Last year, Furry Migration became a virtual convention due to the COVID-19 pandemic; I didn’t know exactly how a virtual con worked, so I didn’t participate in that one. When the con became in-person again, it felt like such a relief to want to go again, so I did. There were a couple of new restrictions set in place due to the pandemic, such as proof of vaccination and being able to wear a face covering throughout the con space, and I was able to abide to them. I also decided to basically wing it for things to do, such as going partial instead of full suit just to make things easier for myself (instead of borrowing someone’s hotel room to store my belongings in like I have before). I was disappointed that Studio Photography wasn’t happening this year, but it’s alright.

The first thing I did was get registered and try to kill some time by wandering around the con aimlessly and browse through the Artist’s Alley and the Dealer’s Den to see what were on sale and what was up for auction respectively. At around 12 PM, that was when the fursuit parade gathering started. I decided to march in the parade alongside Turnip the doe and had a nice time waving at the people who were watching and recording the whole thing. Afterward, I got lunch at the hotel’s cafe, bought a few art prints and a deer badge from the Artist’s Alley, have a long chat with Erin Kitsune about conventions and proper story writing. Then I attended a panel called Zoology 101, which basically provided fun facts about various species within one hour, such as earthworms, reptiles, sea cucumbers, man o’ wars, and mammals.

Since I had relatives coming over later in the day, I couldn’t stay at FM the whole day and do everything I wanted to do, so I said my goodbyes to a couple of attendees and set off for home.

It felt great to attend an in-person convention again after a 2-year hiatus. This year’s FM generally felt low-key and not chaotic, which was nice. Even with the new restrictions, not much had really changed, but it was still fun to try and make the most out of going to a local convention in person again. I look forward to what’s in store for next year. :)