Tag: travel

Mephit Fur Meet 2026 Cancelled

Ahmar WolfLeave a comment

I really hate reporting this, it was awful when their hotel suddenly cancelled with literally 3 weeks to the convention. I really give it to all the hard work that staff to find a location.

Taken directly from their site https://www.mephitfurmeet.org/

Dear MFM Family,

We have some sad news to share with you. We need to postpone Mephit Fur Meet this year.

Since Thursday we’ve done the following things:

Made 132 phone calls to different venues
Actually had conversations with 73 different hotels across Tennessee and Mississippi
Had three hotels go from “yes we can host you” to “oh wait, no we can’t” after we told them we wanted to move forward
We’ve done everything we can do. Labor Day weekend is a very busy weekend in the Memphis area, and it shows. Every hotel around is full.

The poll last night was very close, with a tight mix between “postpone until 2027” and “try to have a mini Memphit.” (A virtual event was not that popular.) Since it was close we made even more phone calls this morning to try to find a place in cities further away, but even those came up empty.

We’ll have details coming up in a few days about how we’re going to handle memberships. We need to decide what to do with our systems to make that possible. (We’ll quickly need to add something new.)

We are going to extend the deadline for requesting a refund to this weekend if you would rather have a refund than rolling over to MFM 2027. We want to be transparent with our family that most of our funds have been tied up in prep for 2026, so we’d much prefer it if folks would roll over to 2027, but we’ll work with you.

We know this is going to have a financial impact on some of our attendees, and we’re really sorry. This is very frustrating for us, too. (Some of our directors and staffers are dealing with flights that aren’t refundable, too.) We’re really unhappy that we’ve had to make this decision, none of us wanted this.

We hope to see you back in 2027 for our big furry family reunion.

With exhaustion of everything,
Alex, Blue, Bunny, Goliath, and Tyger

Mephit Fur Meet Lost Venue

Ahmar Wolf1 Comment

August 15th, 2026

We are pleased to announce that we’ve been able to come up with a plan to still be able to hold an event this year!

More details will be announced as we have them. We wanted to be transparent with our MFM family that MFM2026 will not be a traditional MFM as we all know it, but we’ll still be able to meet. We know you might have travel plans that need to be dealt with, and we wanted to let you know there will be a Mephit Fur Meet to come home to.

We’re still working on details with our venue. We will have room booking information available next week.

Thanks for hanging in there with us,
Alex, Blue, Bunny, Goliath, and Tyger

August 14th, 2026

We have confirmation from the hotel that they have begun issuing refunds back to the original form of payment used to secure your room.

If you haven’t heard from them in a few days, contact the hotel directly.

August 13th, 2026

Dear MFM Family,

Today we received the following letter from our hotel:

We are writing to inform you that Memphis Vitality Hotel will cease hotel operations effective August 16, 2026. As a result, the hotel will be unable to accommodate your upcoming group, event and/or room block.

The hotel is ceasing operations due to circumstances outside Bright’s control relating to the funding of the property. Bright, as management company, has worked extensively over an extended period to maintain operations at the hotel.

This means that, at the moment, we no longer have a venue for Mephit Fur Meet 2026.

The letter goes on to say:

Deposits and advance payments associated with your booking are being addressed as part of the property’s transition. We are seeking direction from the property owner regarding the processing of refunds and will contact you as soon as we have specifics.

Mephit Fur Meet does not know the status of your hotel reservation deposit. We suggest you wait a few days before reaching out to the hotel to see if they contact you first.

Our team of Directors are working tirelessly to find a new venue for MFM 2026. We have interest from several properties in the area, but at the moment have no information we can share.

Please stay tuned while we work on figuring out the status of MFM 2026. We’ll post updates here on our website as we have them, and on our MFM Announcements Telegram group: https://t.me/mephitfurmeet

Your MFM Director Team,
Alex, Blue, Bunny, Goliath, and Tyger

IFC Contest Isn’t Happening

Ahmar Wolf1 Comment

Here, i was getting excited for the suite I won. When I want to say get the rug pulled out on me. But that really isn’t true.

You could really blame the hotels, and I am including the Embassy. It seems the hotel charges you for the room as soon as you make the reservation.

