~Kitwana_Lion

https://youtu.be/ods9RP4R1HA

It has been brought to my attention that I've been nominated for the 2021 Good Furry Award, an annual award presented to either one person or a group, recognizing them for outstanding spirit in the anthropomorphic (Furry) community.

The winner is awarded a trophy and a $500 check. While I have no idea how I would deserve something like this, I have decided that in the unlikely event I'll win, I will be donating the entire amount to the Emerald City Critters - http://www.emeraldcitycritters.org - a Seattle-based charity fursuiting group, led by my good friend  kijani_lion

My personal vote will go to Bret, aka Chise, for their outstanding work on the Moderna Covid 19 vaccine and their excellent communication job regarding vaccines and the pandemic on their Twitter at https://twitter.com/sailorrooscout

You have only one vote and a selection of 40 candidates. Voting is now open through May 31st and can be found - among a description of all nominees - here: https://www.askpapabear.com/2021-voting.html

Thank you for helping recognizing your favorite Furry for their positive vibes and efforts during these challenging times!

I've seen and been through a lot in my life, so it actually takes a lot to make me speechless. This morning, however, was such a moment. I learned that I've got selected to be a guest of honor for Anthro Northwest, an anthropomorphic arts convention, taking place November 22-25, 2019 at the beautiful, luxurious and brand-new Hyatt Regency hotel in Downtown Seattle, WA. This was obviously a well-kept secret and struck me completely by surprise. I am by no means popular with what I do, my social media is usually pretty quiet and that's fine. But apparently, my videos and photos of me dressing up as a 6 ft tall cartoon lion mascot character inspire more people than bare numbers would let me guess and that is very humbling to me.

But most of all, I'm beyond excited that I've got to share this honor with a very special person, who actually is responsible that I've ultimately joined this Furry community: One of my truly very best friends and separated-at-birth lion-loving brother  kijani_lion From my early beginnings, I have looked up to him and watched his videos in which he brings smiles as a cuddly, lovable lion character named Kijani, to those who need it most. For many years, Seattle was too far away for me to travel there, not to mention to travel alone. But as my health improved, so grew our friendship. Little did I know that one day, I would be one of these fluffy characters performing at the side of my idol and mentor with whom I share so many things that we have in common, be it from huge Lion King and Disney parks fans and merchandise collectors to avid public fursuit performers. Tim deserves this honor so much more than I do, having touched tens of thousands of people through his YouTube channel that ultimately led me into this fandom. I'm not sure why I deserve all this, but certainly, I'll make Anthro Northwest 2019 the best of the best convention experiences!

If you're still in disbelief, just like I am many hours after this news reached me from 5,000 miles away, then have a look at this short video from the actual announcement last night during closing ceremonies of this year's Anthro Northwest. I've gotten a text message from a friend at 2am Swiss time this morning, saying I've got selected as a ANW GoH. I skimmed through my social media and couldn't find anything to verify that news, so I really thought it was a joke, until I found proof in this video! My thanks go out to ANW staff for selecting me, as well as Tim for everything he has done to get me where I am now!

Photo by Lionel Leupold, taken at Midwest Furfest 2016.

(Transcript below) This video is in response to what happened on Saturday of Biggest Little Fur Con 2018 in Reno, NV, where a 10 years old child named Emma got to miss the big group photo and ruining her day at the con as she got bullied by a few other convention attendees regarding the quality and look of her fursuit. A Twitter message stating the incident can be read here: https://twitter.com/snuhleopard/sta.....29965217398785

I condemn these unacceptable, unexcusable actions caused by a few individuals and I have the following message for Emma:

"Hello, Tiger Princess Emma!

I am Kitwana. I live over 5,000 miles away from you in Switzerland. I just learned what happened to you last night at Biggest Little Fur Con 2018 and this made me do this little video for you!

I might be a lion, but you don't have to be afraid of me! In fact, as you can see, I really LOOOOVE tigers as well! Tigers are the BIGGEST and STRONGEST cats! That's why YOU and your fursuit ROCK and all those who failed to see your beauty SUCK!

Unfortunately, I can't be at any U.S. Furry conventions this year. But here's what I can offer to YOU and your Mom:

I will be returning to Anthro Northwest, which is a Family-friendly Furry convention in Downtown Seattle, WA, held on the Thanksgiving weekend of 2019, November 22-25. I invite YOU and your Mom to stay at my room and as a Lion, I will be your personal bodyguard and show you and your beautiful costume all around the convention and introduce you to my good, close Seattle friends! And if anyone dares to bother you, I will ROAR at them as loud as I can! I may even have a little tiger gift for you! You deserve an extra-big Lion hug from me!

So long, Princess Emma! I hope to see YOU and your family at Anthro Northwest in Seattle next year, or at any other Furry conventions you can make it to. I hope you'll be able to enjoy your last day at BLFC and I wish you all the best! Keep doing what you love! Bye!"

Some of you may know that I am a fursuiter with physical special needs due to a birth defect. That means I know how it feels first-hand to be bullied. I will NEVER accept such pathetic, disgraceful behavior, especially not against a child.

It's in our own paws to make sure this fandom gets the good public perception that it deserves. I own 3 "professional" fursuits, made by famous makers and have spent a 5-digit amount on them. It would never cross my mind to even THINK about harrassing ANYONE because of the look of their costume. Instead, I am so glad to see how the good people in our fandom are welcoming Emma and her family to our community!

Merry Christmas everyone! I can't believe another fun-filled year is coming to its end! This video is a celebration of all the wonderful moments me and some of my friends had while performing for kids. While the majority of the footage was taken in 2017, I have also included some all-time favorite moments as a bonus!

Being able to make kids smile at the side of my cuddly friends is the best and most important reason while I perform as a life-sized cartoon plush lion. Magic happens when a world of make-believe and fairytale characters come true!

A special thanks for their outstanding performances that earned them a spot in this video also goes out to the following fursuiters:

-  cabs
-  kijanilion
-  kingsimbanet
- Kiro Dragon
-  phillyphox
-  tambako
- Telephone
-  veskar

Kitwana and Kato Lion performed by Reto Kurmann, who also shot, edited & uploaded this video. Additional footage recorded by CescoCat, ChaosReign & Univaded Fox.

Music: "Suns and Stars" by Really Slow Motion

December 25, 2017

Lions are social animals!

https://www.facebook.com/kitwanalion
https://www.instagram.com/retokurmann
https://twitter.com/kitwanalion

My journey to the first family-friendly Furry con began early Wednesday morning with a short flight from Zurich to Frankfurt, Germany, where I connected onto LH 490 with non-stop service to Seattle. Been looking forward for a long time to my 1st flight on a Boeing 747, which I still consider to be the world's most beautiful aircraft, truly the Queen of the Skies. This flight was made even better by the fact I've managed to score row 27 during on-line check-in, which is just behind Premium Economy, featuring infinite legroom. A truly enjoyable ride very far up to the north and with dark blue skies and icy landscapes came to an end 45 minutes before scheduled arrival time at SeaTac airport - only to find out that an Emirates 777 was blocking our gate, which required us to wait onboard for 40 minutes before we were able to disembark. Immigration was quick & painless with absolutely no waits, my bags got delivered 20 minutes later and I took a cab into Downtown, saving the walk on Seattle's very steep downtown streets. After my usual bath and some relaxing in my room, I catched some cool, fresh air by walking around Downtown Seattle, visiting the Seattle Seahawks Pro Shop, then going all the way down to Pike Place Market, where at the local Target, i've found the newest The Lion King 2 - Simba's Pride Blu-Ray.

Thursday morning I had some spare time available with the con not starting until later that night, so I set off towards the Southcenter Mall using public transit, which went surprisingly well by taking King County Metro's Route 150. First stopped by Kohl's to see if the had a Scar shirt left, but people obviously love that jerk way more than Simba, of whom there were plenty of shirts left, so I left with empty paws and walked over to Toys R Us, from where I left with a Breyer horse model after seeing that The Lion Guard's Rise of Scar playset was way too large to fit into my bags. Strolled around Southcenter Mall for a bit as it began to rain heavily (hey, this is Seattle in November, after all!) and then made my way back to the hotel, again by bus, which was surprisingly well on-time, almost up to Swiss standards!

My bestest friend Kijani was unavailable until now, but that changed at around 6:30pm when he, Hubcap (already in his fuzzy fursuit and the unsung hero behind Kijani's videos, ChaosReign (didn't meet him for a year!) met up in the lobby for the ride over to Gameworks, a super-huge, 2 floors arcade where the con officially was kicked off. I originally planned to make a surprise reveal of my new Scar fursuit that recently took over from Sparkle Kreations to Kijan. However, the wardrobe situation on scene prevented that as both of us were supposed to change into costume in the very same room. So I turned this into a rather unspectacular reveal as I changed into fursuit. A big smile rushed across Kijani's face. Knowing how much he wanted to go after Scar if he wouldn't already had Jelani, his sabertooth lion character in the works, I felt the next best thing should be that at least one of us super-huge TLK fans should own a TLK suit, which is why I went after Scar. Being able to bring a Lion King character to life was a big dream come true, not only since I learned about the Pride Rock Brothers. This franchise means childhood to me, it means Furry to me and while Scar never really was my favorite, I realized that performing ANY TLK character shall be regarded as a once-in-a-lifetime chance.

It turned out neither Kijani nor ChaosReign had a video camera with them. Luckily, I took both my Handycam and GoPro (be prepared, you know?)and Chaos proved to be once more as a very friendly, helpful fella who wasn't only here to serve Kijani but also didn't mind to operate my video camera for me and actually everyone else.

Kijani decided to have dinner first and change into costume later, so for the first few steps of me in Scar, he took over my camera, pointed out a few games that I was able to play, including a Jurassic Park-branded dinosaur shooter. Of course, the fact my special needs limit my vision to only one eye and being dressed in a heavily padded lion costume proved to be a challenge while playing video games but the main thing was that I had fun. Kijani turned himself into my most beloved lions a bit later and together, we wandered for some more throughout the two floors and thankfully even met a few kids along the way who really seemed to love us cuddly plush lions! This night had just the right length for me. Got out of suit after 9pm and then catched up with Hubcap, who was already standing outside, catching some fresh air, before we made it back to Chaos' car for the ride back to the hotel at around 10pm. I was glad I didn't have to walk after an exhausting fursuiting session. As we got back to the hotel, Kijani handed me a Simba alarm clock and a rather large 1994 Adult Simba full-body plush puppet for me to buy off his collection in the aftermath of his horrible car crash that left quite a big hole in his wallet. In turn, I gave him a Lion shield that I had gotten at Disney World earlier this year to go with his Jelani character, a Lion King See 'n Say toy, Lion King over-the-knee socks and a few more surprises.



Friday morning began with the opening ceremonies at 10:30am in the 2nd floor ballroom. I finally got to see Andy, our official con mascot for the first time as a costumed character. He sure was one very cuddly wolf!

Good friends help each other out and so I operated Kijani's video camera for the first half of his Gameshow Extravaganza (of which I even got a signed poster from the con store) while Kijani and Chaos were busy running an entertaining show. "Name something you associate with Germany" had "Nazis" shockingly scoring as the 2nd best answer and Chaos misspelling "Monopoly" as "Menopoly" during the Fast Money round were just some of the rather entertaining moments during that afternoon.

Shortly after that the ballroom had to be cleared for Uncle Kage's storyhour, joined by Fox Amoore, who I had seen for the very first time in his super-cute and perfect-looking fursuit built by Firestorm.



With ANW being a family-friendly con, days were usually ending pretty early, besides the usual dances at night. One such way to end the day was to gather for Taebyn's little bedtime stories that he read every night to a mostly younger crowd. So here's a wee little video from our wee little pup, telling a wee little story:



Saturday morning was quite an early start for me. I was quite a bit nervous ahead of my very first panel as a speaker. Teaming up with Rukario, we talked about how we tackle our physical challenges that we have to overcome as we perform our animal costumes. This was quite a heavy and serious topic. Our panel saw an attendance of 4 guests, mainly because it was very early in the morning. Still, having been able to talk about all my visible and invisible side effects of my condition proved to be like a good therapy for me and I think I was able to raise further awareness as to why certain things are like they are. Rukario proved to be as inspiring as I had expected him to be from knowing him through his social media, he definitely is another one of my role models. The word "disability" ends in "ability" and while we do certain things a lot different than others, we never let our conditions prevent us from having fun. Here's our panel in full:



Just 2 hours after that, I had my next shift as a panel speaker. This time about a much lighter topic. Joining me was Tycho Aussue, Tod Puppy and Nightdragon as we spoke about our experiences while public fursuiting outside of the U.S. I covered my home country Switzerland as a decent amount of guests listened and watched, how we spread mascotting magic over here to the regular people on the street.



