The furry fandom is a subculture interested in fictional anthropomorphic animal characters with human personalities and characteristics portrayed in different media including books, comic books, films, television shows, animation, video games, etc. Although anthropomorphic animals can be found in fairy tales that are hundreds of years old, the furry fandom in its modern form originated in the United States in the early 1980s. The first standalone furry convention took place almost ten years later, in 1989.
Among the first furry events in the Toronto area were Camp Feral and the Islington Furmeet. However, none of them were a proper convention. Officially founded in 2010, Furnal Equinox became Toronto’s first hotel-based furry convention. The name of the convention was conceived by one of the founding members. It plays upon the convention’s date in March, close to the vernal equinox, as well as contains the word “fur” as a reference to the furry fandom.
The first edition of Furnal Equinox was held from March 6–7, 2010. It was attended by around 300 furries, including an estimated 40 fursuiters. The convention set an attendance record among Canadian furry events, previously held by Ottawa’s C-ACE 2005 with 224 attendees. Despite some disagreement among the organizers that took place in the early days of the convention, Furnal Equinox has become one the finest furry events in Canada and arguably entire North America.
The program of Furnal Equinox is similar to that of other furry conventions. It includes panel discussions, workshops and masterclasses, dances, activities for fursuiters (a parade and an assortment of fun games and competitions), a dance competition, a masquerade, Dealers Den, Art Show, Artist’s Alley, and more.
Like many other furry conventions, Furnal Equinox holds a charity auction. The convention supported the Mississauga Humane Society from 2010 to 2015. The 2016 convention charity was the Story Book Farm Primate Sanctuary, in 2017 Furnal Equinox supported After the Track Greyhound Adoption.
Each convention has a theme selected by the organizing committee. Past themes include Furry Fun & Games, Wild Magic, Infurnally Yours, Furries in Uniform, Circus!, Furry Arcade, Superheroes, and Rock the Fandom.
In 2021, the event was held online due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Photo: furnalequinox.com
