I am quite pleased to announce that we have our official dates at the Hunt Valley Inn for 2014!  All our privateers, pirates, assassins, ninjas, martial artists, and general sea sailing or rooftop battling folks can mark their calendars for March 14-16!  I can’t recommend arriving late; after all you’d miss everything, but, if you want, feel free to arrive early!

The Pre-registration kick off will begin on the 19^th and bring you cheaper prices, for a brief time, than the normal pre-reg pricing or the Furbowl discount!  The prices are as follows for the kick-off:  Attendee, $35; Animal, $80; Party Animal, $115; Big Cheese, $330; and Raven God, $575.  Please note that the first five and only the first five to register once the kick off begins will receive a free upgrade on Attendee and Animal badges.

This also means that our banner contest will go live shortly now that we have the dates, so artists get your pencils, pens, copics, and/or tablets primed and ready!  The prizes will be increased this year so the winner and two others will be able to walk away with something in hand (paw, talon… insert your favored term here).  Yes, this is giving you a little bit in advance to get ideas ready before the contest goes live.

If you have a panel you want to do or are a returning panelist, please contact our programming department in order to start the process of getting on the schedule at programming@furthemore.org .  No, you cannot bribe them with rum (this year’s theme may not be time travel but I can still pop out of where I’m working to raid the rum for myself, forcing them to give their best Jack Sparrow’s ‘Why’s all the rum gone?’) or saké (I might be taking a vacation in that case..).

In either case, get your barques, brigs, caravels, carracks, clippers, cutters, frigates, galleons, junks, man o’ wars, ship of the lines, and dragons (hey the ninjas have to be able to ride something of their own across the seas to get here) ready because we’re sailing forward!

Safe travels and see you there you captains of the sea and shinobi,

~ Quoth T. Raven

While I don’t have much to update you with, I did want to let you know that we are still here.  There are no technical difficulties, no time stream errors, and nothing else like that.  It simply boils down to hotel negotiations and making sure we’re getting you the best deal we can manage for 2014!  As soon as we have an update for you, we’ll have it up here so that way you can know.

Yes, that means we have a lot of staff pacing in place with nervous energy as they wait for the last information for the gates to open and start blazing the path to our second year!  We are also looking for art for year 2 in the theme of Pirates versus Ninjas and if you wish to contribute any art that is in the form of a banner, please leave room for us to be able to place the dates in!  Our advertising banner contest will be going live soon, so look for details for that coming up as well!

~ Quoth T. Raven

We’re taking a short break and then will be getting things up as quick as we can.

See you in 2014!

Since this does need to be noted, if you happened to lose anything at the convention it may have been turned in.  Please contact conops@furthemore.org if you lost anything at the convention so we can check and see if it was.  We do have some items that are crying out for their owners. Now!  Onto the fun stuff!

With all the time streams flowing around the convention, it was hard for me to guess which one was going to be the one that would be the primary one.  This was one of the reasons I could not release details, after all I don’t want to alter any important events.  Ultimately, now that things have settled I can confirm that our pre-registration numbers broke the estimate of 200 total attendees.  The only way that we could stay close to the estimate was if only pre-registered attendees arrived.  As it was, we were amazed to be hosts to 473 attendees and we, as a convention, raised $2181.25 for Frisky’s Wildlife & Primate Sanctuary.

I am proud to welcome The Gneech and RedCoatCat (also known as Meezer) as our Guests of Honor for Fur the ‘More’s second year.  To that end, I invite all of you time travelers to get your pirate ships or ninja gear to have fun with next year’s theme of Pirates Vs. Ninjas (or is it Ninjas Vs Pirates?  Does it even matter?  It’s ninjas and pirates!).  I do need to note that the dates of the convention may be changing as the dates we were originally offered fall on Easter next year, so I will have firm dates for you as soon as they are hashed out with the Hunt Valley Inn.

One plug for the Hunt Valley Inn as well, if you enjoyed your stay, if you have something to say or compliment them on, please make it known at http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g41196-d217533-Reviews-Hunt_Valley_Inn-Hunt_Valley_Maryland.html .  They did wonderfully to support us before and during the convention and deserve the reviews!

Happy sailing or stalking,

~Quoth T. Raven

As many of you know, the folks at Raging Dragon Radio ( http://www.ragingdragon.org ) are sponsoring the 2 kegs of free beer (Yuengling and Shock Top) at the Hunt Valley Inn bar this coming Friday.  They host such programs as the Drunken DJ Show, Intoxicated Anthropomorphic Fan Show (try saying that while drunk), Fast Razor Radio, and more!  Drop by and give them some thanks as they host their Friday night shows from the Hunt Valley Inn bar while you enjoy food, drink, and being part of a live audience for the show!  If you are drinking the free alcohol, please bring a valid ID to prove you’re 21 or older along with your convention badge.

The Light Rail system for Baltimore has a station right by the hotel and for as low as a $3.50 day pass, you can travel to and from the Inner Harbor to your heart’s content!   For more information, please visit http://mta.maryland.gov/light-rail !  Beyond the Inner Harbor, you can visit the Orioles opening their season against the Twins with ticket prices as potentially low as $6!  The Light Rail stops right in front of their stadium.  If you want to visit the Inner Harbor on your own, please know that the parking downtown is by meter or paid parking only.

Also, remember that if you need to be picked up, contact the Hunt Valley Inn at 410-785-7000 before you arrive so the shuttle can be there for you.  Speaking of the shuttle, it has an operating radius of 4 miles away from the hotel!  Ice and vending machines should be available within the hotel 24 hours a day.

Additionally, the hotel’s convention menu ( http://www.furthemore.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/FM2013-Menu.pdf ) will be available from lunch until closing (11pm-12am) in addition to the regular menu.  Breakfast will be available from 6 am until 10:30 at the Cinnamon Tree restaurant which includes buffet and al a carte.   Bar hours are from 5 pm until 2 am and is where dinner service will be.  In room refrigerators are available on request from the front desk and are first come first serve!

There are also going to be guests other than convention guests at the hotel this weekend so please respect them and their needs by lowering party noise levels after 11pm.  The hotel staff have been wonderful to us in their support of the convention both in helping us prepare and preparing specialized items just for all of you!  Please thank them by not trashing the rooms too much (hey, I know parties happen). If you appreciate the hard work and dedication of your servers and bartenders, please tip them as thanks!  They will appreciate it!

Our Zoo & Hospitality suite is located in Frankie & Vinnie’s Night Club on the lower floor of the convention space.  It will be serve as the Zoo for all attendees and the location where Party Animal and higher memberships will be able to access catered food and snacks through the day!  The myConbook application should be updated for Fur the ‘More within the next day and we have security and medical staff available 24 hours a day during the convention.

Finally, while we anticipate no problems, the Hunt Valley Inn employs Baltimore County police officers during large groups and events which means that there will be an armed and uniformed officer(s) present.  The convention staff has briefed them on what to expect and they are excited for this weekend!  Before you ask, yes they are used to large conventions and no, the area around the hotel is not a bad area, the Hunt Valley Inn provides the added security as a service to their conventions.

Looking forward to seeing everyone this weekend!

~Quoth T. Raven & the Fur the ‘More staff