These two panels prevented me from performing Scar until late in the day when it was time to head down for the group photo and then the parade. Met up with Kijani in the ballroom who was wearing Jelani. After he debuted him at BLFC earlier this year, this was the first time I finally got to see this amazingly creative and very unique character for myself. The details on this piece of wearable art are so stunning and while I'll always have a very strong emotional connection to Kijani, Jelani proved to be just as cool as I had expected him to be. An amazing job by Beastcub. Speaking of Beastcub, Sniper, a downright sick Dutch Angel Dragon quadsuit was stealing everyone's show wherever he was seen. I can feel the back pain and the sweat from just looking at it and I truly have a lot of respect for quaduit performers, especially around tight con space like the Renaissance Hotel, our venue for the first two years proved to be:



Back to the group photo and the parade: It should turn out around 200 fursuiters took part in it. Singha operated the camera from the stage before everyone was leaving the room in a not-quite-as-organized manner like at Anthrocon. The hotel spaces didn't allow for a very spectacular parade route either. We left the ballroom foyer through a very tight backstage corridor, before entering public spaces again by going down two floors via two sets of very narrow escalators that were turned off for the duration of the parade. Still, quite a bit of the non-fursuiting con crowd targeted their cameras towards us. ChaosReign had positioned himself all the way at the end of the parade, which was rather abrupt in front of the Dealers Den. This area got quite crowded as more and more fursuiters were arriving and elevator waits for the way out increased. I hope our new venue in which we are supposed to be from 2019 onwards will allow for a better parade, maybe even with a public outdoor portion, although with Seattle's VERY steep roads, that will surely pose another challenge.

Post-parade, I managed to capture a fair share of shots for my usual "Fursuiting Around" video. Scar triggered quite a few positive reactions and I really think people love that jerk of a lion more than many would admit. Featuring digitigrade legs including the required padding made performing him a bit more exhausting than my other characters and the big feetpaws didn't allow me to walk very fast, but still, I really enjoy portray this character, which will remain a convention-only fursuit for obvious reasons. Not one single child that was scared of him!



I wasn't done for the day just yet. After just another bath and some refreshment in my room, it was going on 10pm, which meant that the screening of The Lion King would begin. Kijani changed his mind and decided to suit up in Kijani for that, much to my delight. Chaos helped us to shoot some great photos and the highlight of the night was recreating the "Long Live the King!" scene for a quick video that Kijani already shared on his Twitter as we speak. I was in suit for the entire movie which had seen quite a good turnout. Kept my head on for certain crucial Scar scenes and tried to interact with the crowd in the room, which some definitely noticed and couldn't help but smile! I totally admit that Adult Simba ascending Pride Rock, complete with the goosebump triggering soundtrack, crowned by Simba's mighty roars still makes me emotional every time I see it - it's one of the most epic movie moments and despite I was Scar that night, I can't help but calling Adult Simba my hero and idol.

Sunday' schedule was pretty light compared to other cons. This not only allowed me to finally see Tycho Aussie performing Aethon, his new, silent Dutch Angel Dragon character but also discover one of his hidden talents - singing during Queenie Deerhart's singing in suit panel:



After that, I set out for the first of my two goodbye fursuiting rounds. Timing was just perfect that I ran into an entire Emirates airline crew who just arrived from their 15 hours journey from Dubai, but were not too tired to enthusiastically greet Scar! It's random experiences like this what makes fursuiting so magical. These folks all came from a different culture, yet with my fursuiting, I was able to connect different mentalities. Smiles and hugs are universal language anyway!

I suited up for a 2nd time that day for closing ceremony, where Kijani and a few other fursuiters took part in a nice on-stage ceremony as they held the light of the spirit of Anthro Northwest, which will hopefully continue to shine bright into a long and prosperous future. An amazing $7,200 was collected for our very first charity, Sarvey Wildlife, which is even more amazing considering we were "just" 809 attendees! In turn, that attendance number wasn't bad at all for a completely family-friendly con in its very first year and that fuels my hope of rebooting a successful Anthropomorphics art con for the great Seattle community, which - thanks to such good, respectful friends definitely call my 2nd home in Furry fandom.



Surely, ANW has a few kinks to work out here and there. The process of surprising folks at registration/badge pick-up that a CNN crew would be present across the entire weekend wasn't very well thought out, but on the other paw I do have to note that most of the drama was stirred by folks who were not even in attendance at all! I am glad that with Leilia Spaniel, we've got someone handling and addressing the issues many people seem to fear about Lisa Ling's show. Just like Kijani, Leilia is a role model for when it comes to represent the most magical side of our community to the public. I have absolutely no doubt that with her heavy influence on the show, the piece will turn out fine and I trust her when she says Lisa and her crew were very understanding and professional across the weekend.

Gabriel as our con's head deserves a very big THANK YOU for braving the adventure of setting this thing up and running. I know him as an extremly friendly, always smiling guy and I'm sure with someone like him, we are in good hands for the future. It was delighting to see how many parents took their kids to the con, knowing they'd be in a completely safe environment. Some questioned the rather strict rules which even included banning all NSFW artwork from the dealers den, but as said, IMO this allows for the safest environment possible for our youngest guests, who are Furry fans just like you and me, but aren't quite ready to reveal the more mature parts of our fandom with their parents. If I feel the need to indulge in a more Adult-oriented environment, there's enough cons across the country that would allow me to do just that. It'll be very interesting to see if ANW can fill the nice of being the world's first fully Family-friendly Furry con successfully over the next few years. I, for my self, will definitely be back!

I can't thank enough to all volunteers, panelists, staff and all attendees who made this weekend a success - but of course especially to my 3 closest friends Kijani, Chaos and Hubcap. You guys are such a pleasure to hang with and I would not want to miss you in my life. Your kindness is much appreciated and I miss you already a lot!

At least I got to spend some off-con time with Kijani Monday morning as I had some time to spare before I would need to depart for my flight back to Switzerland. With his Lionmobile V3.0 we headed to Southcenter Mall and strolled through some stores. Got a super-awesome male Lion figurine at a souvenir store and left the Disney Store with a Baby Simba ornament, discounted to $10 from $16 and a large Elena of Avalor and Skylar plush and doll set that I managed to fit into my bags with Swiss accuracy. What better thing than enjoying some quality tiem with a friend that has so much in common with me?

Way too soon we parted way at the airport, where I had my final Global Entry interview scheduled, which turned out to be a very quick thing, done by a friendly CBP officer. For the next 5 years, I'll be able to bypass all those long lines at U.S. immigration, allowing me for faster connections and more time for more fun! Managed to get out of SeaTac on UA 586 at 4pm just before a huge rainstorm pondered the area. Takeoff was very turbulent with folks holding onto their seats as we got through the low and heavy rain clouds. Luckily, it was soon smooth sailing all the way to SFO, where I reached my connection to Zurich just fine after having been able to change terminals without the need to re-clear TSA.

Seattle, I can't wait to be back!

What is it like to perform in a foreign country where few speak your language? Tycho Aussie, Kitwana Lion, Tod Puppy and Nightdragon describe their experience. Join them as they share stories about those who have tried 'extreme fursuiting' in places like Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Switzerland, Singapore and Guatemala.

Rukario and Kitwana Lion will share their experiences over the last 10 years in the fandom. They will talk about their challenges and victories as people who have a physical challenge.

Filmed at Anthro Northwest, November 11, 2017 at the Renaissance Hotel in Downtown Seattle, WA

We're just one week away from Anthro Northwest, the very first fully family-friendly Furry con, hosted in the Emerald City aka Seattle. It's time for Kitty's #ANW2017 meme. http://meme.fursuiters.net/ sat down with Kitwana in his den to talk about a few central questions:

Interviewer: "Where are you staying?"

Kitwana: "The Renaissance of course!"

Interviewer: "Means of transportation?"

Kitwana: This aviation geek lion is happy to announce that I'll be finally flying for the very first time on a FREAKING BOEING Seven-Four-Seven! #IfItAintBoeingImNotGoing

08NOV17 LX 1068 ZRH 6:55a-8:10a JFK - flown on a boring A320
08NOV17 LH 490 FRA 10:30a-11:50a SEA - Boeing 747-8

13NOV17 UA 586 SEA 4:00p-6:13p SFO - Airbus A319
13NOV17 LX 39 SFO 8:00p-4:00p ZRH - Boeing 777-300ER (Did I mention I HATE those long red-eye flights back to Switzerland?!."

Interviewer: "And you're sharing a room with?"

Kitwana: "Residing in my own den."

Interviewer: "What is your gender?"

- Kitwana: "I have a mane..."

Interviewer: "How old are you?"

Kitwana: "I didn't count, but I'm sure it's been over 1 billion seconds since I was born at Pride Rock Den."

Interviewer: "How tall are you?"

Kitwana: "I'm the living proof that 6 ft tall lions really exist! No, your mind is NOT going crazy!

Interviewer: "Well, that's comforting to know. Kitwana, which languages do you speak?"

Kitwana: "English, Swiss-German, Standard German - and I can also give you some cute growls or even a roar!"

Interviewer: "I'll make sure to cover my ears in case of the latter! Where will you be most of the time during the day?"

Kitwana: "Shuttling back & forth between the con space and my den to get my well-deserved baths and rests. Be sure to be on the look out for my video camera and give a furendly wave!"

Interviewer: "Who will you be with?"

Kitwana: "I'll likely spend quite some time with my good lion furend  kijani_lion and his unsung hero behind the camera  chaosreign, also with my fellow panelists  tychoaussie  tod.puppy and Rukario.

Interviewer: "Do you do free art?"

Kitwana: "If you consider my YouTube videos to be "art"... But hey, they're free to watch!"

Interviewer: "Do you do trades?"

Kitwana: "Not that I'm aware of."

Interviewer: "Do you do commissions?"

Kitwana: "Naaaaah, sorry to disappoint you again, way too much of a talent-free and lazy lion for that."

Interviewer: "Do you have prints/ CDs?"

Kitwana: "Eeeeh, who the heck still uses CDs?"

Interviewer: "Can I dance with you?"

Kitwana: "If you can dance, good for you! I can't!"

Interviewer: "Can I touch you?"

Kitwana: "Oh, wow... *thinks*... I mean, sure, just keep it family-friendly at all times, since I am known as one of Switzerland's premier public fursuiters, being involved a lot with bringing joy to kids."

Interviewer: "Can I talk to you?"

Kitwana: "Uhm, you're talking to me just right now and I certainly don't mind that! Folks, if you don't mind my Swiss accent, absolutely, come say hi to me. I'd especially love to hear if you've seen my photos or videos, which hopefully have inspired you!"

Interviewer: "Can I hug you?"

Kitwana: "Lion hugs are said to be the best hugs! One word of advice though: Please do not lift me off the ground! It might hurt both me and your back!"

Interviewer: Can I take photos of you/with you?

Kitwana: "Of course, nothing I love more than that! It honors me posing for photos or video, so go ahead! Be sure to tag me on any of my social media outlets if you do so! You can find me on Twitter @kitwanalion, on Instagram retokurmann or on Facebook as Kitwana Lion."

Interviewer: "Do you drink Alcohol/Smoke?"

Kitwana: "Ever saw a drunk, smoking lion? Me neither!"

Interviewer: "Can I give you lots of money?"

Kitwana: "I'm a Swiss. Does that answer this question?"

Interviewer: "Hmm, oh yeah, I heard your both your salaries and social security system are said to be world-class, so I think it does! But, Kitwana, can I hug or snuggle with you?"

Kitwana: "Family-friendly hugs are always fine. Snugs are only available to my very closest friends in the privacy of my den."

Interviewer: "We'll be right back after this message!"

[i][b]Interviewer: "Thanks for standing by. We're back with more questions for Kitwana. Kitwana, can we hang out at the con?"

Kitwana: "Sure, if my time permits, why not?"

Interviewer: "Are you nice?"

Kitwana: "Be nice and respectful to me and I'll return the same things to you! It's all common sense, really!"

Are there any other cons you may go to?

Kitwana: "Because I'll be going on a big South Africa trip in October, I don't really have any cons planned for 2018, but who knows, I might decide spontaneously to attend either BLFC, AC or ANW next year."

Interviewer: "Are you attending any Anthro Northwest events?"

Kitwana: "Oh yes, absolutely! You are most likely to encounter me at these events - subject to change:

Thursday, November 9:

- 7:00pm: Opening Ceremony at GameWorks, will be fursuiting and do video of you fluffbutts there!

