To the Attendees of MCFC
Today we want to thank the vast majority of our attendees for making MCFC the amazing con it is. We appreciate your donations to our charity and we are overjoyed by the fun you have when here. This makes all the hard work over the year (5 months in this case) totally worth it.
However, we unfortunately have to address several issues that were brought to our attention by the hotel after the convention. We are lucky to have a good hotel team that is still willing to work with us and these problems are not irreparable, but these issues do need to be addressed. We have chosen to break these down and ask everyone who has attended to read through them. MCFC is your con as much as it is ours and some of these issues, whether you were part of the problem or not, will require all of us to fix.
The first part of this statement is a rather unpleasant topic. We were informed that in the late night hours the public bathrooms were left in varying states of unsanitary conditions by our attendees. The hotel noted that some guest rooms had sanitation issues as well. The hotel went as far as to describe the conditions as a “biohazard.” While it is the hotel’s responsibility to take care of the restrooms and clean the hotel rooms, this responsibility extends to “normal use” and the conditions present significantly exceeded that threshold.
MCFC is well known for providing a party atmosphere and we understand that there is a desire to go a bit harder partying seeing your friends once more. Getting a little drunk and partying has never been something we wanted to limit but this year there were reports of excessive cases of vomit left unreported and found by hotel staff in the public bathrooms. Several hotel rooms were also left in a poor state. Going forward, we ask that our attendees be more respectful of the hotel. Please watch your alcohol consumption. Take your time and manage yourselves and your friends, if necessary, so everyone can have a good time. We do know that the inevitable will happen on occasion, but the frequency with which it occurred this year was not acceptable. In the future, please try your best to clean up after yourselves, to the best of your ability, or offer assistance to the hotel staff, especially in your own rooms. That said, we intend to increase the frequency of safety sweeps, adjust some things in the Sponsors Lounge, and ask the hotel to keep track of any rooms that tend to be problematic and will act accordingly if needed. You may also be subject to additional cleaning fees for your room.
We received reports of multiple occurrences of feces on public restroom walls and private room bathrooms in a manner that is inconsistent with illness or accidents. Some guest rooms had feces left on beds or in sheets. This behavior is unacceptable and we have encouraged the hotel to assess fees and keep track of what rooms may have been left in this condition. Accidents can happen, but please clean up after yourself, ESPECIALLY in your own room, and notify the hotel about the situation if needed. If they need to take care of that sort of issue, sooner is better than later.
This is a subject that is quite volatile in the Furry community as of late and we want to begin by acknowledging that the ABDL community as a whole is filled with good people who know how to act properly and this section is to address the bad actors. We have reached out to the local community and asked them to talk to their members, but we want to implore the ABDL/Baby Fur community as a whole to work within themselves to address these shortcomings. There were reports of several instances of adult diapers left in public bathrooms, in stalls, on countertops and trash cans filled with them. We understand that wearing diapers is part of being in the ABDL community, but we are asking you to not leave these items in public spaces and to return to your rooms to deal with them. We also ask that, out of respect for the hotel staff, you double bag and dispose of them in a manner that requires minimum contact between the hotel staff and these items. If you need extra trash bags, please ask at the front desk. They would gladly supply you with extra rather than encounter a nasty surprise in the room.
The furry community has always been a rather affectionate group of people. Between consenting adults hugs, cuddles, kisses, or even a friendly squeeze of the butt are not uncommon. We respect this. However, we did have a few reports of people, shall we say, rounding 3rd base sliding for home. Please if you want to put on a show invite your friends back to the room but we ask you keep the PDA to appropriate levels for a hotel lobby/public spaces.
We understand hotel space is limited and we are working with the overflow hotels to offer more space. That being said, we had reports of people sleeping in public areas of the hotel, their cars, or locations other than an appropriate space. We can’t allow this to happen and we request you do your best to make sure you’re in a condition to drive home, make it to the overflow hotel, etc.
