Cascadia was on full display at the 2016 VancouFur convention in Richmond, British Columbia, as posted in a Vancouver Sun article. The gathering attracts hundreds of people from across Canada and the United States, and as far away as as Peru and Malaysia. VancouFur includes many folks in very comfy looking costumes, some which can take up to six months to create.
The convention gained some fantastic and positive international media attention after it turned out that Syrian refugees who had just been welcomed into the country by Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau had been booked at the same hotel. This great article by The Independent documents how a message went out and organizers stressed “a major concern that VancouFur has is ensuring that each and every one of the refugees (and attendees) feels welcome and safe and the fact that this is likely to be a major shock to them”. Despite worries of a multi-cultural misunderstanding, the interactions were heart felt and welcome, providing the refugee’s into a unique, and fun look into the country they had just entered.
You can learn more about this VancouFur event, and others, at
http://www.vancoufur.ca/
