The following was announced today on Midwest Furfest Facebook page.
We have big news to share with you – Midwest FurFest is changing dates to December 5-7, 2014!
Since our founding in 2000, Midwest FurFest has always been on the weekend before Thanksgiving. It was a good, reliable date, didn’t conflict with other conventions, and suited our hotels as well. We stuck with this weekend from the (late, lamented) Sheraton Arlington Park, to the Hyatt Regency Woodfield (R.I.P. koi pond), to the Westin North Shore (the less said, the better), to our newest home, the Hyatt Regency O’Hare.
When we moved to the Hyatt Regency O’Hare, we thought we had it all – huge amounts of space, and what seemed a lot of hotel rooms. But then we grew larger, and larger – in fact, we have doubled in size in the four years we’ve been here! And this has caused a problem – as we grew larger, we needed more space and hotel rooms, and we needed them earlier. As many of you know, this wasn’t possible, and we ran into some conflict.
We now have an opportunity to correct this problem, as well as to pave the way for a more pleasant experience for everyone well into the future. In doing so, we had to make a big decision, but one that we feel will make Midwest FurFest immeasurably better. We are changing the date for Midwest FurFest 2014 to the first weekend of December: December 5-7, 2014.
We understand that for some this change in dates means that they can attend where previously they could not. We also know that some will no longer be able to attend due to schedule demands, and for that we are sorry. This was a decision that we needed to make so that everyone who attends Midwest FurFest will have an even better time than before. This means that events can start earlier in the weekend, that more rooms will be available at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare on Wednesday and Thursday nights, and that we will have more room to grow as the years go on.
These changes are going to make for a very exciting year for Midwest FurFest. We ask for your patience as we hammer out the details with the Hyatt Regency O’Hare. We should have announcements about room reservations and convention registration soon!
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE
Why couldn’t you have just stayed at your old date?
There were several problems, all based around the fact that a large group was at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare immediately before Midwest FurFest. This meant that we were limited to a tiny room block on Wednesday and Thursday nights, and had to wait until as late as Friday afternoon to use some of the function space in the hotel.
More importantly, though, was that because we were so delayed in getting the function space, our volunteers had to work ridiculously hard and put in very long hours to have everything ready to go – in the case of main stage, this meant working through the night to have everything prepared by Friday.
Finally, as we saw last year, at some point we start conflicting for public space. As Midwest FurFest grows, that conflict would only increase, resulting in both groups being unhappy. Changing dates is an equitable solution that makes both groups happy in the long run.
Why don’t you just change venues?
Midwest FurFest has contracts with the Hyatt Regency O’Hare through 2015. The only way out of those contracts would be non-performance by either party (i.e. the hotel would not be able to accommodate the convention). This was definitely not the case – we could have continued on in our old date, but we would have faced more and more restrictions and it would have taken an ever-greater toll on our staff. For us to break those contracts, therefore, the convention would have been liable for penalties in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Clearly, this was not an option. The Hyatt is actually being extremely accommodating in allowing us to change dates and amend our contracts.
What about Memorial Day? (Or Labor Day? Or July 4th?)
The Hyatt Regency O’Hare offered us several dates. We had to take into account conflicts with other conventions, weather, and other factors. While moving further into the Thanksgiving/Christmas holiday season was not our first choice, it is better than some of the other possible dates. Please rest assured that we considered all possibilities before selecting the December date.
Will Midwest Furfest continue to be on the first weekend of December in the future?
For 2015, this is likely to be the case, though we are still ironing out the details of that contract. If this date works out well for us this year, we will definitely investigate staying on the first weekend of December for years to come.
Does this mean there will be blizzards during Midwest FurFest?
Not likely. The average high temperature for the first weekend in December is 41 F (5 C) and the average low is 27 F (-3 C). The average date for one inch or more of snow is December 2, but anything much more than an inch or two that early in the season is rare. There are a couple of bonuses to moving to this later date, though – first off, the Hyatt will be decorated in Christmas finery, which is quite impressive. Even better, though, is that the ice skating rink at the Park at Rosemont, only a few blocks’ walk away, will be open for business! We will definitely investigate an outing there – so many skating fursuiters!
Furry Times 