Friday, November 10:

- 10:00am: Opening Ceremony
- 1:00pm: Kijani's Game Show Extravaganza
- 6:00pm: Dutch Angel Dragon Meet & Greet
- 8:00pm: Taebyn's Bedtime Story
- 10:00pm: Zootopia

Saturday, November 11:

- 9:00am: Physically Challenged in the Anthropomorphics Community (Will be hosting this panel together with Rukario!)
- 10:00am: Posing for Photographs
- 12:00pm: International Fursuit Performance (Will be hosting this panel together with Tycho Aussie, Tod Puppy & Nightdragon)
- 2:00pm: Character Performance for Charity
- 5:50pm: Group Photo
- 6:00pm: Costume Parade
- 7:30pm: Public Performance
- 8:30pm: Taebyn's Bedtime Story
- 10:00pm: The Lion King

Sunday, November 12:

- 4:30pm: Closing Ceremony

Interviewer: "Oh wow, that's a pretty diverse schedule! How can I find you at the con?"

Kitwana: "While I have not decided yet, which lion fursuit I'll be taking along, look for a Caucasian guy wearing either lion or The Lion King shirts, plus carrying a lion tail and usually a video camera, too."

Interviewer: "Are you buying art?"

Kitwana: "'ll definitely go have a look to see if there's anything lionish that I would like to shell out money for."

Interviewer: "Kitwana, I've heard you're dealing bravely with a special needs condition. Would you mind describing this for us and let us know if there's anything we do have to watch out for, when meeting you?"

Kitwana: "That is an excellent question, thank you for that, so let me loose a couple open words about it: Following my mother's infection with chickenpox in her 3rd month of pregnancy, I happen to live with a birth defect, with the exact diagnosis being recognized as Congenital Varicella Syndrome, which is an extremely rarely observed condition. Learn more about it here: https://rarediseases.org/rare-disea.....ella-syndrome/

Most notably, this has affected my swallowing mechanism, causing me to rely on a feeding tube for sole nutrition. Furthermore, the condition causes very unfortunate side effects: At times, the impaired coordination between my esophagus and windpipe as well as occasional light stomach spams may cause you to notice me having a bad breath and/or increased body odor during sweating due to the nature of my special tube feeding formula.

Please rest assured that I'm doing my very best to keep the impact of unwanted things under control. Unfortunately, this proves to be a challenge. Far too often, my ultra-rare disability proves to be stronger than any product I use to battle it. I sincerely apologize if this has caused or will cause you discomfort. However, most won't notice unless being in my immediate vicinity, so If you prefer to just shake paws or high-five instead of hugging, that is totally OK with me. While this doesn't pose a problem for my few true and bestest friends and it's certainly not something I'm fond of or like to talk about, I feel it is necessary to share these facts with you in the interest of an open and honest communication and to minimize the risks of misconceptions. Remember that this doesn't stop me from having fun and that we're not only all connected in the great circle of life, but also by a common, fluffy passion. When we include people instead of separating them, we all win. Thanks a lot for your understanding and respect.

Interviewer: "Wow, I'm speechless, and I do applaud your courage to openly talk about such a sensitive issue. That's something we rarely see and it certainly won't be a problem for me. So, to clarify, that means I can't buy you lots of drinks and we can't go out for dinner?

Kitwana: "Unfortunately, yes, that's what it means. Luckily, there's many other ways to have fun at a con."

Interviewer: "That is true! What is the best way to contact you?"

Kitwana: "OK, on the count of 3, pull out that smartphone and look for me on the Tweeter or Telegram kitwanalion

You can also find me on Facebook, where I keep a separate, public character page for Kitwana at https://www.facebook.com/kitwanalion/ and a private page under my real name at https://www.facebook.com/reto.kurmann1 If Instagram is more of your thing, you can find me retokurmann

You are welcome to upload photos or video of me to social media. Share the fun with me by using #kitwanalion

Close friends that have my number can also use WhatsApp to stay in touch with me. I was told there's also something called "text messaging" but I haven't used that in ages!"

Interviewer: "May I kidnap you to my room?"

Kitwana: "Good grief, no. Would you really want to mess with a smelly, adolescent male lion?!"

Interviewer: "You look pretty tired, are you ok?"

Kitwana: "Did you know us lions are lazy for 20 hours a day?"

Interviewer: "Last time/last con/last meet/last chat we talked so much and now you forgot my name? Why???"

Kitwana: "OK, there's real names, Furry names, fursuit names, on-line names... Get my point?"

Interviewer: "Will you tell me your room-number and can I surprise visit you?"

Kitwana: "Unless me or any of my roommates actively invite you, this is private retreat for me to relax, recharge and sleep. Gotta keep folks from the Outlands away from my den!"

Interviewer: "I have a personal question for the convention. May I ask you that?"

Kitwana: "Absolutely. Always open!"

Interviewer: "Thanks a lot, Kitwana for being my guest today and for being so open! I hope you enjoy being back in Seattle!"

Kitwana: "My pleasure, thanks for having me!"

...and did he at any point help or inspire you, just like he did with me? Well, then here's your chance to give back and help HIM!

Dear friends, fans and followers,

With huge shock I learned that one of my closest friends, an incredible idol, role model and shining individual of our fandom experienced a car crash that luckily did virtually no harm on him, but even more so on his car, as he failed to give yield at what he though was a 4-way-stop. An SUV t-boned is rather new Lionmobile at around 35 mph and totaled it. Unbeknownst to Kijani, he did not carry collision insurance on the plan he was on with his sister (she did!).

Following the suggestion of many of his friends, including me, Kijani has set up a fundraiser to help him get back on his paws and ultimately be able to make a down payment for a new ride. This isn't my home country Switzerland, after all, where you can get around using public transit just fine! So, any help is VERY appreciated. No amount is too small. Even just a few kind, uplifting words go a long way. Be a good Furry. Help my lion-strong friend spearding smiles again. Show what this community is all about. Click the following link:

https://www.youcaring.com/kijanilio.....ntent=cf_cp_01
https://www.youcaring.com/kijanilio.....ntent=cf_cp_01
https://www.youcaring.com/kijanilio.....ntent=cf_cp_01

On behalf of Kijani, this Swiss version of Kijani says THANKIES to you!

Since the start of "Storytime with Kitwana" has been a success, I've got once more creative and decided to start a 2nd video series for you guys!

The Blu-Ray unvaulting of The Lion King marks the premiere of "Kitwana's Toys"! Do you love The Lion King as much as I do? And do you like toys? This is for you! In my first episode of Kitwana's Toys, we are going to marvel at a great former ruler of our Pride Lands, the 2011 Disney Store Jumbo Mufasa Plush, which stands a full 34" tall, ready for your incoming hugs and cuddles!

This is the pilot episode of a new series I intend to do for my YouTube channel: "Kitwana's Storytime for Kids". Sit down with me as I read a magical story from The Lion King called "Friends in Need", featuring a super-cute Mufasa from the times before he was king of the Pride Lands!

This video is for entertainment purposes only. The Lion King - Friends In Need book's ISBN is: 0-307-12848-2, published in 1994 by TWDC.

Anthrocon 2017 in Review & All My Videos

Back from what turned out to be still the world's largest Furry convention and now that I'm done with uploading pretty much all photos & videos, I'd like to use the opportunity to lose a few words about my experience.

I went on my journey early Wednesday morning from my Swiss home. Even though taking the train would have been an option, my Dad gave me an extra-early ride to ZRH airport, beating rush-hour traffic on the Lucerne-Zurich freeway. Arrived shortly before 7am, even had to wait a little bit for the check-in counters to open for my flight.

Delta Air Lines was my choice for this year, really wanted to avoid United after their recent PR nightmares. Too bad my airport is mainly Star Alliance-dominated, but I've got to work around UA by taking Delta's ZRH-JFK flight which recently switched from a 2pm to a 10am departure out of Zurich, getting into JFK at 1pm, offering lots of connection opportunities across the U.S.

ZRH Security was quick, painless, professional and friendly, as it is each & every time I travel through my home airport. They seem to know me and my special needs and I never had a problem taking my tube feeding stuff into the cabin.

Spent time until boarding on the rooftop observation deck of ZRH airport that was recently opened for departing passengers out of Terminal E, which is where most longhauls depart from. Great way to escape the weakly air-conditioned terminals of ZRH & smell some jetfuel while watching the morning longhauls coming in at 8am.

N175DZ, a trusty, classic Boeing 767-300 in Skyteam livery was doing today's ZRH-JFK run. Left the gate in ZRH a few minutes early - and arrived 7 minutes ahead of schedule on the other side of the pond at JFK's Terminal 4. The flight was pretty uneventful, sold out, but mainly Americans returning from vacation in Switzerland as schools were not out yet in my country. The leather seating onboard this bird was so freaking hard, even with a pillow my back hurt all the way through. Sheesh! Legroom was also quite tight. I'm 5-10 and couldn't stretch my knees by about an inch. Entertainment system worked nicely, did watch all 4 Lion Guard episodes they had on, including one of my favorites "Never Judge a Hyena By Its Spots". Got a 3 hours WiFi pass for $18 that I used towards the end of the flight. Was quite cool to open Flightradar24 and see how my aircraft ran with the transatlantic pack. We've had a Swiss A330 on its ZRH-JFK run just a few miles before my DL flight and raced DL's Amsterdam-JFK flight until the very end (they won the race for Runway 31R at JFK). I hope these 767s stay around for a few more years, their 2-3-2 seating is one of the best ways to cross the pond. Seats of 2 will vanish soon as all new longhaul aircraft either seat 3-3-3 or 3-4-3 behind the poverty curtain. No need to upgrade to Comfort on this aircraft, but I did so on the connecting JFK-PIT flight because this was operated by a small Bombardier CRJ-900 with TINY bins, so I've spent these $28 in upgrade fees to be onboard first and have my own bin.



But before that, I've had to master JFK immigration. No more paper forms to fill now with ESTA being in place. Walked a long 8 minutes from my arrival gate B36 the start of the CBP line, which had backed up aorund the curve leading into the long hallway that runs down T4. A 60 minute wait for returning ESTA travellers was given, eventually made it to the kiosks in 45 minutes. Bags were already besides the belt, thankfully found my 2 bags in there. Love the Delta app with its bag tracker functionality, so I knew the bags were loaded in ZRH and offloaded at JFK.

Used the APC kiosks to process my immigration stuff, got the OK receipt, checked out at the officer's desk,w ho only asked me 2 quick questions. Customs just waved everyone through, so I dropped my bags onto the connecting flights belt, got up to the departures level of T4 and re-cleared TSA again. I understand the needs for such measures, but I really love connecting in Europe towards the U.S., where there's usually no security required during the transfer process. JFK TSA was quick, though, only spent 15 minutes in line. Headed downstairs again and took the JFK Jitney shuttle from B18, since I've had to go all the way down to B51 and already spent way more than an hour of my 2.5 hours connection. Got to B51 on-time, boarding for DL 4103 to PIT was also called on-time so I've settled in a once more fully booked aircraft. Pushed back a few mins late due to a missing passenger and got into the line for 31L takeoffs as the 15th aircraft. After 45 mins of taxiing and lots of interesting traffic to spot (El Al Triple Seven, Xiamen Airlines Dreamliner, many A380s, but also the 3 Swiss flights that serve JFK every day - quite strange to see so many Swiss aircrafts abroad!) it was our turn to take off.



The long taxi times were already factored into the flight schedule, so we still reached PIT on-time. After the demise of the US Airways hub and the economic downturn, this airport has a rather depressing feel with many gates sitting empty. Besides a few regional flights, only 2 longhauls to Europe remain left. The Jurassic Park fan in my loves the life-size T-Rex skeleton next to the escalators leading down to the people mover and the recently also set up a lifelike statue of Franco Harris of the Pittsburgh Steelers, complete with his authentic looking face, his jersey and even footbal gear underneat. That'd be a cool action figure to own!

Bags were delivered promptly, glad to see everytime my stuff makes it on the long way across the pond. Took a cab into town, which took over an hour due to an accident blocking the freeway near the Ft. Pitt tunnel. So, sadly, I didn't get to enjoy the feeling to drive out of the Fort Pitt tunnel and see PIT's skyline suddenly appearing, as my driver took a detour. Metered fare was $54, but he discounted it to $45, so I made it $60 after tips. I was just glad to be there finally after a long day. The first few fursuiters were already roaming the Westin lobby as I checked in, even witnessed some cute interactions with random kids!

