So a few weeks ago, this year’s installment of the Alamo City Furry Invasion (ACFI) took place. The convention hotel was the Marriott San Antonio Airport location (between Jones Maltsberger Road and McCullough Drive off of I-410).
I went to a couple of panels over the weekend. However, I spent at least a plurality of my time in the game room and at the nightly raves. I did get a decent video of the fursuit parade. (The photos from the fursuit parade are actually frame grabs from various points in the parade. I picked the fursuits I found particularly beautiful or otherwise interesting. The photos do not represent the entire parade.)
There was also a car show as part of the festivities, which I got a few photos of as well.
There are some good food options in this part of San Antonio. However many will require a significant walk (see maps in photos). I wound up driving for at least two of my meals. Surprisingly, I managed to make it through the whole weekend without dining at the hotel’s restaurant.
Overall I had a great time meeting up with people and making a few new connections. The gaming area was a nice touch, I spent a lot of time playing the NES version of Legend of Zelda as well as a setup of Rock Band (I forgot which console) in addition to the computer set up with classic game emulators and a Nintendo 64.
The only real issue was that the hotel seemed pretty small given the number of attendees. Thankfully, this will no longer be an issue next year as the convention moves (temporarily) to San Marcos and a newly-renovated Embassy Suites and Convention Center. The Embassy in San Marcos has about the same amount of space as the Marriott Westchase in Houston where StratosFur takes place as of this writing.
As ACFI staff mention on the website, it was obvious there would be growing pains at the Marriott after the first year at that hotel, though there was some uncertainty about the attendance level given the still-recent COVID-19 pandemic. Needless to say the furry convention scene has recovered nicely post-pandemic. I support the move to San Marcos but look forward to ACFI’s eventual return to San Antonio.
