Furries across Canada and beyond can now prepare to come out of hibernation next spring. Preregistration is open for Furnal Equinox, taking place March 11-13, 2011 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada with Guests of Honour FirestormSix and ZEN.

In 2010, FE became Canada's largest furry event with attendance of over 300 at the Doubletree Toronto Airport. For 2011, programming has been expanded to three days. Early bird registration lasts until November 30; new dealers' rates combine tables and registration.

Preliminary statistical results from May's fandom survey are now available. Furry fandom was well-represented, but the survey was intended to reflect fandom generally.

Over 50% of respondents were under 25, and the vast majority were Caucasian. 62% were single. Over three-quarters came from the US, with another 10% from Canada, the UK and Australia. Nearly 70% were enrolled in or had graduated from an undergraduate or graduate degree. Non-students tended to be in computer or customer-service related occupations.

Bad behaviour was selected as the worst issue at conventions, with overcrowding a distant second. Other people's hygiene and overall cost took third and fourth place.

In this issue:

1. Convention Dates Changed
2. Hotel News
3. Registration Price Change
4. Badge Art Wanted!
5. Art Show Sales Open
6. Dealer Room Waiting List Application on website
7. Furry Market Place spaces go on sale starting August 1st
8. Next Staff Meeting

Morphicon's latest newsletter details their End-of-Summer Picnic and the Woollybear Festival.

Do you like being on stage? Do have a skit or a song you want to perform? Or perhaps a great fursuit you want everyone to see? Then sign up for the Rainfurrest Variety Show!

The Rainfurrest Variety Show is more than just a masquerade, it's a chance to really strut your stuff - even if you don't have a fursuit! One grand prize will be given to the best act, but there will be awards for all participating acts. So don't be shy - you get stuff!

ScotiaCon, Scotland's first Furry convention, has re-launched their website and set a new date: 15 to 17 July 2011. The ScotiaCon LiveJournal community has been deleted.

Editor's note: Prices have also been announced; £65 for regular members, £95 for sponsors.

Hard hats not required but please mind your step. The Morphicon website is currently being redesigned to reflect next year's theme: Furries in Wonderland. Content will be added as it progresses so keep an eye or ear to here or on Twitter for any new announcements.

To help tide you over until the new site is up, we are pleased to announce the latest Morphicon newsletter (finally!). We welcome your feedback and input for next issue. Please feel free to send ideas/comments to publicity[at]morphicon.org!

In this issue:
1. Convention Dates Changed
2. Hotel News
3. Themed website launch
4. Guests of Honor for FC2011
5. Annual Further Confusion Camp-out and Picnic
6. Events
7. Dealers Room and Furry Market Place
8. Next Staff Meeting

As I mentioned in a similar report a couple of years ago, I consider myself a fringefur because I don't do things that more committed furries do (writing, art, fursuiting, taking on a fursona). Mostly I just like to read furry comics; most of my favorite Webcomics are furry, and I first got into the fandom when Fantagraphics stopped publishing Critters and I had to find another source. Text stories don't appeal so much, though I loved Michael Payne's Blood Jaguar, for instance, and I don't much care for movies or TV of any sort. I've never seen Disney's Robin Hood, which I gather is something of a furry gateway drug.

So why did I go to Anthrocon at all? Well, I'll tell ya.

FA: United may have skipped a year, but it's clearly not done any harm, with a one-third rise in attendance and nearly triple the fursuit turnout.

500 pieces of bacon were provided for registration, but the final figure exceeded that by 10. The convention raised $2458 for the New Jersey SPCA.

Combination anime/furry/steampunk event NakamaCon was also held for the first time this weekend in Madison, Wisconsin, drawing somewhat less than 400 attendees. Huntsville's Rocket City FurMeet attracted 328 – a slight fall from last year, but they got good press.

Camp Feral!, the world's oldest ongoing outdoor furry convention, wants to show furs what it's like to attend from the comfort of their homes. Since the camp is a visual experience, as opposed to a hotel con which can be promoted easily with only a schedule and a theme, Feral! is giving people the opportunity to experience camp without having to attend...in the hopes that, in the future, maybe more furs will!

A survey on fandom activity and conventions has been announced. It is not necessary to have attended conventions to complete the survey.

The researcher, Covarla, is pursuing a doctorate in cultural anthropology at New York at Buffalo, with a tentative dissertation title of Fan Conventions and the Rise of Fan Culture. Her prior work covers representations of homosexuality in Yaoi, and witchcraft in America.

Read more: The results so far, and additional background.

UK furry convention ConFuzzled 2010 went out in style this weekend, raising £6,200 for the Wildlife Heritage Foundation.

The final auction item was a piece of tablecloth art by guest of honour TaniDaReal. Starting at £50, the price rose swiftly, fueled by a bidding war between ConFuzzled staff member Colifox and U.S. fur Beshon, ending only with the latter's bid of £2,000 (US$2,962).

The 'Tanicloth', a tablecloth drawn on my German artist TaniDeReal, sold at ConFuzzled for £2000

In 2008, the British furry convention ConFuzzled raised £1,600 for charity. In 2009, ConFuzzled raised £2,000 for charity. Today – less than an hour ago – ConFuzzled smashed that record with only one item.

The item, a tablecloth with artwork by guest of honour TaniDaReal had a starting bid of £50, which quickly exploded into the hundreds and then the thousands. In a bidding war that lasted several minutes between staff member Colifox and American furry fan Beshon, the bids finally jumped from £1,800 to £2,000 and ConFuzzled history was made for the largest bid paid for any item in an auction.