Questions & answers

Why has Midwest FurFest 2020 been cancelled?

While the health and safety of our attendees and staff are our primary concern, the cancellation of Midwest FurFest 2020 was ultimately beyond our control. The State of Illinois will not permit conventions, festivals and large events to occur in Illinois until there is a vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 widely available, a treatment for COVID-19 widely available, or there is the elimination of any new cases over a sustained period. At this time, there is no vaccine or treatment widely available, and the elimination of new cases over a sustained period is improbable before December.(https://coronavirus.illinois.gov/s/restore-illinois-introduction)

Why couldn’t Midwest FurFest delay this decision until later in the year?

Planning for an event the size of Midwest FurFest is a multi-year operation; preparation for each year’s event begins many years in advance. Unlike most festivals and large events, Midwest FurFest is a 100% volunteer-run non-profit organization; and therefore, our resources are limited. The uncertainty of the past few months has been difficult on everyone including our staff, many of whom work multiple conventions throughout the year. Unemployment, illness, isolation, and emotional strain have taken their toll upon the world. Combined with the temporary closing of several major event venues, we felt it would be unreasonable to ask our staff to continue pushing this year’s goals and deadlines, all in the unlikely hope that things may change. In addition, many of our attendees travel a great distance to attend and need time to make those arrangements which cannot always be cancelled without penalty.

Why didn’t Midwest FurFest announce this cancellation earlier?

Much of what contributes to Midwest FurFest’s success is our relationships with others. It’s more than just the relationships within the fandom though; it’s relationships with our venues and local businesses – they are all part of the FurFest family. In that light, while we have a responsibility to provide an enjoyable and safe place to be ourselves, we also have a responsibility to our business partners.

With the uncertainty this year has brought, we have been continuously evaluating what we know about the pandemic, and whether conditions in December would permit a safe event. Because there was a chance we could still host our event this year, Midwest FurFest needed to continue as scheduled to meet our obligations. Otherwise, cancelling early would seriously jeopardize our ability to hold the event in the future.

We have reached a point where it is clear that conditions will not allow for a safe convention, and further, Illinois state government is unlikely to permit an event our size to take place. Ultimately, the health and well being of our attendees, staff and contractors is our primary concern. Working with our business partners, we have collectively reached this conclusion, such that we are able to exercise contract clauses that provide for the conditions we face today.

Why couldn’t Midwest FurFest be postponed?

An event the size of Midwest FurFest has a large footprint across multiple venues. The availability of all of those venues with the necessary amount of function space and hotel rooms at the same time is limited, so the number of available dates are limited. Further complicating such a proposal is the greater reality that Midwest FurFest is not an isolated event. We are a proud member of the greater community of global furry and other fandom events which occur year-round. The date of our event has a very real effect upon other conventions and many of those events chose their dates, in part, because of our set date. We want to do our part to respect those events by maintaining our established dates.

But what about other conventions scheduled to occur before December?

America is taking a regional approach to reopening and local governments are dictating which events in their area can occur. While we are able to provide a great deal of advance notice, other events may not be able to. Please keep in mind that our event was still scheduled to occur, until it wasn’t. We urge you to keep an eye on social media for updates on all your favorite conventions and hope that you will show them the same patience and understanding which you have shown us.

Will there be an online event?

While we have devoted most of our energy to planning how to make Midwest FurFest 2020 happen, we have also been paying attention to how other organizations have been making virtual, online, digital, etc. events occur. With this cancellation, we will now turn our attention to considering those options. We ask that you keep an eye on our social media for additional information as it becomes available. We would love your suggestions and feedback via info@furfest.org, too!

How can I still support Furry Artists and Vendors?

We know that the livelihoods of our artists and vendors are being drastically affected by the absence of so many conventions this year and we are exploring ways to highlight and spread awareness of the amazing talent within our community. We are exploring the options available which help spotlight our artists and vendors and will announce a decision as soon as possible. Again, we would love your suggestions and feedback via info@furfest.org.

When will you start announcing information about Midwest FurFest 2021?

We will continue to be active on social media and expect that announcements for Midwest FurFest 2021 will follow along the traditional timeline for each year’s events, with registration and hotels opening in the late Spring of 2021.

I had a rollover registration from 2019, what happens now?

All 2019 registrations which rolled over to 2020 will automatically roll over to Midwest FurFest 2021.

What about this year’s charity?

While we have been evaluating many charities for this year, we have delayed the selection until we could address the impact of the pandemic on the convention. However, we know that many of our favorite charities from years past are struggling this year. For now, we are considering potential online events and other ways in which we might help them out as well.

How do I cancel my room?

While Midwest FurFest has contracts with many local Rosemont hotels, booking for these contracted rooms has not yet been made available. Any current reservations are therefore outside of the Midwest FurFest room blocks. If you have already booked a room for this year, you will need to reach out directly to the service or hotel you used to book the room to cancel your reservation with them.

I have other questions, comments, or suggestions. Where should I go?

As always, we are eager to hear from you. Please send us an email via info@furfest.org. Email allows us to forward questions to specific department directors who are better able to research and respond to questions with greater insight than our social media team can.