A great tip I've once got from my good lion friend Kijani was to always request a room on the upper floors, which greatly helps reducing the elevator waits on the way down, as you'll almost always board into an empty elevator that fills up the further down it goes. Just like last year, I was given the 19th out of 28 floors, which was the highest floor possible for my rate paid. 1909 it was for me, closer to the elevators than last time, which was another plus. With my roommates not arriving until the next night and with me being tired after a long flight, I just dropped my stuff, did the usual routine tasks like setting up my tube feeding equipment, checked if nothing got stolen out of my bags. Brought my big Stanley C. Panther mascot plush with me this time, so I threw him onto my bed, got out of my clothes and took a refreshing 30-minute bath while feeding some water into my empty stomach. It was already early next morning in Swiss time, after all! Cranked up A/C to my comfort level of 70 degrees (how I miss having airconditioning in Swiss homes or offices!) turned on the TV for some background noise and after completing my live reports on social media I called it a day after 10pm. No jetlag when flying westbound, luckily.

Thursday:

Just like last year, I headed out around 9am for the light rail to South Hills Village Mall. The U.S. sure is a different world compared to Switzerland when it comes to public transit but for a dirt-cheap $2.75 it got me there in air-conditioned comfort and with me being almost the only one on the train.

First destination was the Disney Store where I hoped to find the brand-new 14" Lion King plushies of Mufasa & Scar that just a few days earlier broke news on Instagram. Worked my way from the front to the back of the store, of course also stopping in the doll department to see what's hot & not for my collection. I always love their doll displays, one of them had the 12" classic Cinderella with Prince Charming sitting in lounge chairs, enjoying a drink, which was somewhat funny, but really cute. I've got a bunch of deboxed 12" Disney prince dolls sitting in storage, so this really inspired me to do something similar with some of them. If only space wasn't a constant issue! I finally made it to Plush Mountain at the back of the store and had to go around twice to finally discover what I was on the hunt for. Here they were! They've got 3 Mufasa's, 2 Scars and some of Rafiki & Pumbaa. Timon was already sold out but I was there for the lion characters only anyway. My favorite characters in the TLK universe happen to be Adult Simba and Mufasa, so I was VERY happy to finally see a new Mufasa plush, decently sized and with the best face ever on a Mufasa plush! His smiling, content face, as proud as only a true Lion King can be immediately struck my heart. Beyond happy I found him. Also took Scar with me, although I like the 2017 version of him not as well as the 2011 sitting Scar plush. Also, Muffy & Scar happen to be slightly smaller than the 2011 plushes, so there goes the opportunity to combine the 2017 with the 2011 ones, at least in terms of size. Also picked up a rather large Rocket Raccoon plush before heading down to Target, where I've found two Read-Along with CD books, a Zootopia one and The Lion Guard's The Power of the Roar. Loved the large-scale Our Generation doll horses, unfortunately WAY too big to take them home. Some Lion Guard stuff at Target including two board games I had not seen yet, but no Season 2 stuff yet, so I left with just the books and headed over to Toys R Us. While we do have TRU in Switzerland as well, nothing beats the selection and the size of U.S. stores. Still LOTS of Leap n' Roar Kion animatronic plushes there, thrown out for $21. Just Play made way too many of him, they're even flooding European stores. I already own the U.S. and German versions of him. No TLG S2 stuff here yet either, so I checked out their small selection of Breyer horses, went through the action figure department. I had hoped to find some Imports Dragon 6" MLB figures, but unfortunately, all of them sold out. Found a rubber foam shield with a lion design, the new Ken Fashionistas Camo Comeback doll (really love his face & outfit) and picked up an animatronic Mickey Mouse plush, then left towards Downtown.

Sadly, I've found out that the CVS store next to Wood Street Station had closed for good, was hoping to pick up some Lysol from there since TSA doesn't like me carrying that on an aircraft. Luckily, my roommates would bring me along two big bottles, so I knew I was covered.

Brought my toys up to my room, got some airconditioning and then headed down again, over to the DLCC to pick up my Supersponsor reg stuff, which was quick & painless. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the cover of this year's conbook: A beautiful piece of a fullbody male lion swinging a baseball bat, complete in uniform! OMG, they couldn't have struck my taste any better! Sports mascots were one of my inspirations that made me join this fandom, so this really was spot on!

Dropped reg stuff at my room and then I got word that my roommates were already close to Downtown after a 4 hours ride from Rochester. You certainly remember that magical moment that happen at last years Anthrocon where 20 fursuiters surprised an 18 years-old special needs guy named Chris, who had discovered fursuiting videos on YouTube and became a big fan of us and our fandom.

I was very glad to be that privileged that I was able to sponsor my room to Chris and his mother Lynn, both of which have become good, close friends to me and to Chris, it was certainly delighting being able to be very close to one of his idols (he really loves my main lion character Kitwana!)

I helped Lynn & Chris bring their stuff up the room and felt - once more - so incredibly welcomed here. A Westin bellman took all 3 of us up to the 19th floor by the secretly hidden staff elevator, which was real nice since the line for the public elevators had grown ridiculously.

We had a few minutes to get settled in our room and then it was time for me to become a fluffy, baseball-loving lion! This year's con theme, "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" really was a home run with me, considering my love for sports mascots and U.S. sports in general. Kitwana's outfit consisted of white baseball pants and a jersey of the Japanese major league team Seibu Lions, with a big "Lions" writing on the chest. During my stay in Canada last year, I had it customized at a Vancouver store with Kitwana's name. Damn, Kitwana never looked so good, the uniform really fit him so well! I could pretend to be a baseball-playing lion or just a team mascot and that was really fun.

For Thursday night, Anthrocon in cooperation with the Gateway Clipper Fleet of Pittsburgh had organized a fursuit-friendly river cruise, departing from the dock right behind the DLCC, so I only had a short way from my room to go down the ramp next to the water feature underneath the convention center. Used this opportunity for some first public fursuiting along the way, including meeting a few kids. There's such a welcoming, positive vibe that surrounds this con, the people of Pittsburgh really love us fluffy critters and so I love them. It's always a real pleasure to perform my lion for them, seeing the little kids giving me a smile when I spark their imagination as a 6 ft tall plush lion.

Catched up with Stefan, a German-born Furry, fellow Disney fan now living in Boca Raton, FL, with whom I've already had the pleasure to meet up at Disney World earlier this year. Lynn & Chris were tagging along as well, since I had sponsored the cruise tickets for them as the cruise eventually sold out. 250 passengers filled the Princess that set out for an hour-long cruise around Downtown Pittsburgh during a nice sunset. Nice breeze on deck, too. Upon boarding, Chris and I were already having fun by busting some moves to the tunes of DNCE's "Cake by the Ocean", some more fursuiters joined in. Eventually made my way to the upper deck that was bustling with fluff! Ran into Singha performing Baby Blu, really glad I catched him before leaving the U.S. He sure will be missed not only in the Pac-NW Furry community, but across the U.S., considering he's not only one of the most talented and cutest fursuiters, but also a highly gifted photographer.

Gale & Strobes were also seen, Strobes even took my GoPro for a bit to help me caputuring video of himself.  phillyphox was onboard as well, doing video, not performing his still quite new fursuit. He gave me a friendly, German "Hallo" into my camera and received a Kitwana hug in turn. Not seen onboard was my bestest Lion friend  kijani_lion as he was busy with a staff dinner that night, However, Lukerative Lion was representing my species, that was the only other lion fursuiter onboard as far as I could tell.

We sailed past PNC Park, where the Pirates hosted the Rays that night. On the way back the Pirates just scored a homer as we passed by, which was celebrated with a short fireworks burst - how very cool is that?!

The cruise just had the right length and while I was considering a few weeks ago walking over to PNC Park in fursuit after the cruise, it was too warm and exhausting after being an hour on the boat, so I took Lynn & Chris back to my room, got out of costume, took a bath and quickly went through my video from the cruise to extract the first few still pics for my social media. Great thanks to AC and the Gateway Clipper Fleet, I highly enjoyed this one, everything went smoothly and on-time, they even didn't forget little extras such as free water bottles including straws for every fursuiter! Totally would do that again if it was offered next year, great way to start the con.



Friday:

First stop on Friday was the Dealers Den, got there just as it opened at 11:45am for Supersponsors. On the way over, I finally ran into  kijani_lion my role model, real good friend. I really, really missed him real bad and while living in Switzerland comes with undoubtedly incredible privileges, it sometimes really sucks to live on another continent, so far away from a downright amazing community that calls the Pacific Northwest its home. Speaking of missing: Missing was his good friend and unsung hero behind the camera of countless Kijani videos, his awesome mate  chaosreign whose working duties unfortuately prevented him to travel to AC this year. Knowing that me and Kijani would see us a few hours later again, we shared some hugs and then parted ways again.

It really paid having a headstart into the Dealers Room. One of the first tables I visited was the one of Shottsy Arts, who had an amazingly HUGE selection of vintage The Lion King toys, including many 1994 action figures. Holy lion, I was in heaven! I picked up Mattel's 23" 1994 Adult Simba plush for $65 and while I'm usually not too keen on the faces of those early TLK plushies, I just couldn't pass up on him. He is cute and most of all, he is BIG and so huggable! I call him Snuggle Simba as he has become a highly cherished bedtime companion in the meantime. Again, Adult Simba being my favorite in the TLK universe with his cutesy face and his strong leadership skills, nothing short of Mufasa's. I really use every opportunity to snag merch depicting either him or Mufasa. Also bought the Disney On Ice mug in the form of Adult Simba's face, a Cub Simba coin bank and a few Adult Simba and Scar Mattel action figs. A loose Fighting Action Mufasa was also on my list for a long time, which I also was able to pick up. Already have him MOC but sometimes I really love to get this figures off my shelf and actually play with them for a bit, Muffy battling Scar off the table:) Guess that really is the child in me! All my purchases would later reveal that my TLK collection would grow to exactly 100 individual items, which is anything but huge, but still a nice milestone.

Speaking of The Lion King, the table of Sparkle Kreations had a way too cool Scar fursuit head on display. Unfortunately, only on display. I remember that Scar fullsuit going to auction online last year, so either something didn't go as planned during the sale process or it just isn't paid off in full yet. I was allowed to try on the Scar head, knowing that this would probably my only opportunity in my life to wear at least a piece of a TLK character for a few seconds. The head was a bit too large on me, but vision was excellent. I'd KILL to be able to perform a TLK lion character, even Scar, who really isn't my type of personality. There's such a strong connection to this franchise and its characters that I have, lots of childhood memories. So I left, close to a TLK fursuit, yet still too far away to ever own, yet alone perform him. Who would agree with me that it would be great to see this Scar fursuit being performed again at any future con?

I then made my round through the art show. Kijani's pieces were all the way at the front, including a canvas of one of my favorite shots of his, Leonine Lovers. There were a few other lion things by other artists that I really would have loved, but considering I just bought a good part of Shottsy's TLK collection (I had no idea if the huge Simba plush eventually would fit into my bags!), I sadly had to refrain from bidding onto anything.

Picked up my set of baseball style trading cards featuring the artwork of Bri Mercedes from her table in the artists alley. The order was for 100 of these, plus a badge, but she generously upped that to 250 cards being printed and laminated.

Quickly headed back to the room to drop my TLK items and then wanted to attend the Fursuit Character Development & Performance Panel, set to be hosted by Cheesebeagle, but sadly, that got cancelled on short notice for whatever reason.

I really had to get that Scar fursuit out of my head, so I was glad the next programming point was coming up real quick, the Lion Photoshoot at 5pm, led by Abrahm Lion and his talented photographing skills. That meant getting in fursuit again for me, of course not before taking another bath to help combat the side effects of my special needs conditon as good as possible. Lynn proved to be a great help while dressing up. Putting the baseball outfit onto Kitwana required a lot of extra time, it usually took me not under 15 minutes to change from regular clothes into Kitwana. Did I mention he looked so incredibly cute? I really love fursuits in sports uniforms!

For the Lion Photoshoot, we first did a few shots indoors on the 3rd floor of the DLCC, then headed outside to the small terrace (not the 4th floor rooftop). The MFF lion character count was not exceeded, we ended up with a total 12 members of our pride. Really missed the Pride Rock Brothers, but it still was a lot of fun doing a couple poses. Also, Kijani was on hand (paw!) again for a few huggles. Since it began to rain outside, we had to scrap our plan to go public fursuiting on 10th Street and instead crossed over to the Westin lobby, where we spent a few minutes meeting and hugging people and striking some poses. Kijani had a huge inflatable baseball bat with him and wore a Seattle Mariners jersey. Philly was with us capturing everything on photo & video. Soon, Kijani had to leave towards his room to be ready for dinner. I still had some energy left and due to the fact the rain stopped, I took Chris & Lynn outside and made a public fursuiting round along 10th Street, crossing over to Condado's (former location of Tonic). Decent amount of people there, including a few families with toddlers. Chris got to pose with a few fursuiters too, along the way. He really was in heaven, meeting all of his fluffy idols!

