We wanted to update you on the status of our room block as some of you have reported recently that certain room types may already be sold out. We spoke with our hotel liaison today and we have added all types of rooms to the block including more Double Queen and Single Kings Suites. Please remember that in order to book a room at the Ramada, you should be calling them directly as shown on our Venue page. If you try to book using a 3rd party site or by using their online reservation system, it may show that there are no rooms available at all during the dates of the con or that the rates are different than the ones we have worked out with the hotel. We are thrilled to unveil new artwork by Davecko, our wonderful GOH, of the second of our four Dogwarts House Founders. Please meet Beatrice Birbenbeak! We’re pleased to announce that more of our Staff positions have been filled! REGISTRATION LEAD will again be JEN who spent countless hours in the registration office last year. SECURITY LEAD will be DAEDELUS SILVER who volunteered with us last year as one of our security team members and takes over this position. CHARITY LIAISON will be KEN who volunteered with Underdogs (our charity partner) last year. PUBLICATIONS LEAD will be JAKEY who is also our Signage Lead as previously announced. Our LEAD PHOTOGRAPHER & VIDEOGRAPHER will be HOBO TAKODA who has been a long-time volunteer/staff member for Fur-Eh! We also wanted to announce that TIGGS will be our Construction Lead. This will be a new and important role this year, particularly in our Dealers Den! Congratulations to the above individuals who have volunteered to take on some very important roles for Fur-Eh! You still have a chance to join our staff! We are still looking for individuals for the following positions: Entertainment Track Lead, Art Track Lead and, finally, Video Gaming Lead. These positions are described here: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AoYpff4K116gnSPQ-zawzSORLDcC Postings for non-staff volunteer positions will be published sometime after this month. Watch for the announcements soon!We would like to announce that Lucifur Fox has stepped down from his position on the Fur-Eh! Organizing Committee effective immediately. Luci will retain his role as Vendor Lead, however. We thank Luci for all of his hard work on the Organizing Committee this past year and are delighted that he will still be working with us in some capacity. We would also like to welcome Fallout Coyote as our new Talent Show & Masquerade Manager. Fallout will be in charge of running this key part of our 2017 programming. We are thrilled that he has taken on this role and we look forward to a fantastic show at Fur-Eh! 2017!  We are pleased to announce our newest Staff that will be joining us for Fur-Eh! 2017. Breezy – Retail Lead Volunteering for us in the Con Store last year, we knew right away that Breezy would be a great choice to run the Con Store officially in 2017. We are happy to welcome Breezy to the team!   Jakey – Signage Lead New to Fur-Eh!, Jakey will be responsible for making sure that Guests know where things are with signage! As well, he’ll be providing custom banners and other materials for the con. WoleverWuff  – Fursuit Track Lead An avid fursuiter, WoleverWuff has helped out with Fur-Eh’s Fursuit Games and hosting fursuit-related panesl for the past couple of years. This year, he joins us as the Fursuit Track Lead! Silver Hoof – AV Head Silver Hoof brings a wealth of experience with lighting, sound and general Audio/Visual to Fur-Eh! Having helped out tremendously last year, we’re thrilled to have him on the Fur-Eh! staff officially this year. Aaron Blackpaw – Writing Track Lead The writing track is in good hands (paws?) with Aaron Blackpaw. A writer himself, he will endeavour to expand and refine Fur-Eh’s already strong Writing Track. Konar – Volunteer Lead Volunteers will have a great coordinator and leader, ensuring that they know what they are doing and when they are doing it! Our Volunteers are one of the most important aspects of Fur-Eh!, so we’re thrilled to have Konar take on this role. mBlade – Parade Manager The Fur-Eh! Parade took a huge step last year becoming an outdoor event and expanding its focus and, in 2017, mBlade will hope to take the Fur-Eh! Parade to the next level! Look for exciting news about the parade in the months to come!   Thank you to all that applied for these positions! We have more Staff postings available at https://goo.gl/forms/bkvqP7vI70Ime26c2, so please apply if you’re interested in joining our team!We’re pleased to release our first of four short “origin” stories written by author Joshiah Warbaum which tell of how each of the four Dogwarts Houses were formed. Today’s release is the heroic story of Cadeyrn Cinderclaw.