Really, I am not joking. That is what happened to me. But once you do, no changes can be made. You can’t even swap rooms.

The only exception is the Hotel Block. They get charged at the stay.

In other words, even if you won like I did. If the room is locked down. No changes can be made.

But if you got your room through the Hotel Block and won. Then you can swap rooms.

Sure, I am disappointed, but i understand the facts. Now you do.

Like I said, the room is locked. It’s already paid for. Like my bus fare, NO REFUNDS.

Sure, i am going.

To be honest, it may be some time before I make my 3rd trip to IFC.

Nearby cheaper hotel will be my top priority.

Furry Migration Cancels Fursuit Parade

Ahmar Wolf1 Comment

After a great deal of discussion and planning, we’ve made the difficult decision not to schedule a Fursuit Parade for Furry Migration 2026.

We know the parade has become a favorite tradition for many attendees, so this wasn’t a decision we made lightly.

Our home at the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis has been an incredible venue for Furry Migration, but its layout presents some unique challenges when it comes to designing a parade route. These challenges get tougher as we grow. We explored a number of possibilities for a route, but each option either became overly complicated to operate, significantly impacted other convention activities, required extensive planning with the city, or began approaching occupancy and fire safety concerns that we aren’t comfortable compromising on.

The safety of our attendees, volunteers, and hotel staff will always come first, even when it means making a disappointing decision.

The good news is that this isn’t the end of the fun for the weekend. Rather than forcing a parade that we don’t feel can be executed to the standard we expect, we’re putting our energy into planning an alternative event that we hope will give everyone another memorable opportunity to show off their suits and celebrate our community.

We’re still working through the details, and we’ll share more information as soon as everything is finalized, if the alternative arrangements work out.

We appreciate everyone’s understanding and support as we continue working to prepare for Furry Migration 2026. We can’t wait to see you all for “Be Kind; Rewind” this September.

-Rico
FM2026 Conchair

original Post can be found here https://www.furrymigration.org/2026/07/update-regarding-fm2026-fursuit-parade/

EDitor’s Note

It’s hard sometimes to figure what drives a con to do something like this. But even comments by no less than Alkali more or less it could be an insurance issue.

It will be interesting to see if the Furwalks continue

Fur Cons By Train

Ahmar Wolf1 Comment

A while back I was asked a direct question. Could I take the train to Indy Fur Con? The answer is yes… but the schedule makes it too crazy. So I decided to make a list of cons you can easily travel by train. So no crazy schedules, but fair warning local transit is still required for some.

Lastly USA trips only

Alamo City Furry Invasion https://furryinvasion.org/ San Antonio, TX
Anthrocon https://www.anthrocon.org/ Pittsburgh, PA
Anthro New England https://www.anthronewengland.com/ Boston, MA
Anthro Northwest https://anthronw.com/ Seattle, WA
Anthro Weekend Utah https://anthroweekendutah.org/ Layton Utah
Aquatifur https://aquatifur.com/ Wisconsin Dells, WI
Biggest Little Fur Con https://goblfc.org/ Reno, NV
Furcationland https://furcationland.org/ Portland, ME
Furlandia https://furlandia.org Portland, Oregon
Furlingame https://furlingame.com/ San Francisco, CA
Furpocalypse https://furpocalypse.org/ Stamford, CT USA
Furrydelphia http://www.furrydelphia.org/ Philadelphia, PA
Furrest City Mini Con https://furrestcity.org/ Cleveland Ohio
Furry Migration http://www.furrymigration.org/ Minneapolis, MN
Texas Furry Fiesta https://www.furryfiesta.org/ Dallas, TX
Furry Siesta https://www.furrysiesta.org/ Dallas, Texas
Furry Weekend Atlanta https://furryweekend.com/ Atlanta, GA
Fur Squared https://fursquared.com/ Milwaukee, WI
FursonaCon https://fursonacon.com/ Virginia Beach, VA
Further Confusion https://furtherconfusion.org/ San Jose, CA
Galactic Camp https://www.galacticcamp.com/ Alameda, California
Gateway Furmeet https://www.gatewayfurmeet.org/ St. Louis, MO
Golden State Fur Con https://gsfurcon.org/ Los Angeles
Lone Star Fur Con https://lonestarfurcon.com/ Austin, TX
LousiAnthro https://www.louisianthro.com/ Baton Rouge, LA
Megaplex https://megaplexcon.org/ Orlando, FL
Mephit Fur Meet http://www.mephitfurmeet.org/ Memphis, TN
Midwest FurFest https://www.furfest.org/ Rosemont, IL
Motor City Fur Con https://motorcityfurrycon.org/ Detroit, MI
New Anthrodam https://newanthrodam.com/ New York City, NY
Palmetto Fur the Season https://www.palmettofurtheseason.org/ Greenville, SC
PAWCon https://pacanthro.org/ San Jose, CA
Spooktacufur https://spooktacufur.com/ Salt Lake City, UT
StratosFur https://stratosfur.org/ Houston, TX
The Bigger One https://the-bigger-one-ps-furmeets.carrd.co/ Somerset, NJ
Western PA Furry Weekend http://wpafw.org/ Allison Park, PA