After that, Lynn & Chris were in charge of what to do tonight and it turned out their wish to attend Floor Wars was as exciting as I had hoped it would be! Not a dancer, but I can't help but smile seeing all that incredible, passionate talent that our fandom's finest performers have! An evening well spent!

Saturday:

Saturday turned out to be the busiest schedule for me. At 10am, Gale Frostbane was holding her Fursuiting 101 panel, this year right in the Westin. My last year's video of it garnered over 30,000 clicks - for a good reason. Her group of fursuiters are so incredibly passionate while performing. OK, Mosfet's you-know-what is another reason why this panel shouldn't be missed Combine that with Gale's mascotting knowledge and you're in for an entertaining hour that goes by way too fast. After a relatively orderly panel last year, this year's edition included pure hilarity with flying chairs, spilling glasses, a blue trash can, a stained carpet and Gale running and screaming through the room. But what do I tell you, please watch for yourself!



After the panel, I headed outside to see if the rainshower had passed that crossed over Downtown shortly before 10am. Luckily, streets had already dried again and I saw preparations for the parade taking place. Chairs for the audience were set up, a radio station parked their truck at the DLCC. Went up to my room and knowing I had a multi-hour fursuiting session ahead of me, I retreated into the bathtub for a few quiet moments, fed a lot of water into my feeding tube, then changed into Kitwana, which again took a long time, but was well worth it!

I didn't leave the room without leaving my daily tip behind, this time with a note and one of my trading cards of Kitwana for the kids of my roommaid. This later paid off when I returned from after a fursuiting session and met her in the hallway. She was from Somalia and with broken English, she asked me if I could pose for a photo with her. Lynn helped to take photos and we share a big lion hug!

As usual just before the parade, the  bycats4cats photoshoot took place right after 1pm down by the river. We've got a huge amount of BC4C fursuiters together, just  snapcat was missing this year as he choosed not to attend AC. No con is complete without getting some tiggie hugs, courtesy of Veskar, real glad he was there. I love lions like nothing else, but I do have a soft spot for tigers, too, actually my largest plushie in my den ain't a lion, but two nearly lifesized and lifelike golden & white tigers!

First groupshot was of BC4C suiters, then we teamed up with the Roofurs and did a combined group shot with them. Really nice to see people connect with each other.

Made my way into Hall A for the parade lineup. Kijani and Philly (this time in his fursuit) arrived shortly after me and they allowed me to walk the parade close to them again. Everyone was wondering how long it'd take this year after the group photo to leave the hall and start walking the parade. Last year, I was not even halfway back and it took me an hour just to finally start moving after the group photo was taken. It turned out they learned from that by basically splitting the parade into two lines, with two rows of fursuiters leaving the hall simultaneously. That really helped to speed up things and it was only a few minutes until our row was on it's way. We were reminded rigorously not to stop at any time during the parade. No stopping for photos, no hugs, just keep moving all the time. Well, we didn't get that far at first, as a few moments ahead of us, someone's long tail got caught in the escalator leading down to street level, so the parade stopped for a few moments just as I was about to get onto the escalator. Luckily, the issue was resolved quickly, no one got hurt (that's the main thing!) and escalators were turned on again. Uncle Kage was seen (and heard!) standing on the stairs, reminding everyone again not to stop as the critters rode down the escalators (yes, two lines, two escalators, both running downwards). I was leading our group, Philly choosed to walk right behind me and Kijani right behind Philly. I had my GoPro running for a full-length POV video with hopefully capturing some of Philly's and Kijani's moves as well. Stepping out onto 10th Street underneath the DLCC was once more an exciting feeling, hearing all those people cheer on you, the kids looking and smiling at all those beautiful costumes, right out of a bedtime story world. The only damper was that the crowds were noticeably thinner than last year, for whatever reason, also, fursuiter numbers were down to 1,890 from 2,100 last year. The parade flow still backed up at some points and it was still possible to high-five kids behind the barriers separating the fursuiters from the crowds. Clocked in exactly 20 minutes of walking time for the entire parade route.



The end point of this year's parade was supposed to be in Hall D on the West side of the DLCC which was open for the public to mingle with us fursuiters. Somehow, neither me, Philly or Kijani noticed the turnoff for that and so we all ended up in Hall A again, which was where we started. Kijani and Philly went back to the water stations real quick, I took my head off for a few minutes and then we all agreed we'd definitely go try to make our way down to Hall D, luckily, that was possible after some confusion by just using the escalators. Good amount of fursuiters already in there. After we got to see and high-five Lynn & Chris along the parade route, they eventually made it into Hall D, too. Kijani, me and Philly met up with  baconmutt in there who was fursuiting as well and he asked to tag along with us, which of course was totally OK with everyone! After meeting a few people in Hall D, we decided to head outside, made our way up 10th Street where we were able to enjoy some more public interactions. I still get chills of joy everytime I see Kijani interacting with a child. The talent, the passion in his mascotting skills, the cuteness of his suit. So glad and privileged to be with him. I can still learn a lot from him to improve my performances.

I really cannot thank him and Philly enough for letting me be a part of their adventures. These fursuiting sessions with my idol are my favorite thing at AC. Being able to spread joy together with my role model that I had admired for so many years is still something that makes me emotional every time.




After we had our fair share of public interactions, everyone was headed back to their rooms. Kijani's Wheel of Fortune game show was set to start at 5pm. Spent over 3 hours performing Kitwana, so it really was time to get out of costume, enjoy another bath, get water. Luckily, I was done with all that way before 5pm, so without a rush, I was able to take my Snuggle Simba plushie as well as Lynn & Chris along for Wheel of Fortune. I love to watch game shows on TV but of course Kijani's passion is incomparable and that made it for an entertaining two hours. Got to sit in the front row and was called to be his assistant, covering up the projector anytime Kijani had to manually enter a new puzzle into his software. The main prize was a Sponsor membership for next year's Anthrocon. Macaron was the lucky winner of that, congrats!

After spending a good portion of the day with my lion friend, I let him go and took Chris to discover his favorite species of fursuiters during the Dutch Angel Dragon Community Meet & Greet at 8, an hour after Kijani called the winner of his show. It was so heartwarming to see Chris enjoying himself and none other than Telephone took the time to perform and talk to him. Also got my picture taken with her and helped Chris get some photos & videos of him interacting with the various DADs.

It was a long day for me, long time on my legs. There would have been a lion room party later that night and I while I knew about it, I wish I would have had more energy left to attend it, after I learned that everyone was having a good time while The Lion King was shown on a big screen projector and everyone doing funny play-by-play commentary about Simba and the gang. Oh well, first the Scar fursuit disappointment and then that... We lions need to make a TLK watch party a regular thing at cons! But hey, I had fun with my friends today while performing to the public and that's cool! Gotta focus on the positive things in life, right?

Sunday:

Lynn & Chris unfortunately had to leave this morning. So glad they were my roommates and it's comforting to know I'm not alone with some of my disability's effects. Chris uses the same food, same feeding tube system like I do and Lynn is such a wonderful, caring person, so I was sad to see them go.

I headed down to attend the Sports Mascots Fanatics panel, hosted by Cyan Glaciertooth. Small turnout of only about 10 attendees. Brought my large Stanley C. Panther mascot plush along and it felt good to talk about how - besides Kijani's videos - sports mascots have played a role with me eventually joining the fandom and do public fursuiting. Cyan brought along his collection of mascot plushies, some nice, lesser known characters in there I had not seen before. It turned out my Stanley was the biggest plush of them all!



After that, I went back to the Dealers Room again and bought some more TLK action figures from Shottsy's. Her TLK collection sold really well, not much was left Sunday afternoon. Got some different Scar and Adult Simba figs.

During another public fursuiting session, this time on my own, I visited the photo room and got some shots in front of a baseball stadium background while holding a bat as a prop. Also picked up a fursuiter badge, #1875 with no wait at all! Then I went a bit onto the DLCC rooftop while carrying my GoPro to get some shots of me with PIT's skyline in the background. Ran into another one of my fans/followers, Duran Wolf in his awesome suit.

Closing ceremonies drew near way too early. A light growth to 7,544 attendees was announced. Uncle Kage acknowledges MFF might pass them attendance-wise this year and become the world's largest Furry con, but to me, Anthrocon will always be the best due to the public fursuiting opportunities and the welcoming spirit of the people of Pittsburgh. AC attendees raised $31,598 for Hope Haven, a sanctuary for abused farm animals north of Pittsburgh. That alone makes Furries so awesome!

I've found Kijani fursuiting outside the ballroom and knowing I would not be able to join his Monday morning goodbye fursuiting session due to my flight leaving at 1:30pm that day, we shared some last hugs. I carried my new Mufasa plushie with me and Kijani gave the king a big hug and struck some cutesy poses. 'Til we nuzzle again, Kijani. I already miss you as I type this!

Then it was time to not only say goodbye to him, but also the DLCC, which closed after the closing ceremonies. I got up to my room, transferred photos and packed stuff up to see if everything would fit into my bags - which it surprisingly did. Even Snuggle Simba was very brave while he was crushed flat into one of my big suitcases, but he made it just fine across the pond!

I turned on the TV a bit, tuned into an MLB game and just enjoyed being in my favorite country with all the con "stress" behind me.

Monday:

I left the Westin at 10am on a cab, just a bit too early to see Kijani again, but of course I needed to catch my flight. On the way back, I was routed through Atlanta, as DL's JFK-ZRH flight doesn't not operate on Mondays, so I had to backtrack a little bit and catch DL's seasonal ATL-ZRH service.

TSA at PIT was slow as always and they actually took me out of the line and directed me to an alternate checkpoint on the other side of the departures curb, which was indeed faster. I still had some room in my carry-on and found a cute Native American doll in the Spirit of the Red Horse Shop airside.

The flight down to ATL was on a MD-88, built in 1989. It's been a while since the last of those vanished from European skies, but they're still going strong in the U.S. Was a real pleasure to fly one of those again and listen to the classic JT8D engine sound while I was seated pretty far back. It was incredibly loud, though, definitely not something I would be OK with for several hours of flight.



Circled around the usual ATL tstorm clouds and despite a 30-minute delay out of PIT, managed to reach ATL almost on time. Had to change from Terminal B to E, but despite ATL being the world's largest airport in terms of passengers, connecting there is a breeze, as the layout of the 7 terminals is laid out perfectly for being the world's premier connecting airport. Just 25 minutes, no TSA and I was at E28 where DL 66 to ZRH would leave 5 mins ahead of schedule. This flight was operated by a 767-400, of which only 37 aircraft have ever been built. Nice to see they send a bigger aircraft to ZRH, but the interior didn't cause me to jump with joy. Touchscreen was amazingly unreponsive, airshow map didn't work on my seat, no USB, no power ports. Only one Lion Guard episode (that I already had seen anyway), only a fraction of movies that were available on the 767-300. Crew was nice & friendly, though and I had an empty seat next to me, which eventually was claimed by my Mufasa plush. Traveling like a king is possible, even in Coach! As the crew did not insist to pull the shades down after dinner, I got to do nice timelapse videos for my tripreport videos as the aircraft flew into the night and the sky went dark within 30 minutes. Same thing in reverse as we were approaching Ireland after a 3 hour transatlantic crossing. These are some of the moments I really enjoy while flying, even though I basically hate those tiring red-eye flights back to Europe at the end of a vacation. Touched down ahead of schedule at my home airport Zurich and with Swiss efficiency, I went through immigration (just show your passport and they wave you through!), claimed my bags and made it onto the train back home with perfect timing to be back in office later that day.



An amazing time had come to an end and I'd like to thank again everyone who was working so hard to make that awesome con happen. From the Pittsburgh Police officer that I met in the lobby while she was admiring Kitwana to all the hard-working volunteers, the artist of this year's conbook cover, Shottsy for letting me take over some of her TLK collection, Lynn for her valuable video camera work while I was out fursuiting, Chris for being my special friend and Kijani and Philly for once again including me so well into their adventures. I love you all! THANK YOU FRIENDS!

If everything goes well, I shall be at next years Anthrocon again. Already booked ANW in Seattle for November, can't wait to return to my 2nd Furry home!