The Quest of Cadeyrn Cinderclaw by Joshiah Warbaum

It was through many a sleepless night and many miles traveled that Cadeyrn Cinderclaw finally came to find the humble, quiet village of Westfall, and in the wee hours of the morning, tired footpaws were finally given a much needed rest. A tiny gathering of homes and shops, centered around an ornate, sculpted fountain, Westfall was not protected by an army, a magical enchantment, or even a simple wall of brick around the perimeter. The harsh trails leading up to the village could scarcely be called such, and there were those who claimed that there were more bodies around Westfall than there were trees. The trees were actually quite plentiful, and though no bodies could easily be found, the warning was clear, so much that wizards across the whole of Canada knew the saying: “Those who are lost will find death before they find Westfall.” Cadeyrn Cinderclaw was determined to change all of that. His was a hearty and brave soul, so much that he alienated his fellow wizards from time to time. He was called arrogant and brash, and he knew that if he made the pilgrimage to Westfall, he would have to make it alone. So great was his joy when he arrived at the village that he fell down to his knees and scooped pawfuls of snow up into his palms and threw it up into the air, allowing the flakes to fall back down into the nooks of his fur. His pants were in tatters, and his cloak scarcely reached the small of his back, but somehow, he’d survived the lengthy climb to the place where the greatest of all magic was said to exist. His jubilation was cut short, however, by the complete and utter lack of magic in the village. Cold as the trails leading up to Westfall were, there was a bitterness on the breeze unlike anything Cadeyrn had ever known. The thick and plentiful fur upon his body did nothing to disguise the blades of frost that cut into his skin, and the rumor of hearty, brave villagers was struck down by his own eyes; not a single soul dared to wander outside of their cottages. Were he not so brash, Cadeyrn would surely have passed away on his knees, left to be a statue of frozen flesh and snow, but his quest could not end there. Clinging to the excitement of his triumph, he burst through the door of the first cottage to his right and collapsed into the home of a timid couple who had never known life outside of the village. The faintest aura of red surrounded Cadeyrn, and the unusual warmth creeping off of his body filled them with a determination unlike anything they’d ever known. It was just enough to help them past their fear of the stranger. Though Caderyn could scarcely move any longer, the cowardly cats found his presence to be inspiring, and they lifted his body into a small guest bed, where they covered him in blankets and tended to his wounds. “Why do you people live this way?” he asked, as the hours went by, and his body rapidly recovered. “Why would you allow your village to fall into such a terrible state?” The blowing snow and freezing rain kept Westfall in a constant state of white drifts and bitter, deadly cold. Many of the houses were difficult to see at all, and though the village was hardly wider than a one hundred men standing shoulder to shoulder, the terrible weather made it nigh impossible to see from one end to the other. “Our ancestors told us that Westfall was once a calm and peaceful paradise, but when the magic in our land was stolen to create a powerful artifact, nature itself turned on our people and tried to destroy us. No one dared to oppose the wizard who created the object, and we lot were too weak and cowardly to leave before terrible winds and bitter cold engulfed our whole village. Now, it is certain death to try and leave this place! We rarely even get the chance to leave the house!” A man of great, muscular stature, Caderyn Cinderclaw looked like a giant against the smaller, lighter frames of the snow leopards. They were clearly starving, but what little food they had in their cottage, they were willing to share with the canine, despite it meaning that they would soon starve. Caderyn knew that there was no way to change the weather itself, and there was too much work to be done to ever return the village to its former glory. He could think of only one option. The snow leopards were terrified at the idea of leaving, the same as Caderyn’s colleagues were terrified of going to Westfall in the first place. Brave, brash, and perhaps a little arrogant, Caderyn never thought he would fail to reach Westfall, but he also never believed it would be in such a dire state. Now, he truly believed his journey to be fate, more than a cocky parade. “The glory of Westfall will live on in legend,” Caderyn suggested, “But her people will perish if they don’t leave immediately.” “But we know nothing of the outside world! We barely know our own neighbors!” “And you will learn, strangers. Just as you have helped me in my hour of need, so will the world help you, if you so much as give it the chance to do so.” The morning sun had long passed over the village, and Caderyn waited for it to come around again the next day before he took to the village fountain. “Villagers of Westfall! This is your greatest hour! Rumors of your magic have existed for years, but if you stay any longer, it will disappear forever! Now is the time to go out into the world and prove yourselves!” At first, no one answered the call. He stood by the fountain, where water last ran decades ago, and he waited. Snow gathered on the bridge of his muzzle, and still, he waited. Ice began to build around the gaps in his paws, and still, he waited. It wasn’t until the sun, nearly blotted out by the thick wall of clouds above, shined directly on Caderyn Cinderclaw that the snow leopards who saved him finally emerged, and stood with him in the fountain. They, too, called out to their fellow villagers, and one by one, doors began to open, and weak, starving villagers looked fearfully upon the stranger that Caderyn was. In their moment of greatest struggle, however, he appeared not as the demon of the outside world that they feared, but as the angel of mercy who