Fetch NW Ticket Glitch

Ahmar Wolf1 Comment

As posted on their Telegram

Hi everyone. I have some updates for you on the ticket sales for for In Heat 2026, including an explanation of what went down, and what the next steps are.

——————————-

What Happened
Tickets were supposed to go on sale at 7pm last night, but when that time rolled around the ticket still had not released. We contacted the venue and the ticket vendor, and eventually found out that there was an error on the ticket vendor’s side of things.

They told us at this point that they would not open ticket sales for us until a later date, to make it fair for everyone. We communicated this to our community in our Telegram channel – and soon after we did, to our surprise, the ticket vendor released tickets. Some people noticed this and bought tickets. It was only open for a couple of minutes, and we nearly sold out during that time before they turned off sales again. This led to a lot of confusion from the community and we’ve taken some time to figure out how to handle this mix up.

It’s important to note that Fetch does not have any control over this ticket vendor, and we are contractually obligated to use them. The vendor made the error here. The owner of The Hiyu was also VERY helpful last night and did his best to make this situation right for us which we greatly appreciate.

Next Steps
1) Anyone who managed to buy a ticket last night will have their orders canceled and full refunds issued to them. This will include any fees or taxes.
2) We will release tickets again on Mon, Jun 1st @ 7pm. That’s two weeks from now. This will hopefully give everyone enough time to plan and give any refunds enough time to process.
3) We will all be over here praying to dog that everything goes smoothly with the vendor next time and once again setting very clear explanations for them.

We’re terribly sorry for all the inconvenience this has caused. I’m very grateful for the patience, sense of humor, and support that all of you gave us last night.

So, let’s give this another go!

In Heat 2026
July 11th, 2026

Tickets on sale Monday, June 1st @ 7pm (http://fetchnw.com/tickets) 🦊

Get your tickets at FetchNW.com/tickets (http://fetchnw.com/tickets).

General Admission
$80 + $14.80 fees

Golden Paw
$150 + $27.75 fees

More info and FAQ at FetchNW.com/events (https://fetchnw.com/events/).

Thank you again!

Anthro New England 2027 Venue Updates

Ahmar Wolf1 Comment

Frequently Asked Questions – Venue Announcement
How will attendees get between the Westin and the Omni?
The hotels are located directly across Summer Street from one another, and connected by two convenient crosswalks. To make your journey safe and easy, we will be providing crosswalk assistance to help manage traffic and safely guide attendees between the two convention spaces. For those with accessibility concerns, the street crossing is level, and both hotels are fully accessible.

Where is the Vendor Hall going?
It will be relocating across the street to the Omni! Relocating the Vendor Hall to the Omni will allow a slightly larger space, with a much larger, dedicated space for queues and crowd management. The Art Show will be relocated into a space nearby to allow better spacing of both vendors and artists.

What else is going to be at the Omni?
In addition to the Vendor Hall, the Omni will feature headless lounge spaces, high capacity panel rooms, and its own Zoo! We also have a significant amount of additional event space available to us at the Omni, and we look forward to announcing the final floorplans as we get closer to the convention next January.

