Capital Furcon's Juneteenth

Late Friday afternoon, a few dozen furries came down to National Harbor, Maryland, for the first in-person event hosted by Capital FurCon, an upcoming 21+ furry convention set to have its inaugural weekend in February. At a karaoke and bar called Live-K, the free, four-hour event was hosted in conjunction with DC Fur Meet, which hosts monthly bar nights in Washington, D.C.

The plaza outside Live-K was awash in Juneteenth celebration. Inside, outnumbering casual patrons enjoying a birthday or coming in from the heat, local furries in and out of fursuit drank and danced. Being a karaoke establishment, people could queue songs to sing on the main stage, before the lineup of DJs performed. There were also small side rooms, where people could either stash their bags or sing karaoke in a more secluded space for the whole event. DJs HanIsAlive, Novocanine, and KaiTo performed sets on the main stage through the latter half of the event.

The bar apparently gave happy hour pricing, though this reporter found himself being charged almost $17 for an alcoholic slushie. This paled in comparison to the $50 parking fee he found himself having to pay. (He should have parked in a different garage, and should have asked for budget drinks.)

Since January, the convention-to-be has hosted a bi-weekly virtual party in VRChat. The social game is where some of the staffers first met, and where they continue to socialize. The Capital Furclub Senders, as the convention calls them, were to party and publicise the convention online.

This in-person event was primarily to do the same, while getting registrations and selling merchandise. But the weekend doubled as a chance for the organizers and staff to mingle, scope out the area which will serve as the convention’s home, and gather promotional material. Furs helping to run it drove or flew in from as far away as the west coast. Some had never been to Washington, D.C., and would visit Sunday.

Like Katsucon and MAGfest, Capital FurCon will be at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, but only hold event space in the hotel side. Some staff slept in the Gaylord’s hotel rooms to get a feel of how the rooms were. Some 20 staffers walked the halls Saturday morning to preview the spaces they would utilize come February, as well as exploring the large atrium.

They tossed out comments and questions through the visit. This place has a lot of elevators, one noted. Does the Gaylord provide pipe and drape? Yes. Will the hotel open up the stairwells? Potentially. This stay and observance was part of their contract, the convention chair, McChaffee, said.

Preliminary plans on what each room would become had been made, and this was the time to get a feel for that. Giving a tour of the space, McChaffee explained what had been mapped out: vendor hall in this part of this ballroom, charity in this part, admin over in this corner of the hotel. In many rooms, nooks in the wall could open to reveal high-capacity power outlets, and equally thick wires, for whatever may need it. He also explained that the room block, in one section of the hotel, was chosen to alleviate expected noise.

Excessive noise is expected from a furry convention, but staffers hope this will be a big partying convention, almost like a rager. McChaffee said the convention’s formal objectives from the outset are toned down, yet aims for big parties in the future. Like Las Vegas Fur Con, attendees have to be 21 years old by time of the convention. Alcoholic drinks will be a main draw.

With a maximum capacity of 2,400 people in the spaces to be rented, McChaffee said, there is a wide difference between that and what is anticipated. The convention projects around 1,000–1,500 people will attend its first year. This gap does mean that it has space to grow before even thinking about the convention space.

Promo photos were taken: a staff group photo, rooms that would be used, and miscellaneous ones of people posed in fursuit. In exploring National Harbor, staffers visited a Texas rodeo-themed restaurant, where they got more photos of people in full fursuit riding a mechanical bull. They didn’t last long, but enough to get pictures.

Sitting alongside the Potomac River, the area presents a waterfront view. There are boating docks and a ferris wheel above the water—a smaller London Eye further deeper into the river. An abundance of restaurants fill the very pedestrian-friendly, walkable area.

All of that should be open to furries when Capital FurCon takes place, February 25–28, 2027, at the Gaylord in National Harbor, Maryland. The convention is run by Capitol Furries, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. It will be the second convention serving the Capitol region; Fur the ‘More, which this year moved back to Baltimore, Maryland, had been held in Crystal City, Virginia, since 2020. Both locations are close to the border with D.C., though Crystal City is much closer to downtown D.C.