OK, typing these words has been quite a courageous task for me, but with another trip to Anthrocon right ahead of me, I feel it is the right thing to inform you about my special needs condition:

Following my mother's infection with chickenpox in her 3rd month of pregnancy, I happen to live with a birth defect, with the exact diagnosis being recognized as Congenital Varicella Syndrome, which is an extremely rarely observed condition.

Most notably, this has affected my swallowing mechanism, causing me to rely on a feeding tube for sole nutrition, as well as the right-hand half of my face by losing vision on one eye.

This means: You cannot take me out to dinner and while I appreciate the gesture a lot, you cannot buy me drinks. How about a round of public fursuiting instead?

Furthermore, with the central nervous system being affected as well, the condition causes very unfortunate side effects:

At times, the impaired coordination between my esophagus and windpipe as well as occasional light stomach spams may cause you to notice me having a bad breath and increased body odor during sweating due to the nature of my special tube feeding formula. Please rest assured that I'm doing my very best to keep the impact of those unwanted things under control. Unfortunately, this proves to be a challenge. Sometimes, my ultra-rare disability proves to be stronger than any product I use to battle it. I sincerely apologize if this has caused or will cause you discomfort. I go MUCH further than the 6-2-1 rule, for example by taking full baths after EVERY fursuiting session.

However, most won't notice unless being in my immediate vicinity, and again, it's not a permanent issue, but it can happen, so If you prefer to just shake paws or high-five instead of hugging, that is totally OK with me.

While this doesn't pose a problem for my few true and bestest friends and it's certainly not something I'm fond of or like to talk about, I feel it is necessary to share these facts with you in the interest of an open and honest communication and to minimize the risks of misconceptions.

Remember that this doesn't stop me from having fun and that we're not only all connected in the great circle of life, but also by a common, fluffy passion.

When we include people instead of separating them, we all win.

If desired, you can learn more about CVS here: https://rarediseases.org/rare-disea.....ella-syndrome/

I kindly thank you for your respect and understanding and taking the time to read this.

We're just one week away from 2017 edition of the world's largest Furry con in Pittsburgh (not Paris!) and with that, it's time for Kitty's #AC2017 meme. http://meme.fursuiters.net/ sat down with Kitwana in his den to talk about a few central questions:

Interviewer: "Where are you staying?"

Kitwana: "Choosing to be a supersponsor got me once again into the Westin, as close to the action as it gets!"

Interviewer: "Means of transportation?"

Kitwana: This aviation geek lion is happy to announce that he won't fly United, but Delta Air Lines instead!

28JUN17 DL 408 ZRH 10:10a-12:58p JFK - flown by a trusty, old B767-300
28JUN17 DL 4103 JFK 3:39p-5:30p PIT - on a CRJ-900

03JUL17 DL 1599 PIT 1:27p-3:10p ATL - I can't believe the MD-88 still exists!
03JUL17 DL 66 ATL 5:33p-8:30a ZRH - with the longer -400 version of the 767."

Interviewer: "And you're sharing a room with?"

Kitwana: "This year, I'm very glad to be able to sponsor one half of my room to a very special fan of me, plus his charming mother, both of which have been the main subject of this magical Anthrocon 2016 moment, preserved on YouTube for your viewing pleasure:



Interviewer: "How very generous of you - and thanks for including special needs folks! The next question I'd have is: What is your gender?"

- Kitwana: "Dude, look at my fluff around my face and then make an educated guess! Seriously..."

Interviewer: "OK, OK... So, what is your relationship status?"

Kitwana: "Man, these questions get quite personal, do they? Well, I'm a happy single lion!"

Interviewer: "How old are you?"

Kitwana: "I didn't count, but I'm sure it's been over 1 billion seconds since I was born at Pride Rock Den."

Interviewer: "How tall are you?"

Kitwana: "I'm the living proof that 6 ft tall lions really exist! No, your mind is NOT going crazy!

Interviewer: "Well, that's comforting to know. Kitwana, which languages do you speak?"

Kitwana: "English, Swiss-German, Standard German - and I can also give you some cute growls or even a roar!"

Interviewer: "I'll make sure to cover my ears in case of the latter! Where will you be most of the time during the day?"

Kitwana: "Prowling back & forth between my Westin retreat, the Westin lobby, the beautiful David L. Lawrence Convention Center and the streets surrounding these venues."

Interviewer: "Who will you be with?"

Kitwana: "I'll usually stick with the Brookes to show them around the con. Also hope to do one or two public fursuiting outing with my good friend & fellow lion  kijani_lion and friends.

Interviewer: "Do you do free art?"

Kitwana: "If you consider my YouTube videos to be "art"..."

Interviewer: "Do you do trades?"

Kitwana: "Not that I'm aware of."

Interviewer: "Do you do commissions?"

Kitwana: "Naaaaah, sorry to disappoint you again, way too much of a talent-free and lazy lion for that. But there's a whole hall of dealers available in the - who would have guessed - Dealers Den for all your needs!"

Interviewer: "Do you have prints/ CDs?"

Kitwana: "Eeeeh, who the heck still uses CDs? And maybe, someday, my prints will come but for this year, if you're lucky, I'll hand you out a baseball-style trading card with the portrait of Yours Cuddly, designed by the awesome Bri Mercedes!"

Interviewer: "What suit(s) will you have?"

Kitwana: "No suit & tie required. I'll be Kitwana, as real and fluffy as ever!"

Interviewer: "Can I dance with you?"

Kitwana: "If you can dance, good for you! I can't!"

Interviewer: "Can I touch you?"

Kitwana: "Oh, wow... *thinks*... I mean, sure, just keep it family-friendly at all times, since I am known as one of Switzerland's premier public fursuiters, being involved a lot with bringing joy to kids."

Interviewer: "Can I talk to you?"

Kitwana: "Uhm, you're talking to me just right now and I certainly don't mind that! Folks, if you don't mind my Swiss accent, absolutely, come say hi to me. I'd especially love to hear if you've seen my photos or videos and how you like them."

Interviewer: "Can I hug you?"

Kitwana: "Lion hugs are said to be the best hugs! One word of advice though: Please do not lift me off the ground! It might hurt both me and your back!"

Interviewer: Can I take photos of you/with you?

Kitwana: "Of course, nothing I love more than that! It honors me posing for photos or video, so go ahead! Be sure to tag me on any of my social media outlets if you do so! You can find me on Twitter @kitwanalion, on Instagram retokurmann or on Facebook as Kitwana Lion."

Interviewer: "Do you drink Alcohol/Smoke?"

Kitwana: "Ever saw a drunk, smoking lion? Me neither!"

Interviewer: "Can I give you lots of money?"

Kitwana: "I'm a Swiss. Does that answer this question?"

Interviewer: "Hmm, oh yeah, I heard your both your salaries and social security system are said to be world-class, so I think it does! But, Kitwana, can I hug or snuggle with you?"

Kitwana: "Twice the almost same question?! See above, my friend!"

Interviewer: "Oh, I must have missed that, indeed. My bad! We'll be right back after this message while I go through my catalog of questions..."

[i][b]Interviewer: "Thanks for standing by. We're back with more questions for Kitwana. Kitwana, can we hang out at the con?"

Kitwana: "Sure, if my time permits, why not?"

Interviewer: "Are you nice?"

Kitwana: "Be nice and respectful to me and I'll return the same things to you! It's all common sense, really!"

Are there any other cons you may go to?

Kitwana: "I'll swing (pun absolutely intended!) by Anthro Northwest in beautiful, rainy Seattle in November. Other than that, no cons planned for this year."

Interviewer: "Are you attending any Anthrocon events?"

Kitwana: "Oh yes, absolutely! You are most likely to encounter me at these events - subject to change:

Friday, June 30:

- 10:30am: Opening Ceremonies
- 11:00am: Fursuit Recess Games
- 12:00pm: Conquering Your Character
So this is your first Anthrocon/Convention
- 3:30pm: Fursuit Character Development and Performance
- 5:00pm: Lion Photoshoot
- 6:30pm: Fursuit Price Is Right
- 8:00pm: Floor Wars

Saturday, July 1

- 10:00am: Fursuiting 101
- 11:30am: Fursuiting with a Disability

- 1:00pm: Parade Lineup
- 2:00pm: Fursuit Parade & Photo
- 5:00pm: Fursuit Acting 101
Wheel of Fortune

- 8:00pm: Dutch Angel Dragon Meet and Greet
- 9:00pm: Anthrocon Tonight
- 11:00pm: Late Night Piano Bar

Sunday, July 2

- 11:00am: Sports Mascot Fanatics Meet 'N' Greet
Fursuit Team Games
- 2:00pm: 'Zootopia' Fan Discussion
- 5:30pm: Closing Ceremonies

Interviewer: "Oh wow, that's a pretty diverse schedule! How can I find you at the con?"

Kitwana: "Look out for a golden, sub-adult ByCats4Cats lion wearing a white "Lions" baseball uniform! Other than that, look for a Caucasian guy wearing either lion or The Lion King shirts, plus carrying a lion tail and usually a video camera, too."

Interviewer: "Anthrocon hosts one of the largest Furry art shows on earth. Are you buying art?"

Kitwana: "'ll definitely go have a look to see if there's anything lionish that I would like to shell out money for."

Interviewer: "Kitwana, I've heard you're dealing bravely with a special needs condition. Would you mind describing this for us and let us know if there's anything we do have to watch out for, when meeting you?"

Kitwana: "That is an excellent question, thank you for that, so let me loose a couple open words about it: Following my mother's infection with chickenpox in her 3rd month of pregnancy, I happen to live with a birth defect, with the exact diagnosis being recognized as Congenital Varicella Syndrome, which is an extremely rarely observed condition. Learn more about it here: https://rarediseases.org/rare-disea.....ella-syndrome/

Most notably, this has affected my swallowing mechanism, causing me to rely on a feeding tube for sole nutrition. Furthermore, the condition causes very unfortunate side effects: At times, the impaired coordination between my esophagus and windpipe as well as occasional light stomach spams may cause you to notice me having a bad breath and/or increased body odor during sweating due to the nature of my special tube feeding formula.

Please rest assured that I'm doing my very best to keep the impact of unwanted things under control. Unfortunately, this proves to be a challenge. Far too often, my ultra-rare disability proves to be stronger than any product I use to battle it. I sincerely apologize if this has caused or will cause you discomfort. However, most won't notice unless being in my immediate vicinity, so If you prefer to just shake paws or high-five instead of hugging, that is totally OK with me. While this doesn't pose a problem for my few true and bestest friends and it's certainly not something I'm fond of or like to talk about, I feel it is necessary to share these facts with you in the interest of an open and honest communication and to minimize the risks of misconceptions. Remember that this doesn't stop me from having fun and that we're not only all connected in the great circle of life, but also by a common, fluffy passion. When we include people instead of separating them, we all win. Thanks a lot for your understanding and respect.

Interviewer: "Wow, I'm speechless, and I do applaud your courage to openly talk about such a sensitive issue. That's something we rarely see and it certainly won't be a problem for me. So, to clarify, that means I can't buy you lots of drinks and we can't go out for dinner?

Kitwana: "Unfortunately, yes, that's what it means. Luckily, there's many other ways to have fun at a con."

Interviewer: "We're right through the 7th inning of this interview, so to say, so let's take a short musical break, shall we?"

Kitwana: "Sure! I've got something for that:"



Interviewer *smiles*: "Haha, how classy! Your sense of humor wants me to stick around with you! What is the best way to contact you?"

Kitwana: "OK, on the count of 3, pull out that smartphone and look for me on the Tweeter or Telegram kitwanalion

You can also find me on Facebook, where I keep a separate, public character page for Kitwana at https://www.facebook.com/kitwanalion/ and a private page under my real name at https://www.facebook.com/reto.kurmann1 If Instagram is more of your thing, you can find me retokurmann

You are welcome to upload photos or video of me to social media. Share the fun with me by using #kitwanalion

Close friends that have my number can also use WhatsApp to stay in touch with me. I was told there's also something called "text messaging" but I haven't used that in ages!"

Interviewer: "May I kidnap you to my room?"

Kitwana: "Good grief, no. Would you really want to mess with a smelly, adolescent male lion?!"

Interviewer: "You look pretty tired, are you ok?"

Kitwana: "Did you know us lions are lazy for 20 hours a day?"

Interviewer: "Last time/last con/last meet/last chat we talked so much and now you forgot my name? Why???"

Kitwana: "OK, there's real names, Furry names, fursuit names, on-line names... Get my point?"

Interviewer: "Will you tell me your room-number and can I surprise visit you?"