What is changing at the Westin?
With the Vendor Hall moving out the Westin, this will allow Registration to move downstairs into the Galleria Ballroom. This allows us to use the full space of the Galleria as queue capacity and allow additional registration kiosks, which will help keep lines from overflowing into the Westin’s lobby and entrance area. The Marina Ballroom, formerly used for Registration, will be made available for other use, stay tuned for a final floorplan closed to the event dates. We are also thrilled to announce the return of the Zoo at the Westin’s Commonwealth Ballroom!

Is that all that’s changing?
Our 2027 event layout is still being finalized, but what we’ve stated above is what we can announce at this time. Please keep an eye on our socials for future announcements or changes, as well as the event map (typically released in December).

How will hotel booking work? Will the other overflow hotels return?
For 2027, we will initially open the room blocks for the two main hotels, the Westin and Omni on the same weekend. Once these main blocks sell out, we will proceed to open the Aloft and Element hotels. From there, we will continue to open our other partner hotels as needed.

Will Vendors book early? What hotel will they be offered?
As with previous years, vendors are provided early booking access for our convention! Vendors will be offered to book rooms at the Omni Boston at the Seaport hotel as it is the location of the Vendor Hall for ANE 2027, but if a vendor requests the Westin, we would be happy to accommodate!

Why not the MCEC? Is ANE ever moving to the Convention Center?
We are continuously working with the convention center to expand into the Thomas M. Menino Convention & Exhibition Center (MCEC)’s space as future schedules permit. Currently, existing event contracts during our future dates prevent us from securing the space through the end of 2027.

Las Vegas Fur Con 2026 Reg Open

Ahmar Wolf1 Comment

Registration Tiers

For 2026, LVFC has four registration tiers: Attendee, Sponsor, Super Sponsor, and Lifetime Attendee.

Attendee ($99*)

*$60 on Saturday and $25 on Sunday of the event. You must purchase them after the clock hits 12 AM for those dates.

Attendees receive:

  • Access to the convention all weekend.
  • A convention badge.
  • A convention wristband to more easily enter 21+ areas.
  • Other swag TBD

Sponsor ($199)

Sponsors are people eager to support the convention, and receive Attendee perks plus the following additional benefits:

  • A convention T-Shirt
  • A Sponsor ribbon
  • Earlier access to registration.
  • Priority for Dealer Den tickets; you will have a limited window for exclusive access after Super Sponsors
  • Access for one to our Sponsor Meal; please grab a Sponsor Meal ticket via ConCat when they become available.

Super Sponsor ($299)

Super Sponsors REALLY want to support the con, and receive all previous benefits plus the following:

  • Priority for Dealers Den tickets. Supers will receive an exclusive window to grab tickets closer to the convention.
  • A Super Sponsor ribbon.
  • Earlier access to registration at-con.
  • Super Sponsors have their own block of rooms initially; this block has a higher proportion of high-demand rooms (Crown Lofts, Party Block, 2 beds, ground floor); most Super Sponsor rooms are at Alexis Park with the rest at Serene Boutique next door. Super Sponsors are limited in number initially to ensure non-Supers also have a chance at a room. Once registration has opened to general attendees (July 30th at 12 PM Pacific), Super Sponsor no longer confers this benefit.
  • Guaranteed ability to buy a Super Sponsor ticket the following convention year, provided it is purchased within an exclusive time window. Once this time window elapses, tickets may be purchased by the general public too. We always reserve some Super Sponsor tickets for general purchase either way.

Lifetime Attendee ($1200)

Lifetime Attendee is a premium tier for those planning to regularly return to our event.

  • Comped Super Sponsor attendance for your first year, then Attendee for every year LVFC exists. Comped Attendee has the at-con value and can be used as a discount on upgrades to Sponsor+ each year.
  • Lifetime Attendee does not grant Super Sponsor privileges after its first year; you must pay the difference to upgrade.
  • Lifetime Attendee does not guarantee any particular hotel room; you will have a registration created at the start of each con cycle, allowing you to book in-block hotel rooms before they open for general sale. It does not guarantee the Alexis Park.
  • LVFC reserves the right to buy back Lifetime registrations after the first year for the face value at time of purchase.
  • Lifetime registrations are paid in installments of $600, $300, and $300.