would lead them from their struggles. It was not wisdom, not grace or determination, but hot, burning passion that opened the way forth for the villagers of Westfall. They trusted in Caderyn, and when every cottage was boarded up, and every ration gathered, he lead what became known as the first “March of Westfall,” wherein brave souls journey to the forgotten village and camp there overnight, to pay their respects to the greatness it once held. After days of hiking, on the other side of the bitterly cold valleys that surrounded Westfall, many of the villagers saw the unabashed sun for the first time, and Caderyn Cinderclaw was red with the glory of its warmth. The snow leopards were saved by the same bravery that he was once admonished for, and among them, the most magically inclined followed Caderyn well beyond the reaches of their first victory march. They were his first students at Dogwarts, when the doors finally opened…   Joshiah Warbaum is a professional author hailing from the frozen wasteland that we now call the “Midwest.” His experience spans over a decade, and his skills with a wand pale in comparison to his skills behind a typewriter. When he’s not spinning tales of mystery and wonder, he can often be found concocting another batch of the mythical Elixir. (By concocting, we mean drinking.)Due to unprecedented demand for space in our Dealers Den, we are already technically sold out of Dealers Den table spaces. Notifications have gone out to all vendors who registered and paid for their table. (If you have not received an email, please check your junk mail folder as sometimes emails end up there.) An email will also be going out to all vendors who registered but did NOT complete payment of their table that, unless payment is received by a certain date, we will remove their table from their registration. Please note that we are not accepting any new vendor space requests at this time. However, we have created a wait list for those of you who wish to be a vendor, but who have not yet purchased a table. The link for the wait list form is: https://goo.gl/forms/9GNTbW90k4uD4vS83 If you have any questions regarding any of the above, please feel free to email us at general@fureh.ca Thank you for your interest in our Dealers Den.We’re pleased to announce that rooms at our venue are open for booking! Choose from single queen ($110/night), double queen ($120/night) or suites featuring a single king or a double queen ($149/night). A sofa bed is also available in the suites. (Prices shown do not include taxes.) Full details can be found on our venue page! Note: We are still working on a possible “hospitality suite” floor. If we are able to secure that with the hotel this year, we will give you the option of changing your room type once we make the announcement. For now, please book an available room type.  Help Fur-Eh! grow and become one of the best operated furry conventions in the world! This year, Fur-Eh! is looking for energetic and dedicated individuals to join the Fur-Eh! team in a wide range of Staff positions. Positions include lead & managerial positions in all areas of the con, including our various programming tracks as well as event-specific roles. Our Staff help to shape the future of Fur-Eh! and will help it evolve and grow, so get involved! We will be posting our available positions here: https://1drv.ms/f/s!AoYpff4K116gnSPQ-zawzSORLDcC Check back often as we will be posting new positions in the next few months! If you are interested in applying for any of the positions, please complete the online application form located here: https://goo.gl/forms/3nhHmJN7iRIaXxt13  We’re pleased to officially announce details on our annual Fur-Eh! Christmas Party.

NEW (as of November 3, 2016) YOU MUST SIGN UP IN ADVANCE TO ATTEND THE FUR-EH! CHRISTMAS PARTY! 

The sign up form is located at: https://goo.gl/forms/KR2y7VOB05k7w2xY2   DATE: Saturday December 17, 2016 TIME: Doors open at 5pm. Potluck dinner at 6pm. Dance will begin between 8-9 depending on prior activities. ACTIVITIES: DANCE, KARAOKE, GAMES, POTLUCK DINNER, PHOTOS WITH SANTA TIGGS LOCATION: NEW VENUE!!! Edgemont Community Association – 33 Edgevalley Circle NW, Calgary, AB Our new venue is larger, newer and has a separate room that we’ll be using as our headless lounge and another space that we’ll use as our hang-out/karaoke and games area. COST: Pre-purchase your admission in advance (see details below) for just $10. Or, buy your ticket at the door for $15 (CASH, DEBIT, MC & Visa accepted). TO BUY TIX IN ADVANCE: NEW! We’ve updated how you buy tickets in advance effective November 3! Now, complete this sign up form: https://goo.gl/forms/KR2y7VOB05k7w2xY2 and you will have the option to pay for your ticket in advance at the advance price of $10 via paypal or later, at the door, for $15. MINORS: You must be 16+ to attend (and obviously of legal drinking age to consume alcohol). If you are under 16, you may attend with an accompanying, paying adult. DOOR PRIZE/AUCTION DONATIONS: Fur-Eh’s Christmas Party is a lot of fun, but it’s also a fundraiser for Fur-Eh! We’ll have a variety of silent and/or live auction items up for bid to help raise funds to bring you the best Fur-Eh! 2017 we can! If you want to donate an item for us to raise funds with, please fill out this form: https://goo.gl/forms/AnuqtrMwlL9SmVRj2 with how you can help! POTLUCK DINNER: Fur-Eh’s Christmas Party is also a potluck dinner! Last year, we had a ton of food thanks to generous folks like you! If you can bring something, please fill in this form: https://goo.gl/forms/OZm8ZqHlPF8exQAz2 ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES: Due to AGLC regulations, you are NOT permitted to bring your own alcoholic beverages to this event. A cash bar will be operating with a wide variety of alcoholic beverages available for purchase. BE PREPARED TO SHOW YOUR GOVERNMENT ISSUED PHOTO ID in order to be served. VOLUNTEERS: We will need help to put on a successful Christmas Party! If you are able to lend a hand for a couple of hours (or more), please indicate so on the registration form! Please drink responsibly and plan ahead for a safe ride home.