Kitwana: "Unless me or any of my roommates actively invite you, this is private retreat for me to relax, recharge and sleep. Gotta keep folks from the Outlands away from my den!"

Interviewer: "I have a personal question for the convention. May I ask you that?"

Kitwana: "Absolutely. Always open!"

Interviewer: "Thanks a lot, Kitwana for being my guest today and for being so open! I hope you enjoy being taken out to the ballgame at this year's Anthrocon!"

Kitwana: "My pleasure, thanks for having me!"

Interviewer: "Before we switch back to the studio, I'd like to share Kitwana's AC2017 trailer to get you in the spirit:"

Recently, my good furend Tambako the Jaguar crossed into my pridelands and I let him into my den for some playtime fun with my plushies and toys! Enjoy a few moments of that while I'd like to thank  speedycheetah for filming with his calculator... errr... I mean, non-HD camera!:)

Lions are social animals!

https://www.facebook.com/kitwanalion/
https://twitter.com/

Can you believe that time flies like a fastballl? Since it's only one more month until Anthrocon 2017, I've been hard at work at Lions Spring Training Camp to make sure that I'll be ready to step up to the the plate in Pittsburgh next month and score those home runs! Are you ready to be taken out to the ball game?

Oh, and a big THANKIES to all my YouTube subscribers. There are over 1,000 of you now! This video is dedicated to YOU!

Many thanks to  univadedfox for shooting, editing & logistics! Fursuit by  bycats4cats

Garfield Park, Everett, WA - December 15, 2016.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kitwanalion/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kitwanalion

Winter has been long, so what better thing than some Florida sunshine, Spring Break, a sandy beach and one of the hippest locations on earth with hot chicks and dudes! Welcome to South Beach in Miami, FL, where you'll meet all kinds of people and... a lion! This outing has been one of my most unique and funniest to date.

Special thanks to the Miami Beach Police Dept for allowing me to pose as well as  tambako Anita A. and Stefan B. for assisting me with spotting, photos & video in this one - this would not have been possible without you guys!

Miami Beach, FL - March 20, 2017.

Lions are social animals!

https://www.facebook.com/kitwanalion
https://twitter.com/kitwanalion

Everyone loves a parade, right? Join me as I make people smile around this historical Swiss tradition called "Luzerner Fasnacht" dating back to the 15th century as the people of Lucerne, Switzerland chase the ghosts of winter away with a colorful, vibrant and loud parade!

Video shot, edited and uploaded by Reto "Kitwana" Kurmann
Lucerne, Switzerland - February 27, 2017

Are you ready for my longest video yet? 2016 was filled to the brim with magical fursuiting moments and meeting new friends for life! It's been a lot of fun spreading joy in 4 different countries on 2 continents, making people of all walks of life smile!

This video is a compliation of some of these moments for you to enjoy. And if you think you saw it all, be sure to watch out for the bonus footage that I have spread throughout the video, featuring moments that have not been released on this channel.

Use the timecodes below for faster access to your favorite Kitwana Lion moment:

- 0:04 Charity Fursuiting For Special Needs Kids in Lucerne, Switzerland - June 4, 2016.
Full video at

This was an exceptionally great honor, fursuiting at my workplace and interacting with all those kids who sometimes really go through dark days. Being able to make them smile is in my opinion one of the best talents that we have as fursuiters. A favorite moment, unfortunately off camera was, when a little girl battling CP was approaching me and demanded her care person to be taken out of her wheelchair to get closer to me. I sat down on the ground in order to safely allow her sitting on my lap and within seconds, she completely relaxed and gave me a cute smile! I had a very hard time holding back some tears of joy! And at the end of the day, I even got a drawing of my fursona from one of the kids! https://www.furaffinity.net/view/20962347/

- 2:50 Fursuiters Surprise a Special Fan at Anthrocon 2016 in Pittsburgh, PA - June 30, 2016.

Full video at

Another very special person was the center of attention in this one. Imagine what happens if over a dozen fluffy and cuddly animals step right out of a bedtime story world and enter a room where their biggest friend just can't wait to meet them all! It all happened Thursday night during Anthrocon 2016 as were meeting a big admirer of us, who had discovered our videos on-line and became good friends with us. I cannot wait to meet Christopher and his wonderful mother Lynn again at Anthrocon to make sure he returns home with more magical, fluffy memories. This event, organized by Tycho Aussie ranks very high in the all-time list of my favorite fursuiting experiences and I'd like to thank the community for making this the by-far most-clicked videos on my channel.


- 7:17 Public Fursuiting at Anthrocon 2016 in Pittsburgh, PA - July 1-2, 2016.

Full videos at

and

It was not only my first Anthrocon, but also the very first time that I have met my HUGE idol and role model  kijani_lion in person - and truly won a friend for life in him! In earlier years, I went through many challenges regarding my own special needs and one thing that always made me smile were his videos and how he spreads smile using his cute lion character in the community around him. Little did I know when we started messaging each other that someday, one of the fuzzy critters right next to the epitome of public fursuiting would be me! It's something I don't take for granted and it's an incredibly big honor for me performing at his side. Such a shining example for our fandom!

- 15:07 Public Fursuit Parade at Anthrocon 2016 in Pittsburgh, PA - July 2, 2016.

Full video at

2,100 fursuiters in front of 5,000 cheering spectators and countless kids to high-five - that's pure adrenaline rush and the world's largest, most pawsome parade experience in this fandom. I really hope that unlike other major cons, Anthrocon keeps their parade sticking around for years to come. It's only getting bigger and better every year and it's downright amazing to be part of that.

- 18:19 - Kitwana visits his Mom's 60th Birthday Swiss folklore party in Ebikon, Switzerland - July 23, 2016.

Full video at

Commuting between 2 cultures, the American and the one from my home country, Switzerland is what I do frequently. And fursuiting is a perfect, universally understood way to connect between cultures! With my mother turning 60 years old and throwing her Swiss folklore-themed party just down the block from my place, you bet I didn't hesitate to stop by for a surprise visit, courtesy of Yours Cuddly!

- 21:28 - Public Fursuiting Fun with the Swissfurs in Bern, Switzerland - August 27, 2016.

Full video at

Fursuiting can be very strenous. Especially when the thermometer reads 90 degrees (in the shade!) and you've got to go one for 2 hours! This beautiful late summer day didn't stop me and a few fellow Swissfurs to walk around the Swiss capital of Bern, whose Old Town is a UNESCO world heritage site and perfectly suitable for suiters. Two claws up for the local police there, always very friendly and even being around the Federal Palace proved to be no problem with anyone. It's why we hold a public fursuiting outing 4x a year there!

- 26:46 - Public Fursuiting Fun with the Südstaaten Furs in Esslingen, Germany - September 3, 2016.

Full video at

Around 40 fursuiters joined for this year's public outing in the city of Esslingen, the 4th edition of this. Hosted by BerkWolf and his Südstaaten Furs, all of us did their part to make people smiles from all walks of life and different backgrounds and cultures. I am planning to return for the 2017 (5th edition) of this fine outing!

- 31:23 - Midwest FurFest 2016 in Rosemont, IL - December 1, 2016.

Full video at

My 2nd time at MFF, first time in my Kitwana fursuit and first time with Kijani and ChaosReign as my roommates. Perfect fursuiting conditions and even the Hilton proved to be not too far away from the action. Again a whole lot of fun to roam around with Kijani. The Cats & Boxes event was so silly, even though the room proved to be too small and too warm - but hey, MFF is VERY close to catch up to AC in terms of being the world's largest Furry con. And over $75,000 was raised for charity! Need I say more?

- 37:17 - Kitwana's 1st Time in Canada - Public Fursuiting in Vancouver, BC - December 13, 2016.

Full video at

It wasn't time to return to Switzerland after MFF! I continued my journey to the Pac-NW, an area that I now really can call my 2nd home when it comes to my fandom activities. So many accepting and like-minded friends from this corner of the world! One of these is  univadedfox who had hosted me for 2 weeks in his Surrey, BC home, enabling me to take part in fursuiting events on both sides of the border. 32 degrees and dry weather made it for perfect conditions during my first outing in Canada.

- 40:29 - Public Fursuiting with the BC Furries around Robson Square in Vancouver, BC.

Full video at

Once is not enough and with the help of my foxy friends, we've gathered some more BC Furries for a walk around Robson Square in Downtown Vancouver. It's nice not having to worry about camera work and big thanks go out to Univaded for doing the videos during my time there.

- 43:04 - Fursuiting on the Vancouver Skytrain - December 20, 2016.

Full video at

When was the last time you've shared a train with a lion and a wolf? Thanks to Translink's approval, we were able to travel on the very nice Vancouver Skytrain system from Surrey into Vancouver and back - Zootopia-style!

- 46:02 - Christmas Day Fursuiting Joy for Kids in Hawthorne, CA - December 25, 2016.

Full video at

This year, I have been anything but a lazy lion during christmas, since I've traveled once more all the way to Southern California to spread some cheer to Paloma and Santiago, who was a bit afraid in the presence of a lifesize cuddle lion, but quickly warmed up with the help of the magic of character performance. It is so heart-warming to see a child smile and being drawn into a world of fantasy, where bedtime story characters come to life right in front of their eyes.

To top it all off, I have included some very fine bonus footage at 1:41, 6:46, 14:39, 17:40, 20:35, 26:07, 30:20 and 36:26

An incomplete list of fursuiters appearing in this video:

- Anzu
- Basalt
- Cabs
- Cobaltfox
- Eddie Bear as Fu Manchu
- Fibre Kitty
- Fin
- Fridu Wulf
- FurryJackman
- Grey Tiger
- Hubcap
- Huppeli
- JJ The Pup
- Kali
- Kanan
- Kijani
- KingSimba
- Kitwana
- Lucari
- Marlin
- Odakota
- Oetsha
- Orange Bolt
- Philly Phox
- Pride Rock Brothers (Mufasa & Scar)
- QB Lion
- Qing Long
- RC Fox
- Rhea Algarin
- Sairys Wolf
- Smelly Strobes
- Sudofox
- Tien Long
- Tycho Aussie
- Veskar
- Victor
- Willion
- Wyoon
- Yappy Fox
- Zeigler Jaguar

Special thanks to ChaosReign, Shadow and Univaded Fox for their efforts behind the camera to capture some of these memories.

Edited and uploaded by Kitwana Lion, January 14, 2017.

Lions are social animals!

Facebook: www.facebook.com/kitwanalion
Twitter: www.twitter.com/kitwanalion

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays everyone! This year, I have been anything but a lazy lion during christmas, since I've traveled once more all the way to Southern California to spread some cheer to Paloma and Santiago, who was a bit afraid in the presence of a lifesize cuddle lion, but quickly warmed up with the help of the magic of character performance. It is so heart-warming to see a child smile and being drawn into a world of fantasy, where bedtime story characters come to life right in front of their eyes.


May this video spread joy and cheer to you and your loved ones. From my pride to yours - Happy Pawlidays and may your 2017 be filled with lots of magical, fluffy moments, smiles and hugs!

Yours Cuddly,
Kitwana

On Friday of Midwest FurFest 2016 I've had once more the incredible honor to take part in some fursuiting fun right alongside my huge idol and role model Kijani Lion. Join us as we walk the grounds of MFF 2016, including a visit to the "If It Fits - I Sits - Cats & Boxes" event, the official fursuit photoshoot and of course share many huggles and cuddles.

For years, Kijani's videos have been my inspiration and the reason why I have joined this fandom. Being special needs doesn't make it easier for me to find friends so being able to perform right along my huge idol is something that I can hardly describe with words. That this is now a reality is beyond amazing to me. Thank you so much, Kijani, for including me in your fursuit adventures and for being such a shining example for our fandom!

December 2, 2016, Rosemont, IL.

Video shot on the #KitwanaKam, edited & uploaded by Reto "Kitwana" Kurmann

Happy 1st fursuiting anniversary, Kato! What a great first year for Kato Lion in Switzerland! After he moved in from Seattle where he was with my good friend  kijani_lion until late 2015, he was poised to continue what he has started in his old home and that is making people, especially kids, smile and transport them for a brief moment into a world of fantasy and make-believe. This video is a highlight reel, featuring his most magical moments from all of his public fursuiting and freelance mascotting events he was able to enjoy in Switzerland and Germany throughout the last 12 months.

It all started with cheerful holiday fursuiting fun at Sonnenhof Mall in Rapperswil, Switzerland on November 28, 2015, which was a beautiful opportunity to spread some holiday cheer.

