Anthrocon attendees ready for hot Pittsburgh weekend in fursuits

In February 2016, there was a brazen theft from a car in San Francisco.

The owner put a plea for help out on social media to find the missing item — a furry costume of a purple giraffe.

“The post went viral, and a homeless person found the purple giraffe,” said Zarafa, the costume’s owner on Thursday at the Anthrocon Convention in Downtown Pittsburgh. “We gave her a reward. The purple giraffe is more than a piece of material to me — it’s like a violinist having his Stradivarius stolen.”

That costume is also known as a fursuit.

It is one of the outfits many will see worn this weekend as the annual convention is being held at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Downtown.

The event celebrates anthropomorphics, which are human-like animal characters. It brings together people who are artists, animators, writers, costumers, puppeteers and fans who enjoy cartoon animals.

Zarafa — the people who attend the event have character names — who spent $3,000 on having the purple giraffe custom made, is happy to have it back. When it was found in an alley, it was missing a hand and foot paw.

Zarafa was wearing it Thursday as he and fellow fursuiters returned to the convention center after a boat ride on the Gateway Clipper in Pittsburgh. The quick cruise is one of many activities they will take part in this weekend. The event has returned after not being held for two years because of the pandemic.

The fursuits are an investment. There are basically two types — cartoon and realistic. A third choice is a cross between both cartoon and realistic.

The Furries are back… the Anthrocon Convention is in Pittsburgh this weekend pic.twitter.com/oFsoKJUesd

— JoAnne Harrop (@joannescoop) June 30, 2022

Some attendees wear a partial fursuit, which is a head, hands, feet and tail. Prices range from $600 to $10,000 and more. The average is $3,000-$5,000.

Each one is custom-made to fit both the body and the personality of the wearer. To Zarafa, the fursuit is irreplaceable.

He and the other members of the furry fandom collaborate with designers to determine everything from the animal they want to represent to the details down to the eyes, nose and mouth.

The fursuits can be hot and uncomfortable in weather like the region will experience this Fourth of July weekend.

Technology has advanced to where similar cooling systems used by the military in extreme heat are utilized by the furries.

Some wear special vests. They have pockets where the wearer places cooling packs to help regulate body temperature, and others have fans in the headpiece.

Zarafa — the name means giraffe in Arabic — has a fan in his muzzle and also wears a cooling vest.

With temperatures forecasted to be 91 degrees Friday, 88 on Saturday and 90 on Sunday according to accuweather.com, having a way to stay cool for those wearing a fursuit — some can weigh 50 pounds — will be essential.

“Fursuits used to be like wearing your grandmother’s sofa, but the technology has allowed them to have cooling gear,” said Sam Conway, of North Carolina who is chairman and CEO of Anthrocon. “A number of our restaurant friends look out for us to make sure we are OK. They ask if we need water or invite us into the air conditioning.”

There is a room at the convention center where the furries can remove their fursuit heads to cool down.

“A fursuit is not a costume,” Conway said. “It’s wearable art. It’s how that person brings that character to life through an image. It’s about that vision.”

The client puts on pajamas and places duct tape over their body to create a form for the designer to begin making the fursuit. There are also sample suits that can be used as a base and then tailored to an individual’s liking.

The client decides on an animal and then adds the details from the color of the hair to the hue of the fur. The fursuit is as unique as the person wearing it, according to Rebecca Sharpe, fursuit maker who owns Sharpe Costumes in North Carolina. She is self-taught and said fur is more forgiving than working with textiles.

“By making these costumes, I am helping them to express themselves,” said Sharpe. She made her own fursuit, a Griffin, which is a mythological creature with a lion’s body and a bird’s head.

“I help them come out of their shell, and they can explore the inner layers of themselves when they wear a fursuit. I have had customers tell me their fursuit has been a life-changing experience. It gives them freedom.”

Conway said a lot of times, he can look at a fursuit and recognize the designer who made it.

The fursuits can take weeks to make, designers said.

Not everyone wears a fursuit. Some people are handlers and walk with a furry to make sure it doesn’t trip on a curb, because the fursuits can obstruct vision.

Anthrocon is the second-largest furry convention in the world, according to Conway, who wears a lab coat because he said he is a “scientist.”

In 2019, there were 9,358 attendees. They expect more than 10,000 this year.

“Pittsburgh loves to see all the characters,” Conway said. “This city is bursting with an artistic scene. People stop us on the street and ask to take photos with us.”

“This is one of my favorites because the city is so welcoming,” Zarafa, who has been coming to Pittsburgh for years, said. “They cheer for us.”

People attend from all over the world. The convention has been taking place here since 2006.

New this year is the Anthrocon Block Party, from noon to 9 p.m. Saturday on Penn Avenue between Ninth and 11th streets. The fursuit parade will be at 2 p.m. Saturday and will finish at the block party.

“It’s magical,” Zarafa said. “When my fursuit was stolen, I was crushed.”

Sharpe said the fursuits become part of the wearer. They allow that person to be themselves.

“We create memories with these fursuits,” said Sharpe, who was tearing up as she looked at Zarafa. “These suits have sentimental value.”