Babyfur Con

Babyfur Con
Other names	BFC
Location	Santa Cruz, California, USA
Website	https://www.babyfurcon.com/
Status	Ongoing
First iteration	May 16-19, 2019 as Cub Con April 25, 2020 as Virtual Babyfur Con October 6-9, 2023 as Babyfur Con
Organizer(s)	Partnership for Artists and Creative Individuals (PACI)
Subject	Furry, Babyfur

Babyfur Con (known originally as Cub Con, then as Virtual Babyfur Con) is an annual furry convention that takes place in Santa Cruz, California, USA that is focused towards babyfur and AB/DL members of the furry fandom.

History

Cub Con

Babyfur Con can trace its origins to an event that took place at Biggest Little Fur Con 2019 known as Cub Con. The brainchild of Nacho Husky, Kago, and Panda, Cub Con consisted of two adjoining hotel suites, two 18 panels, a Meet-and-Greet for members of the babyfur and AB/DL community, and a "diaper Twister" event. Cub Con was supported by donations from adult diaper company, ABUniverse, which markets some of its products towards furries and was officially sanctioned by Biggest Little Fur Con, though remained unlisted on the convention official schedule at the request of Cub Con's organizers. The Meet-and-Greet in particular drew in over 150 attendees and was very well received among those present.

Virtual Babyfur Con

In 2020, as the world began to shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, plans for a physical Babyfur Con were put on hold. Soon, plans for Virtual Babyfur Con began to materialize and, with the organizers only expecting 50 or so attendees, the event took place on Zoom on April 25, 2020. In actuality, the event was attended by more than 400 members of both the babyfur and AB/DL communities from over 20 countries—with 30% of all tickets being donated individuals who faced job loss or other financial hardships brought on by the pandemic. This was Babyfur Con's first paid event, and approximately $4500 was raised to help establish Partnership for Artists and Creative Individuals (PACI), the 501(c)3 nonprofit organization now in charge of Babyfur Con. Under PACI, the team would go on to host 5 more Virtual Babyfur Con events between 2020-2023, raising a total of $35,000 as an operating fund for the future in-person Babyfur Con.

Babyfur Con

With all of the groundwork laid, an easing of COVID-19-related restrictions, and a healthy starting budget, the Babyfur Con team decided it was time to begin organizing their first in-person convention. The original plan was to host the convention at a hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, and the search began for a suitable hotel and convention space. The PACI executive team evaluated all options, however were not successful in finding a hotel that met all of their criteria and rather than settle for a less-than-ideal location, they broadened their search to include California and eventually found what they have described as "an exceptional hotel in Santa Cruz, California that completely aligned with our goals and mission." On May 4, 2023 one of the event's co-founders and convention chair, Nacho Husky, resigned from both Babyfur Con and the PACI Board of Directors, citing differences in vision and a conflict with another board member that could not be easily resolved.

The first in-person Babyfur Con took place as planned on October 6-9, 2023 in Santa Cruz, with the hotel being booked entirely for the convention. The event saw its 2023 attendance cap of 500 attendees, included various indoor and outdoor play spaces, and several panels.

For the 2024 event, the attendance cap has been raised to 550, and is scheduled to take place September 26-30, 2024.

Hotel

To protect the privacy of attendees and allow them to fully express themselves, Babyfur Con does not publicly disclose information regarding its choice of hotel.

Registration

Since Babyfur Con has a relatively small attendance cap, it operates on a registration lottery system. Winners of the lottery are chosen entirely at random, and are given one week to purchase their preferred membership level once notified by email. Prior Babyfur Con attendees are given three entries into the registration lottery while first-time attendees are given one.

External links

• Babyfur Con - Official Website
• Babyfur Con on Twitter
• Babyfur Con on Bluesky