Here is another Anthrocon-related article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2015/07/10/Anthrocon-attendees-show-their-love-for-city/stories/201507100179
Today at the Downtown restaurant Tonic, when you order puppy chow, with a paw off and chocolate lab, a rabbit-eared waitress will bring what really is a sloppy Joe, a pineapple upside-down drink and chocolate cake to your table.
Down the street, dragons, wolves and bears will be prowling toward another eatery, Ten Penny, for a Fly Fox, Dogfish or Dark Horse draft.
The annual Anthrocon convention arrived at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center on Thursday and already the nearly 6,000 attendees who are fascinated with “humanized” animals are roaming the streets, visiting their favorite Pittsburgh haunts. Many of these have renamed dishes to appeal to their furry guests.
One look at Anthrocon’s flag and you’ll be able to see just how much the Furries love this city. The convention adopted Pittsburgh’s black and gold color scheme and design. They simply replaced the crest in the center with a paw print.
Now, the Furries want to give back.
The Fursuit Walk, where fully fursuited attendees parade around the convention center, has been traditionally closed to the public. Samuel Conway, the CEO of Anthrocon who lives in North Carolina, didn’t like having to turn away the public who wanted to see only the parade.
This year’s Fursuit Walk will take place at 2 p.m. Saturday in full public view. An estimated 1,300 fursuiters will walk down 10th Street below the convention center, cross over and walk back up 10th Street before continuing back inside.
“I finally said to the board of directors, ‘We need to share this with the people of Pittsburgh. They have been so wonderful to us, the least we could do is let them take part in the most visible spectacle,’ ” Mr. Conway said. “It took a couple of years and a lot of logistical planning, but we are going outside for the specific stated purpose that the city of Pittsburgh can enjoy it.”