Tag Archives: event changes

The Plotting for Our 20th Year Has Begun!

March 31, 2018 | 1 Reply

Rolling through March, we have stayed behind the scenes making sure we really consider what we plan for this year’s annual FurBQ. Without further ado, we can now say that we have secured our spot.

SoCal Furs’ 20th annual FurBQ is happening this Fall, on Saturday November 10th. We will have plenty of time to bust out some picnic supplies. The FurBQ is a long standing tradition and we will return to our green and shady spot within Irvine Regional Park

Please go to the full Event Calendar Posting for a full rundown of information

http://socalfurs.com/event/socal-furbq-2018/

Finding a date was challenging this year, as the Canyon Fire took out one of the four Reserved picnic areas. This created heavy competition for the remaining three reserved spaces. The November slot we chose was the only one available After the Pumpkin Patch festival: The alternative would have been too early in September (the week after Labor Day), which would have made it a true FurBQ (All those overheated fursuiters and costumers). Our Past Fall FurBQs, held on Nov 16th 2013 and Nov 14 2015, both fared well with the cooler weather and were enjoyed by everyone despite the shorter park time.

In the next 6 months, we have some ideas and plans. We will keep you informed with our social media network of sites. Overall, we have been wanting to do something special for our community. With this being our 20th year, its destined that we should have something to commemorate all these awesome memories.

Prep-Prep-Prepping: We Have An Update

September 3, 2017 | 2 Replies

Labor Day has given way for rainstorms (yes… in August) and it has drawn us inside. While we have been cooped up, we have begun the annual “crunch time for FurBQ”. Stego and Kat have been looking over supplies, making lists and otherwise keeping track of all that awaits us in 3 weeks. We got the reservation, and a budget for meat (and starter items for our early crowd), and we are almost ready to go

… however, we have decided to do some rearranging of our space within our rented group area (Group Area 3). Please look at our updated calendar entry, which gives all information about our event and includes info about our FREE grilling areas for those that like to get proactive about cooking good food.

Regarding other events, we have been checking in with organizers and our September and October months have gotten some returning events, as well as some modifications. Please check out the calendar to see all the updates.

Making New Connections

If you havent yet connected, check out the SoCal Furs Network (as well as in our sidebar) to find the network that works best for you. One addition is that we now have a Facebook page. In working within our community, and with some patience for Facebook itself, we can now get the information flowing there. Its only a simple page right now, but we are using it as a way to gather Facebook event postings from things that appear on our calendar.

SoCal Furs Annual FurBQ: Its A Date! (Sep 23rd)

March 5, 2017 | Leave a reply

March has come and we find ourselves with this long awaited piece of news concerning our annual event. While all that wonky webpage stuff was happening, Stego and Kat have been checking into whats possible for FurBQ 2017. As many know, FurBQ traditionally happened in the spring months. However, with the added necessity of using a reserved group area (due to our crowd size) and the changing of some local events, its become necessary to place our annual FurBQ event in the fall.

Last year’s date of September 17th really worked well for us, with that week being just when the weather starts to get comfortable (especially for the fursuiters). However, from talking with the park rangers and Reservations, we learned that October is entirely blocked out due to the parking situation created from Irvine Regional Park’s annual pumpkin patch event.

So, with all that is possible, we have put in our reservation request. The $300 fee has been paid,and we are ready to roll. I can say that with advanced planning (from choosing to do this in the fall only), we will have more time to work on the event and make improvements. Feel free to view the event posting on our calendar and make your plans now.

FurBQ Becomes Mud-BQ : Rained Out and Rescheduled

May 7, 2016 | Leave a reply

Sadly for the first time in 18 years, The Official SoCalFurs FurBQ was Rained Out. We had gotten to our designated Group area right at 6AM, Right where the major downpour had just started.

Image taken on May 7th, 2016 of our rained out group area

Mud, Mud everywhere!!

We scouted the area, and noted the amount of mud that was accumulating all around the table areas. Compared to last and other years where we had morning moisture, This was Far worse, as in the past it had been Moist, but not Wet.

The decision was made to talk with the Park Rangers about a Reschedule. Fortunately the Ranger we spoke to had known about who we were and has seen the Fursuits we normally present, and she agreed with us that those aren’t really designed to be tromping around in the mud. She brought up the schedule of available dates, and they were mostly in August and September. Knowing how hot August tends to be, we chose September 17th.

In the meantime, for those still looking to spend a Saturday with a big group of furries (and for those who have pre-purchased food items for FurBQ), we do know of an event that sprung up in lieu of the FurBQ reschedule. Consider this an “unofficial” substitute picnic for furries, as this was not organized by us as any sort of backup plan (see FAQ below).

~~The Address for the Mile Square Park location currently is:~~
~~16801 Euclid St, Fountain Valley, CA 92708~~

Some furries were able to create some last minute signage in the attempts to direct you to the right area within Mile Square Park. However, please contact LostWolf321 (via Twitter) if you find yourself lost.

A Few FAQs to address:

“Why didn’t you cancel the event the night before?”

In the past, when we were using the General Picnic Spots, we were free to do exactly that. Last year, sadly, We were flagged by the rangers as “Your group is too big to use the General Areas”, and we were told that future events held by us would need to be held in the Large Group Areas: Areas which are Minimum $300 to reserve, which is what we did for this year. The Major Caveat is that We Cannot make a “Rainout” decision ourselves, it would have to be at the discretion of the Rangers. Fortunately, the Rangers sided with our request.

“Why not move the event completely over to the New Park?”

At this time we have absolutely No clout with Mile Square Park: We have No idea how the Park Owners are going to take to 120+ people with costumed critters suddenly invading their space. Had this been a prior arrangement where we spoke to the Mile Square Park rangers in advance, we would be more willing to call it an “Official” relocation. But until we get names of the Owners of the park and chat with them, we cannot have an “Official” presence there yet. We are currently monitoring the impromptu event today, and will be asking for peoples input to see how we will proceed.

In the case of Mile Square Park, this is also under the OC Parks’ regional park system, so that means our group size would still be “too big” and thus we likely would have to reserve in the same way we have done this year for Irvine Regional Park

Update May 9th, 2016:

In the case of Mile Square Park, we just discovered that this is also under the OC Parks’ regional park system, so that means our group size would still be “too big” for the General picnic sites and thus we likely would have to reserve in the same way we have done this year for Irvine Regional Park