• 2021 - The pandemic was still ongoing and they held in person events. Instead they held an event online and in VRChat.
• 2022 - In person events started again and they were able to hold this in person in Asheville growing in attendance by 25%.
• 2023 - As the convention continued to grow they could not find a larger venue in Asheville in time to host 2023 events, so they again switched to virtual this year to give their organization more time to find a suitable venue.
• 2024 - Despite moving to Hickory to hold the event, Helene hit the lower Appalachian region with hurricane force. Asheville took significant damage, requiring neighboring cities like Hickory to be used for rescue and logistics staging.