WOW! This year, the attendees of Furry Fiesta 2012 rose to the challenge and more than doubled the previous record for donations at any previous year, blowing away any expectations! More than Nine Thousand Dollars was raised for C.A.R.E., enough for a down payment on…well, why don’t we let Derek, our CARE liaison, tell you himself? Stick with us until the end for the special offer extended to all Furry Fiesta attendees, past and present!

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See C.A.R.E.’s blog post & Video to you!

or Just watch the Video on YouTube

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That’s right, you heard the man! Not only have we earned ourselves a free tour (you must bring your TFF con badge per person) to see the cats (and lemurs!), but we’ve helped to set the wheels in motion to make a big expansion to the center’s facilities so that these fantastic animals can have more room to live. This is the very epitome of why all of this work is done to raise funds, and we couldn’t be happier!

Don’t think we’re resting on our laurels, either! We’ve already got plenty of ideas for fun and easy new ways to raise money for 2013, and a brand new challenge:

Furry Fiesta 2009 raised $2700 for CARE.
Furry Fiesta 2010 raised $3600 for CARE.
Furry Fiesta 2011 raised $4100 for CARE.
As such, 2013′s goal is: $10400!

Does it seem like a lot of money? Sure, but this year has proven that the furry community can do amazing things if we all pull together! If every attendee donated just ten dollars to our charity, we’d blow that goal out of the water! Come on, furries: show us what you can do!

What a wonderful Convention we had this year and I hope y’all had as much of a fantastic time as we did.
I want to thank all of my fantastic staff, the talented Guests of Honor & Special guests, all of the charitable volunteers & the wonderful attendees like you.

We had an unofficial attendance of ~1210 (I promise to get Officials numbers soon, omg sleep needed 1st)
We had an amazing 244 fantabulous fursuiters in the fursuit parade.
And the amount of $ raised for C.A.R.E. our charity was larger than ever before!
So Thank you from the bottom of my heart, it means a lot to them and us.

See ya next time for Furry Fiesta 2013 The Time Travelers Ball

~Glass

*Ferret curls up in a ball & finally gets some sleep*

That’ll be 50gil just tip it to the Charity when you come in.

Our pretty version

Or if you prefer Excel style

Please note Schedules listed are not a guaranteed and to check your official schedule at the con.

CARE. Center for Animal Research and Education. It’s a name that long-time attendees of Furry Fiesta will know well, as they’ve been our charity every year so far. But who are they? What do they do? Why should you help?

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Well, let’s hit their website: “OUR MISSION: Provide for the rescue, rehabilitation, and holistic nurturing of sick, injured, and abused Big Cats. CARE is dedicated to providing these majestic creatures with a safe habitat so they can live with dignity and comfort.” Really, that tells you everything you need to know, but let me explain further.

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All too often, big cats find themselves mistreated, poorly cared-for, or neglected. That adorable little lion cub you had imported from Africa? Now it’s an immense lion that looks at you and thinks “midnight snack!”. That performing animal from that carnival or circus that you liked so much? It needs a lot more space than that little cage to stay healthy. Everything from starvation to poor living environments to intentional hobbling afflicts these awesome animals, these innocent creatures upon which we base much of our fandom – and our culture! – and someone needs to step in and make sure that they receive the attention they need, both medical and emotional.

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Someone needs to CARE. And you can help.

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Every year so far, Furry Fiesta’s numbers have skyrocketed. We were one of the fastest conventions to reach 1,000 attendees, having exploded onto the scene with a fervor that shows just how much an event like ours was needed in the fandom. Unfortunately, our charity numbers just haven’t kept pace with that growth.

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And so, I set forth the challenge:

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I want each attendee to set aside five dollars (not even enough to buy a value meal at McDonald’s) and bring it with you with the express intent of donating it to CARE. Whether you choose to play in our poker tournament, hit up the charity auction, donate at their table in the dealer’s den, or decide to use it to pie someone in the face – yeah, you read that right – I want each person attending Furry Fiesta to set aside just five dollars for the purpose of donating that money to CARE this year. If every attendee will donate just that trifling sum, we can absolutely obliterate last year’s total and help our charity to recuperate from the winter doldrums.

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If you can donate more, fantastic! We’d love to accept any assistance you can offer. Whether you’re bringing cash to any of the multitude of charity-themed events or bringing an item to Con Ops with the intent of donating it to the charity auction, every little bit counts. If everyone does what they can, the future of these animals will be bright!

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So, what do you say? Lend a paw!

While we know your coming to spend you end days with Furry Fiesta and our wonderful Guest of Honor.

We will also be  graced with these great Special Guests as well. They will be providing shows and panel to entertain us all. To read more about our special guests go to our GOH page

Rhubarb The Bear

Alex “Khaki” Vance sponsored by FurPlanet

Furry Night Live

Amber does Dallas