SoCal FurBQ

Fur-B-Q's flyer with Dume. Art by Jonas.

This article is for the FurBQ in Southern California; For the FurBQ in British Columbia, Canada, please see the BC FurBQ article.

SoCal FurBQ, or just the FurBQ, is one of the largest annual, informal furmeet events for furs, and some non-furs, in the SoCalFurs region (Southern California, USA).

Overview

SoCal FurBQ is a huge potluck picnic, held at the Irvine Regional Park in Orange County, California.

History

The FurBQ started in 1998, when Loran Skunky and Dark Fox attended a picnic with several other furs earlier in the year. With everyone there at the time, the two found that the idea of just "getting away from the PC and hang out with friends" was nice, so the idea to have one during the summer came up.

Loran Skunky was quick to post the plan about having a BBQ to a mailing list, and asked people to RSVP for the event.

Initial location

The initial location was at an apartment complex that a fur who was living at had quite a picnic area, including a pool and clubhouse. Little did the organizers realize more furries than anticipated were going to show up after the original idea was divulged on a larger mailing list and a good 40 furs showed up. This unforeseen problem caused quite a stir for the fur who was living at the complex, and the organizers took some heat from the other tenants as well as the manager several days after.

The result was a cool shindig including food (including some cheap Vons sushi), a pool, lots of music, video games, and lots of socializing. After the success of this first FurBQ, Dark Fox and Loran Skunky realized that if this were going to happen again next year more space would be needed.

Expansion and new location

The following year, the official name of the event became "The FurBQ". Both Loran Skunky and Dark Fox were seen as the organizers of the event and used the list to help them gather better data on how many people would show up and where the event could be to hold so many, with the two then spending over four months researching locations until settling on Orange County's Irvine Regional Park.

The first year of it being held there involved a very large, horizontal tree which was used by many (including Shadarack) to display their skills of balance and coordination. Henceforth, one inexplicable event that has happened since then is a "kitty in a tree", whether it be to hang out or retrieve some kinda Nerfs or other items.

Present times

With a few exceptions (i.e. the COVID-19 pandemic), the SoCal FurBQ continues to be held at the same location yearly, initially in the May months just before the now canceled furry convention, Califur.

The specific date per year changes, as per discussion and a yearly poll on the SoCal FurBQ's mailing list. The attendees for the FurBQ are more than 100 furs, and have had some furs come from as far as Britain to attend.

External links

• SoCal FurBQ on FurDar
• SoCal FurBQ on X
• SoCal FurBQ on Telegram
• SoCal FurBQ search results in Fur Affinity