For more Info https://lasvegasfurcon.org/

TSA introduces new $45 fee option for travelers without REAL ID starting February 1

Ahmar Wolf1 Comment

Original post https://www.tsa.gov/news/press/releases/2025/12/01/tsa-introduces-new-45-fee-option-for-travelers-without-real-id

WASHINGTON – The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced today that it will refer all passengers who do not present an acceptable form of ID and still want to fly an option to pay a $45 fee to use a modernized alternative identity verification system, TSA ConfirmID, to establish identity at security checkpoints beginning on February 1, 2026.

Travelers will be able to pay $45 to use TSA ConfirmID for a 10-day travel period. TSA urges travelers who do not have a REAL ID to schedule an appointment at their local DMV to update their ID as soon as possible.

Acceptable forms of ID include:

  • REAL ID-compliant driver’s licenses or other state photo identity cards issued by Department of Motor Vehicles (or equivalent)
    • If you are not sure if your ID complies with REAL ID, check with your state Department of Motor Vehicles.
    • A temporary driver’s license is not an acceptable form of identification.
  • State-issued Enhanced Driver’s License (EDL) or Enhanced ID (EID)
  • U.S. passport
  • U.S. passport card
  • DHS trusted traveler cards (Global Entry, NEXUS, SENTRI, FAST)
  • U.S. Department of Defense ID, including IDs issued to dependents
  • Permanent resident card
  • Border crossing card
  • An acceptable photo ID issued by a federally recognized Tribal Nation/Indian Tribe, including Enhanced Tribal Cards (ETCs)
  • HSPD-12 PIV card
  • Foreign government-issued passport
  • Canadian provincial driver’s license or Indian and Northern Affairs Canada card
  • Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC)
  • U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Employment Authorization Card (I-766)
  • U.S. Merchant Mariner Credential
  • Veteran Health Identification Card (VHIC)

All travelers without an acceptable ID, including those who present a non-REAL ID-compliant state driver’s license or ID, will be referred to the optional TSA ConfirmID process for identity verification upon TSA check-in and prior to entering the security line. This process will differ airport to airport, and TSA is working with private industry to proactively offer online payment options prior to arrival at the airport.

There it is I copied and pasted it

Anthro Northwest 2026 Reg Open

Ahmar Wolf1 Comment

Adult Membership

The standard adult membership includes admittance to all four days of the convention. Minors age 16-17 please view the minor information page.

$99Age 16+

Sponsor Membership

Sponsors receive everything in the adult membership package, early access to the vendors’ room and convention store, sponsor gifts, discounts at the convention store, and admittance to a sponsors-only catered event.

$200

Super Sponsor Membership

Super Sponsors receive everything in both the adult and sponsor membership packages, plus access to a special badge pickup location, a commemorative medallion, and front of the line priority access at select events.

$325

Ultra Sponsor Membership

The Ultra Sponsor Membership includes everything in the adult, sponsor, and super sponsor memberships, as well as a luxury suite and a complimentary ultrasponsor badge for the guest of your choice.
Membership Details

Thank you for your interest in being an Ultrasponsor. This form of support helps keep the convention accessible for a wide range of guests.

As an Ultrasponsor, you will receive:

  • Ultrasponsor collectible badge with front-of-the-line privileges for you and your Guest
  • Furry Family Winter Meal tickets for you and your Guest
  • VIP catered reception vouchers for you and your Guest
  • Daytime and Evening Hospitality Suite access for you and your Guest
  • 50% off one of a selection of items at the Convention Store
  • A special gift
  • A prepaid luxury suite

Suite Accommodations

Depending on your level of sponsorship, you will receive either a prepaid Regency, Executive, or Summit Suite. Information regarding these suites can be found on the hotel’s website. Links are provided below for your convenience.

Suites are available for check-in starting at 4:00 PM on Wednesday, December 31, 2025. Check-out is at 11:00 AM on Monday, January 5, 2025. You may request additional days by contacting Anthro Northwest.

You will be responsible for any charges other than the base room rate and any applicable taxes and fees. These charges might include room service, gratuities, deposits, or any charges for damage.

All suites are on quiet floors and are not suitable for party rooms. Well-organized and respectful social gatherings are welcome.

For More Info https://www.anthronw.com/anw8/index.html