Finally I get to post a bit about StratosFur. This convention took place over the turn of the month from May to June (May 31-June 2). Our host venue was the Houston Westchase Marriott. StratosFur was a little different as this time around, I was staff (AV Tech). For that reason, I was in attendance for the whole weekend and even the day before the convention actually started. I did have some very specific and very personal motivations to staff at this convention.
At first blush, AV Tech sounds like a pretty glamorous position within the staff of a furry convention. I’m not going to say it’s without its perks. The workload for me wound up being fairly light for most of the weekend. The bulk of the work occurred during setup and takedown. Setup of the screen (second picture) is perhaps the most notable part of the entire day’s worth of work on Thursday. While far from the most physically strenuous part of setup, it was definitely tedious and a bit tricky at first. I had honestly hoped for a bit more to do in my assigned role. As it was I did help a few of the attendees find things they were looking for, so it all worked out.
Captions indicate what most of the rest of the pictures are. Of particular note, the gallery concludes with pictures of my purchases from the dealer’s den. The tail came from Plaid Paws by Maus and is the starting point for the remainder of my fursona’s appearance. (I will dive into further detail on in a later post as I get a character reference drawn.) The badges were from Papaya Badger and are three out of many they have available. Other badges Papaya sells include a neurodivergent badge, pronoun badges (more permanent and visible than the ribbons given out at most cons), badges for photography consent/non-consent, and a “running late” badge. Judging by what I saw during the convention (and for that matter, what I have seen outside of it at local furmeets), Papaya’s products are some of the more popular of their type.
A quick note about the “handler” badge: this is for when I am a fursuiter handler during park walks/park meets, and may eventually see little use and/or be kept solely for my designated handler to borrow once I have my own fursuit(s).
