The furries are back in Pittsburgh. Downtown hosts annual Anthrocon convention!

PITTSBURGH —Downtown Pittsburgh will take another walk on the wild side with the annual Anthrocon this weekend.

The furries -- people who are fascinated with anthropomorphics -- arrived Thursday for their national convention at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. The event runs through Sunday.

VIDEO: Watch Sheldon Ingram's report from downtown

Anthrocon Chairman Samuel Conway says downtown has received his group with enthusiasm. "At lunch time, (people from) businesses come down and interact with us and it's like a big street party," Conway said. "It's fantastic."

While in town, many of the 5,000-plus visitors will stay dressed in full or partial animal costumes as they walk through the streets of the Golden Triangle.

Sometimes they're bombarded with requests to pose for pictures. Other times, people think they're weird.

"If they think we're weird, I suppose we are. This is not the type of thing you see every day," Conway said.

Anthrocon includes workshops, panel discussions, art exhibitions and vendors catering to fans of the human-like animal characters.

VisitPittsburgh estimates the convention has brought more than $34 million in direct spending to the city since it first arrived in 2006. Anthrocon has also raised more than $100,000 for local charities.

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