![It’s that time of year again. Pittsburgh will be taken over by herds of nerds dressed head-to-toe in elaborate animal costumes. Try not to be alarmed when you see a group of freak-shows in plush woodland creature costumes prancing around pretending to mark their territory on downtown fire hydrants.
As strange as they are, the furverts [...]](http://guymanningham.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/furry-convention-pittsburgh.jpg "The Furverts are Back!")
It’s that time of year again. Pittsburgh will be taken over by herds of nerds dressed head-to-toe in elaborate animal costumes. Try not to be alarmed when you see a group of freak-shows in plush woodland creature costumes prancing around pretending to mark their territory on downtown fire hydrants.
As strange as they are, the furverts are generally harmless. That being said, it’s probably good advice to not let children anywhere near them, no matter how much the kid thinks they resemble a Zooble. Aside from showing my age for actually knowing what the hell a Zooble is, the kid’s show Zoobilee Zoo was produced by WQED, which is also located in Pittsburgh. I think I may have just cracked the furvert Da Vinci code.
For several years now, Pittsburgh has been the home of the largest convention of “furry fandom,” the annual Anthrocon Convention, which is held this year from June 14th to the 17th at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. This unique cultural sub-group began in the 80s in California (shocking I know) and there are now over 40 furry conventions annually in North America and Europe (even more shocking).
God only knows what the furverts do at these conventions, or in their hotel rooms for that matter. However, my belief is that as long as they aren’t hurting anyone; let them have their weird fantasies as at least their perversions are publicly showcased, allowing the rest of us to enjoy the show (from a distance).
