Furnal Equinox 2026 was a wonderful event. For some people it felt different, but I found it quite engaging and enjoyable.
It may be because I know some of the inner machinations of the relationship with the hotel, and it may be because I’ve already been all over the old thing. It’s clearly a building built in the 60s or 70s, and it is showing its age with many maintenance issues slowly being taken care of.
The long lines for elevators are certainly not going to go away because the event is moving to the Sheraton. I think lines for elevators are just a fact of life for furry conventions.
Perhaps if the con-goers had some kind of large lockers they could trust with their suits, they could avoid a lot of trips back to their rooms during the event to change. Then again after full-suiting people are going to want to shower — at least I hope they do. Wearing a giant carpet for more than 15 minutes without sweating is a challenge even on the coldest of days.
I have never been inside the Sheraton, but the floor plans look inviting with a large central area surrounded by the balconies of several floors. I like this kind of setup for allowing suiters to hang out on the balconies and wave to passers-by instead of shuffling slowly around the same floor.
It also offers more opportunities for interesting photography.
One thing I will miss is having access to the convention areas of the Westin hotel. I’m assuming most of them will be inaccessible outside of convention times, and I haven’t yet finished modelling the Westin hotel in VRChat.
The future holds new adventures and, hopefully, new spaces for me to explore and re-create!