We are sorry to have to post this letter and take some of the joy away from an otherwise good experience of MCFC 2022. We ask for your understanding and cooperation in making improvements in these areas. If you see something going on that shouldn’t bring it to the attention of security staff. If it’s your friends please tell them to stop. We are a small staff and can’t do it alone. We appreciate your help in this matter. We appreciate your help in continuing to prove to our hotel what an awesome group of people we are that can outshine these troublesome complaints this year and put this in the past.
The MCFC Board of Directors
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The count seems to be right around 300 fursuits. Thanks to all that participated!
Now that you've had a day or two to rest and reflect, we'd like to hear about your MCFC 2022 experience! Or let us know if you have an interesting idea for next year.
Good or bad, let us know how your convention went:
COVID-19 Policy Update
Today we would like to inform you of the recent changes to our COVID-19 policy. In response to the declining rate of infection and recent changes to CDC masking guidelines, MCFC has chosen to return to a policy, similar to last year, of strongly recommending but not requiring masks in most areas of the convention space.
There will be some exceptions to this policy such as Main Events, Secondary Events, Registration, and the Dealers Den where we will require that you to continue to mask up due to the nature of those venues. There are some other activities that may require masks and signage will be provided to remind you of the locations where masks will be required. In other areas the choice will be up to you, your personal situation, and your comfort level. We still highly recommend masking in general as an extra safety measure and ask you to use sound judgment and courtesy to others in all areas of the convention space. We aim to offer a safe yet relaxed environment to enjoy the social aspect of the furry fandom. We ask for your understanding that, like most things during this pandemic, these requirements are subject to change dependent on Covid conditions in our area.
We will, however, still require proof of vaccination to attend the convention this year, as vaccination continues to be the most effective way to reduce the risk of infection and the severity of COVID-19.
We look forward to welcoming you to our convention this year and allowing you to experience an enjoyable break from everyday life during these trying times.
MCFC 2022 Status: Go
It’s February! And MCFC happens in March! Granted we’re at the very beginning of February, and MCFC is at the end of March. But still, it feels like we’re nearly there!
We’ve been so busy getting everything ready here; are you ready for the convention?
Our vaccination policy is unchanged. You'll of course need to be fully vaccinated to attend.
We are not at the moment requiring boosters. (Though if you’re ready, go ahead and get one anyway; as we said before, please don’t base your health decisions on what a random furry convention minimally requires.)
Again, you're considered fully vaccinated 2 weeks after your final dose of the primary series. That means if you've not been vaccinated the final day for that last shot is March 10th.
If you're looking to get one of the 2-dose series vaccines (such as the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines) there's usually a 3 or 4 week wait between the 1st and 2nd dose. As such, you'll want to target your first dose for early February – like, now.
They're still available free of charge, and probably at a location close to you!
The types of proof we will accept is at this time still the same as before. The list includes but may not be limited to:
When you get to the con, be prepared to show your documentation to registration staff in order to receive your badge. We will not retain any of the documentation, or record any of the information. Just, no proof, no badge. And please don't send it to us ahead of time.
If you’re traveling internationally to attend MCFC, you may need to take a COVID-19 test before you travel. The nearest location that provides PCR tests is:
CVS on Whittaker Rd (About 1.5 miles away from the convention)
Please confirm the requirements both to and from your country of origin, and plan ahead! Figure out what requirements you’ll have to meet and when so that your trip goes as smoothly as possible!
If you're not traveling internationally and just want to know before the convention (a very good thing) testing is available all over. You can also place an order for 4 free at-home testing kits delivered by mail through the USPS so you have them available.
We’ve learned many things while enduring this pandemic. I’m sure we all have. One of those things is that situations may change on a week to week, sometimes day to day basis.
We’re trying our best to surprise you with as few changes as needed. If you’re the optimistic type, perhaps we’ll see the numbers dramatically improve and we’ll be able to ease up on the mask restrictions.
If you’re worried about things going the other way, for example booster shots becoming necessary, as stated before we aim to not introduce any new requirements after February 24th. We’ll try our best to have our policy locked in, and not make any more restrictive changes after that.