After a Zootopia-themed fursuit outing on March 6, it was another new country for Kato to discover as he set paw on German ground for the first time on April 9 to spread some hugs to the people in the city of Lörrach, just behind the Swiss border.

The perhaps biggest event of this year happened to be just a few weeks later, a few hundred miles further north in the German city of Bochum, where I was invited to freelance mascot at the richly traditional May Evening Fest where I had the honor to lead the band into the venue, carrying their flag and discovered that a whole meet & greet area, complete with a themed background was set up for me. And did I mention I almost went nuts upon hearing familiar Lion King tunes? The most fun of course was meeting all those kids. Some scared, but most with a big smile on their face and a little souvenir from me to take home. Best of all: Kato is going back there next year! It eventually all lead up to Kato's most recent public performance in the Old Town of Bern, Switzerland on November 26, 2016.

Looking back, I realize that I was able to experience a lot of fun while performing him, even though Kato is not my primary fursuit. It's such an incredible honor being able to perform a former character of an idol that I had admired and loved for years. That someday, the person bringing Kato to life would be me is something I would not have dreamed back then. I'm looking forward to many more fun moments, as Kato is everything but ready for retirement. He definitely found a good, new home home and a second life.

In addition to Kato Lion which is being performed by Kitwana Lion, this video features the following fursuiters:

-  bromdokthehusky
-  cabs
- Cyron (performing Kurama)
- Rafi Kitsune
-  tambako
-  tigersclawswiss (performing Skittles)
-  tehan.fox

Footage shot by Reto "Kitwana" Kurmann, additional camerawork by Pascal "Lionory" W., Michael "Shadow" R., and Fanfarenzug Bochum-Harpen. Photos by Emmanuel "Tambako" Keller and Anita "Skippy" Abegg.

Edited and uploaded by Reto "Kitwana" Kurmann.

With MFF being just around the corner, it is time for Kitwana's con meme, created in the most uninspiring way by shamelessy stealing it from http://meme.fursuiters.net/

Where are you staying?

- Lion had too clumsy paws during the booking process, so the next best alternative across the street, the Hilton Rosemont-O'Hare it is for me.

Means of transportation?

- Swiss International Air Lines will give a ride on one of their shabby Airbus A340-300s into ORD and Alaska Airlines will send one of their Boeing 737-900 to pick me up to get me to my vacation time in the Pac-NW.

30NOV16 LX 008 ZRH 12:55-16:00 ORD
05DEC16 AS 29 ORD 14:05-16:48 SEA

Sharing a room with:

- 2 of the finest individuals in this fandom: The epitome of public fursuiting, role model, idol & good buddy  kijani_lion and the unsung dragon behind his camera, the clawsome  chaosreign

What is your gender?

- Mane

(Typo? What typo?)

Relationship Status:

- Single

How old are you?

- By the time this con starts, over 1 billion seconds! Imagine that!

How tall are you?

- Slightly shorter than Kitwana;)

Which languages do you speak?

- English, Swiss-German, Standard German, Lionish

Where will you be most of the time during the day?

- At the Hyatt, I guess.:)

Who will you be with?

- Either with my awesome roommates or on my own, capturing footage of panels and you fluffies on camera.

Do you do free art?

- If you consider my YouTube videos to be "art"...

Do you do trades?

- Not that I'm aware of.

Do you do commissions?

- Nope

Do you have prints/ CDs?

- Who still uses CDs?

What suit(s) will you have?

- Kitwana, the adolescent male lion.

Can I dance with you?

- If YOU can dance, good for you! I can't.

Can I touch you?

- Sure, just keep it family-friendly at all times, since Kitty is known as one of Switzerland's premier public fursuiters and has been involved with doing charity work for special needs kids.

Can I talk to you?

- If you don't mind my Swiss accent, absolutely! I'd love to hear if you've seen my photos or videos and got inspired by them.

Can I hug you?

- Lion hugs are said to be the best hugs! Oh, and no unsportsmanlike penalties for hugging me!

Can I take photos of you/with you?

- Of course! It honors me posing for photos or video, so go ahead! Be sure to tag me on any of my social media outlets if you do so!

Can I buy you lots of drinks?

- Nope, see below, why not.

Do you drink Alcohol/Smoke?

- Ever saw a drunk, smoking lion? Me neither!

Can I give you lots of money?

- I'm a Swiss. Does that answer this question?

Can I hug or snuggle with you?

- Twice the almost same question?!

Can we hang out?

- If my time permits, why not?

Are you nice?

- Be nice and respectful to me and I'll return the same things to you!

Other cons you may go to?

- I'll swing (pun absolutely intended!) by Anthrocon 2017! Eurofurence 23 is also quite certain a "go" for me!

Attending any events?

- Yes. You are most likely to encounter me at these events:

Friday, December 2:

11:00am-12:00pm: Opening Ceremonies (Grand EFGH)
11:00am-12:00pm: Travel Furries (John Wayne)
12:00-1:00pm: So It's Your 1st Furry Convention (Grand EFGH)
2:00-3:00pm: Fursuit Posing for Pictures (LAX)
3:00-7:00pm: Fursuit Photoshoot (North Central)
4:00-5:00pm: Introduction to Fursuiting (LAX)
5:00-6:00pm: Fursuit Safety (DFW)
8:00-9:00pm: Photo-/Videographer Meet (Tech Center)
8:00-9:00pm: Philharmonic Furs (Hartsfield)

Art Show (Intl. Level): 1:00-6:00pm - Artists Alley & Dealers Den (Intl. Level): 1:00-7:00pm

Saturday, December 3:

11:00am-12:00pm: Furry TV Commercials (Tech Center)
1:00-3:00pm: Fursuit Menagerie (Grand EFGH)
3:00-6:00pm: Fursuit Photoshoot (North Central)
5:00-6:30pm: Fursuiting Outside The Fandom (LAX)
9:00-11:00pm: Leopardy! (JFK)

Art Show & Artists Alley: 10:00am-7:00pm - Dealers Den: 10:00am-4:00pm

Sunday, December 4:

10:00-11:00am: Fursuit Jerseys Photoshoot
10:00-11:30am: Costume Performance w/Scooby (Conv Ctr Room 21)
10:00am-2:00pm: Fursuit Photoshoot (North Central)
1:00-3:00pm: Fursuit Dance Comp (Grand EFGH)
2:00-3:00pm: Furs of YouTube (SeaTac)
3:00-5:00pm: Fursuit Games (Rosemont)
5:00-6:00pm: Closing Ceremonies (Grand EFGH)

Artists Alley : 10:00-4:00pm - Art Show Pickup: 10:00am-3:00pm

How can I find you at the con?

- Look out for a golden, sub-adult ByCats4Cats lion with a "Kitwana" badge dangling on his chest. Other than that, I'll be wearing lion or The Lion King shirts, plus Kitwana's tail. Maybe you can even see me wearing my brand-new, cutesy Simba kigu!

Can we go out for a dinner?

- Sorry, no. See below, why.

Are you buying art?

- I'll definitely go have a look to see if there's anything lionish that I would like to shell out money for.

What do I have to watch out for, when I am meeting you?

- See under "How can I find you at the con?"

In terms of "watch out", I'd like to use this opportunity for a few open words about my special needs:

Following my mother's infection with chickenpox in her 3rd month of pregnancy, I happen to live with a birth defect, with the exact diagnosis being recognized as Congenital Varicella Syndrome, which is an extremely rarely observed condition. Learn more about it here: Following my mother's infection with chickenpox in her 3rd month of pregnancy, I happen to live with a birth defect, with the exact diagnosis being recognized as Congenital Varicella Syndrome, which is an extremely rarely observed condition.

Learn more about it here: https://rarediseases.org/rare-disea.....ella-syndrome/

Most notably, this has affected my swallowing mechanism, causing me to rely on a feeding tube for sole nutrition. Furthermore, the condition causes very unfortunate side effects:

At times, the impaired coordination between my esophagus and windpipe as well as occasional light stomach spams may cause you to notice me having a bad breath and increased body odor during sweating due to the nature of my special tube feeding formula.

Please rest assured that I'm doing my very best to keep the impact of unwanted things under control. Unfortunately, this proves to be a challenge. Far too often, my ultra-rare disability proves to be stronger than any product I use to battle it. I sincerely apologize if this has caused or will cause you discomfort. However, most won't notice unless being in my immediate vicinity, so If you prefer to just shake paws or high-five instead of hugging, that is totally OK with me.

While this doesn't pose a problem for my few true and bestest friends and it's certainly not something I'm fond of or like to talk about, I feel it is necessary to share these facts with you in the interest of an open and honest communication and to minimize the risks of misconceptions. Remember that this doesn't stop me from having fun and that we're not only all connected in the great circle of life, but also by a common, fluffy passion. When we include people instead of separating them, we all win. Thanks a lot for your understanding and respect.


What is the best way to contact you?

- OK, on the count of 3, pull out that smartphone and look for me on the Tweeter or Telegram kitwanalion

You can also find me on Facebook, where I keep a separate, public character page for Kitwana at https://www.facebook.com/kitwanalion/ and a private page under my real name at https://www.facebook.com/reto.kurmann1

Close friends that have my number can also use WhatsApp to stay in touch with me. I was told there's also something called "text messaging" but I haven't used that in ages.

May I kidnap you to my room?

- Good grief, no. I'm not interesting enough anyway and it's not fun to mess with a lion. Who came up with those silly questions?

You look pretty tired, are you ok?

- Eh, that's what we lions do!

Last time/last con/last meet/last chat we talked so much and now you forgot my name? Why???

- OK, there's real names, Furry names, fursuit names, on-line names... Get my point?

Will you tell me your room-number and can I surprise visit you?

- Nope. Unless me or any of my roommates actively invite you, this is private retreat for me to relax, recharge and sleep.

I have a personal question for the convention. May I ask you that?

- Yes, please.

The November 26, 2016 edition of the Bern, Switzerland fursuit walk saw a healthy turnout of around 20 Swissfurs from both the German and French-language region. At a comfortable 46 degrees under an overcast sky, lots of magic, smiles and fun was spread among the locals and tourists populating the historic old town of the Swiss capital. A special treat for everyone of us was the public debut of Tambako's jaguar fursuit, made by Clockwork Creatures. In addition, this weekend marked Kato's 1st anniversary in Switzerland.

Featured in this video are the following fursuiters:

-  -aiwendil-
- Anzu - performed by  wolfiookami
-  bromdokthehusky
- Galaxy
- Grim - performed by Pura
- Huppeli
- Intet
-  kitwanalion
- Rafi Kitsune
- Shy
- Skull - performed by  mrmyownart
- Smoki
-  tambako
- Tess
- Tyana
-  zeekra

Special thanks to Aninok for hosting the event. Group photo in this video provided by Nyno.

Video shot on the #KitwanaKam, edited and uploaded by Reto "Kitwana" Kurmann.

Bern, Switzerland, November 26, 2016.

OK, typing these words has been quite a courageous task for me, but with a month full of fluffy encounters ahead of me, I feel it is the right thing to inform you about my special needs condition:

Following my mother's infection with chickenpox in her 3rd month of pregnancy, I happen to live with a birth defect, with the exact diagnosis being recognized as Congenital Varicella Syndrome, which is an extremely rarely observed condition.

Most notably, this has affected my swallowing mechanism, causing me to rely on a feeding tube for sole nutrition, as well as the right-hand half of my face by losing vision on one eye.

Furthermore, with the central nervous system being affected as well, the condition causes very unfortunate side effects:

At times, the impaired coordination between my esophagus and windpipe as well as occasional light stomach spams may cause you to notice me having a bad breath and increased body odor during sweating due to the nature of my special tube feeding formula. Please rest assured that I'm doing my very best to keep the impact of those unwanted things under control. Unfortunately, this proves to be a challenge. Far too often, my ultra-rare disability proves to be stronger than any product I use to battle it. I sincerely apologize if this has caused or will cause you discomfort.

However, most won't notice unless being in my immediate vicinity, so If you prefer to just shake paws or high-five instead of hugging, that is totally OK with me.

While this doesn't pose a problem for my few true and bestest friends and it's certainly not something I'm fond of or like to talk about, I feel it is necessary to share these facts with you in the interest of an open and honest communication and to minimize the risks of misconceptions.

Remember that this doesn't stop me from having fun and that we're not only all connected in the great circle of life, but also by a common, fluffy passion.

When we include people instead of separating them, we all win.

If desired, you can learn more about CVS here: https://rarediseases.org/rare-disea.....ella-syndrome/

I kindly thank you for your respect and understanding and taking the time to read this. See you in December at MFF, the Seattle-Vancouver area or in Southern California. Meow!