Oklacon
OklaconBy: Silverback Christianpaw I remember the day very well. My friend and I sitting around his computer as we watched video of a group of fursuiters shooting nerf rockets at each other and for some reason I couldn't explain, I was mesmerized. Not only had I stumbled onto this fandom of people that were very similar to me by sheer coincidence, but now I was watching the nature of this convention unfolding before my eyes. It wasn't a hotel convention with millions of panels to constantly run off to, but this was a smaller convention that has a unique charm that can never be matched.
I watched the video, letting this nearby golden gateway linger into my mind; my friend making fun of how he somehow never appears on camera and also pointing out the people he met when he went in 2008. Oki-Doki Coyote, Jase Husky, just to name a few. He pointed out two of his friends from our hometown that would later become a big part of my life as they walked by in camera-range.
The environment was intoxicating. Furs making jokes left, right, and sideways and having a good time. The bright sun glowing upon the green grass and the oddly shaped cabins (known as the A-Frames). What is this environment that I am witnessing?
I dreamed of how it would be and how I would feel if I somehow, someway, made it to this furry convention called Oklacon. In October of 2009 I got my chance.
My friends talked about their experiences not just in the weeks leading up to it, but all year long. I heard their tales of sleeping in A-Frame 3 only to find out that it was designated as the headless lounge. I was told the stories about how the "giant fucking tit-mouse" Corsi sang 69ing Gay Racoons and almost ran my friend over with an ATV. This was no ordinary convention my any means. I counted the days, the hours, and even minutes until we were finally able to leave. I saved up whatever little money I could from my job as a busboy and packed my stuff up for the four day trip. I couldn't sleep the night before, I was too excited and I wasn't the only one. Never had I been so eager for a twelve hour drive to Wotunga.
We made it to Roman Nose State Park as images from the videos I had watched all came rushing back as I grabbed my bags and looked out across the camp. The images would soon become a collage as everything from the videos all appeared right in front of me in one glorious picture. The campfire, the A-Frames, the space where the suiters played with the nerf darts, the curving sidewalk, even the Turkey Roost, I could see everything from the top of the hill. It felt like the clouds lifted up just for me so they could show me my past, present, and my future all in the same breath. Fresh air, oh the fresh air, it was absolutely amazing.
From then I got to experience what I only imagined and dreamed from the videos. I got to have conversations with the people I spent the year watching, I got to sing 69ing Gay Racoons with Corsi himself, I got to enjoy being around a campfire for a change and listening to others conversations. I even got to see from the sidelines the legendary game of Predator and Prey.
I'm very different from my friends, the Fallout Furs (gotta plug the name lol), I march to the beat of my own drum and have my own set of disciplines, and I absorb experiences in a very different way. Normally for me it's through music. Every year at Oklacon I take some time for myself, stick a couple of earphones in my ears, and just walk around the park listening to music. Enjoying myself, singing along to the songs I know, breathing in the air, and soaking up what I can of the environment. No genre of music in particular, just the music I listen to on a regular basis. It feel like living my everyday life but now it's on the grand stage, the grandest stage of them all in my opinion. Sometimes my friends say I'm being anti-social, but it's not that. I need that special time to clear my mind and be one with this special environment. Because if I don't then I feel like I am going to miss it.
Oklacon is a very special event to myself and a lot of others. It's what some of us think about when we first wake up in the morning and what we think about when we lay our head down to sleep, waiting all year long. Because Oklacon has this magic to it, this x-Factor, an intangible that you can't explain, you just have to feel it. It's hard not to stop and embrace it.
Oklacon is the culmination of a year's effort. Making sure to save up money for Safari's, to always be generous in the finances (no matter how little or how big they are), that have been intrusted to your care and always give generously. Keeping a kind heart knowing that it will pay off when I am searching for that one special, one-of-a-kind, Oklacon moment that defines the event for me each year and what the convention will be remembered for. Whether it's seeing Misora in the talent show at the lodge,Soulcat almost getting set on fire, enjoying a Sub-Level 03 concert, or if it's just hanging out with friends. Human-life is temporarily non-existent and brings a something special out of each of us. The convention that is the dividing line between fantasy and real life.
This year celebrates Oklacon's 10th birthday and I hope to find this year's special "Oklacon Moment" in it's 10th year and I hope to still be searching for my moment in Oklacon's 20th year. It's something extra special for everyone from all walks of life, and that's what make's Oklacon the best.