The 2012 Ursa Major Awards, for the best in anthropomorphic literature and art of 2011, will be presented in a ceremony at Califur 8, at the Irvine Marriott Hotel in Irvine, California on 1–3 June 2012.

The 2011 Awards were presented at Morphicon 2011 in Columbus, Ohio on 13 May 2011. The Awards have been presented at Califur once before, in 2007.

Syber and Skittles prowl the halls (photo by Orzel; more)

Visitors to this month's Califur had low expectations after last year's disappointing experience.^[1] Instead, hotel and convention staff delivered what attendees dubbed "the best Califur by a wide margin", "light years better than the last time" and "the best year yet".^[1][2][3]

The registration count rose 23% to 720,^[4] with several dealers reporting a decent profit.^[5][6][5][7] The event made much of its safari theme, printing the now-common personalized room keys. Several fursuiters played along, accessorizing their costumes with plastic guns and crossbows; at least 87 participated in the fursuit parade.^[8]

Some commented adversely on the presence of Cal Cotton, a dealer in real fur tails, mink-tipped floggers and scrimshaws.^[9][10] It was not their first year, though, and despite recent activism against the use of real fur in plush toys, many attendees saw no real problem.^[9][2]

Califur 4's venue was memorable for all the wrong reasons — a disappointing ice-cream social,^[11] filming (albeit by furries) in the halls,^[12] and a wedding reception forcing the event into what one con-goer described as a "furry ghetto" of black curtains.^[13][14] The curtains were so notorious that their lack was advertised as a feature of the new hotel, the Irvine Mariott.^[15]

A new hotel and the steampunk theme were the most noticeable things about Califur this year. Held May 15-18 at the Hyatt Regency in Irvine, California, the fifth Califur convention attracted 587 registered attendees.^[1]

After con staff felt that they had outgrown the Holiday Inn, they arranged for Califur 4 to be held at the Hyatt Regency. Califur 4 did not come close to filling the event space in the hotel, as there was a wedding, a senior prom, and other events the same weekend.^[2][3][4]

Hotel staff put up a black curtain to separate Califur areas from space being used by the other events, which annoyed some Califur attendees.^[2][5][6] There were reports that non-Califur people, some possibly drunk, were disregarding the curtain and bothering Califur attendees.^[7][8]

Some attendees felt that the convention was unwelcome at the hotel,^[6][5][9] but most still admit that individual hotel staff were friendly or at least professionally polite.^[10][2]

Comic-Con International has stopped selling passes for most days amid record attendance. Only a limited number of Sunday passes remain.^[1]

However, Califur Diego will still be open to San Diego area furries on Friday and Saturday at 8pm at the Horton Grand Hotel in the Gaslamp District.^[2] The Horton Grand is located at 311 Island Avenue in San Diego, California 92101. Donations are welcomed by the organizers.^[3]

Califur Semi-Occasional Monthly Newsletter for May 2007
Contents
--------
Registration News.
Programming News.
Special Announcement.
--------

Califur 3 has recently updated its website with complete programming schedules for the weekend of May 4-6, 2007. The events page indicates that the schedules were last updated on April 24.^[1]

Advance registration numbers have been larger than expected and all available Dealers Den spaces have sold out.^[2] Online registration is now closed, but membership can still be purchased at the door for $45. Attendees who pre-registered early will receive specially-made durable plastic badges.^[3]

We have not yet received enough submissions to make a decent ConBook and we are running out of time.

Califur Semimonthly Newsletter for April 2007.

Index
------
Registration Information.
Hotel Information.
List of Participating Dealers.
Programming.
------

FENEC Adventures is pleased to announce, that Califur has opened is Registration for 2007, This year our Theme is Furry Villains, our Guests of Honor this year are Artist Balaa, and Musician Marc Gunn.

This year at Califur, we are bringing back some popular events, such as,

*Pet Auction
Califur once again brings back a classic CF tradition!

*Le Cabaret Fur Le Dance
A sexy Southern California original, we are proud to feature the return of many talented perfomers. However, we always welcome newcomers to help take this great event to new heights.

And, Mission Furpossible, After last year's exciting treasure hunt, we wanted to try something new and adventurous. This time, your mission is to thwart a diabolical villain and become a hero!.

For more information please visit our website, http://www.califur.com

Califur is the latest furry fandom event to hit Southern California,
and we need YOU to help us make it the best! Califur has positions
open for STAFF and VOLUNTEERS, with plenty of opportunities for furry
fans with ambition and drive. We have several cool ideas we're
working on for events and other activities at Califur Two (May 5-6-7
in Costa Mesa). Things like:

· Our new favorite - The Pet Auction
· Life Drawing workshops
· How-To Workshops for Fur Suit Making, Art, and Animation
· A DDR competition
· The Cabaret

… and many others. But all of these things and more will only happen
if we have the Staff and Volunteers to help organize them. That's
where you come in! Have ideas? Have energy? Sign on as part of
Califur!

Visit www.califur.com for more information. See you this May!

Robert K. Johnson Jr
Chairman - FENEC Adventures
Califur Volunteer Lead

There is now a (tentative) fursuit schedule for Califur 1 (May 21-22)...

Website News!
-----------------------
We now have several new features on our Website, not the least of which
are the new forums. If you registered on our old Forums, you will need
to register again. Go to http://forum.califur.com for details.

In this Newsletter:
Theme News
Guest of Honor Update
Hotel News
Registration News
Dealers Den/ Art Show News

Well, Califur.1 is Pleased to Announce our Theme, "The Islands" and we
are also pleased to introduce you to our new Mascots, Jonas and Sierra,
drawn by the wonderful A. Husky, who also does the Webcomic "Fur-piled"

http://califur.com/jonas72.jpg
http://califur.com/sierra72.jpg

I am also Pleased to Announce our Artist Guest of Honor, Brian Wear, who helped us out Greatly, with our Art Needs for Last Years Con.

And For those who couldn't make it to Califur, or who missed out on the
Pictures, we also have a Gallery on-line, everyone feel free to take a
looksie.

Keep your Eyes and Ears peeled for an announcement from us, within the next month we will be announcing our New Venue, and opening our Registration System up

Robert Johnson
Chairman Califur.1

There are currently two pieces of art being auctioned at FurBid to benefit the brand new furry con CaliFur. The artwork is the original illustrations used on the con t-shirts, and are drawn by Brian Wear.

If you went to this con, had a good time, and want to see it come back again better next year, consider helping out by bidding on the pieces.

"Indiana" the male version tee-shirt art.
"Laura" the female version tee-shirt art.