Category: News

On a nippy December afternoon, Vancoufur finally got to formally present Qmunity representatives with the donations collected from the 2023 Vancoufur convention totalling $20,000 CAD. The Vancoufur mascot, Castor, was on hand, along with Sha’kaar, the chair of the convention, Orzevia, the 2023 Charity Lead , as well as some other fuzzy friends to meet up with Qmunity representatives Michael Robach, Director of Development for Qmunity and Executive Director, Anoop Gill.

“This donation means a lot to Qmunity. We don’t get these big donations often, and it provides much needed funding for several of our programs.” Gill commented, “Programs such as our Queer Prom, Youth drop-in spaces, councelling for youth and families, as well as our youth trans clothing program will directly benefit from this donation.”

“The Furry community is so amazing, and we are thrilled we get to continue this relationship into 2024. Everytime we visit the convention, we learn something new, and we hope that we can continue to extend support to members of the furry community who may benefit from our programs.” Robach said while the group was waiting for everyone to arrive for the photo.

As one of the larger donations Qmunity has recieved in 2023, Vancoufur’s donation matched the Vancouver Canuck’s donation of 20k earlier this year.

” We’re going to do bigger and better for VF2024.” said Orzevia, the charity lead for VF2023, and also VF2024. “We’re aiming to raise $30,000 in 2024. As a smaller group, this will be a challenge, but I’m sure we can do it if we work together.”

If you have items you would like to donate to the Vancoufur charity auction to help us reach our fundraising goals for our charity, please email [email protected] to arrange your donation of arts, crafts, gently used collectibles, fursuit, or other items for our silent and live auctions.

After a 2 year hiatus, the BCAEA Community BBQ returns for 2023 and is bigger and better than every before! Featuring not only delicious food, but also a Nerf War, Fursuit Games, Icebreakers/social games and Face painting! All for FREE for the Community!

The only caveat is that you MUST RSVP in order to get food and there is an upward limit of spots available due to changes with how Burnaby parks handles reservations/events at the parks. So be sure to RSVP early in order to ensure your spot.

The event will be happening July 2, 2023 at Confederation Park in Site 2 from 11am-6pm! Bring your own chair or blanket!

Food will be served from 12pm to 4pm. There will also additional fun activities including:

• Fursuit Games
• Face Painting
• Nerf War
• Social/icebreaker Games
• Hang out with other local furs/ponies

Remember to get food you MUST RSVP! Because of Park rules we cannot give food to anyone who has not RSVPed with us!

Cost is FREE! RSVP by June 26 to get your spot and come hang out with the community on July 2!

RSVP NOW!

Vanhoover Pony Expo 2023 Chair Selection

The BCAEA Board of Directors this year is calling for nominations for the Chair of Vanhoover Pony Expo 2023. We are looking for nominations from the community, but you can also nominate yourself. Please see the information below before submitting your nomination.

What does the chair do?

The chair is the vision and driving force of the VPE team. They are responsible for ensuring that the convention runs smoothly and successfully within the overall budget allotted by the board and reports to the BCAEA Board of Directors. It is a position with a tremendous amount of responsibility and requires a lot of time, dedication, and diplomacy.
As Chair of the convention you would be responsible for the hiring, organization, delegation, final decisions, and oversight of all departments to ensure the continued smooth running operation of VPE for the 2023 convention cycle. This position calls for a range of skills and abilities. Ideally, a good candidate would be someone who can bring great organizational skills to the table, along with great ideas to expand and improve the convention. Some business knowledge such as management, budgeting and similar is highly beneficial.

The BCAEA is looking for candiates that will continue to build on, improve, and innovate to make VPE the best event it can possibly be.

What are the qualities of a strong chair candidate?

• Passion. We are looking for individuals who are highly motivated to make a major difference in the local MLP community and believe they have the skill set to do so.

• Organization. Organizing is the cornerstone to the success of any team. We’re looking for a leader who can plan, set and meet reasonable deadlines, delegate appropriately, provide structure, manage time lines, and coordinate a team.

• Communication. Communicating with many people is an essential part of this role. You will have a staff of many volunteers working under your supervision. You need to know how to effectively communicate with many types of people, manage interpersonal conflicts while still being collaborative.

• Reliable. The chair must be someone that the VPE team can rely and depend on. They must be visible, providing guidance and available to answer questions, field issues, and deal with problems in a timely manner throughout the year. A good candidate will have a history of dependability and composure under stress.

• Experience. We are looking for someone who knows our event from an organizational standpoint and has ideas and experience that will contribute to improving the event and continuing to foster success in the upcoming year.

Ready to Nominate? Here’s how:

Nominations are open from May 26, 2021 to June 6, 2021. To nominate someone, send an email the Board of Directors of the BC Anthropomorphic Events Association at [email protected] with the information below. You can nominate yourself.

Your email should include the following:
1) The name of the Candidate
2) Contact email for the candidate
2) Tell us why you nominated this person (or put yourself forward) to be the Chair of Vanhoover Pony Expo 2023?
3) What unique quality do you feel that your nominee (or yourself) brings to the chair role for Vanhoover Pony Expo 2023?
4) What skills or resources do you feel this person would bring to the table to enhance VPE for the future?

All nominees will be contacted to accept their nomination. Nominated candidates must accept their nomination within three days of being contacted to be considered in the selection. Nominees that do not accept (including self nominations), will not be considered. After this point only the successful candidate will be contacted.

The BCAEA Board of Directors wishes to thank you for taking the time to nominate a Chair candidate.

Sincerely,
BCAEA Board of Directors

Vanhoover Pony Expo 2022 Chair Selection

The BCAEA Board of Directors this year is calling for nominations for the Chair of Vanhoover Pony Expo 2022. We are looking for nominations from the community, but you can also nominate yourself. Please see the information below before submitting your nomination.

What does the chair do?

The chair is the vision and driving force of the VPE team. They are responsible for ensuring that the convention runs smoothly and successfully within the overall budget allotted by the board and reports to the BCAEA Board of Directors. It is a position with a tremendous amount of responsibility and requires a lot of time, dedication, and diplomacy.
As Chair of the convention you would be responsible for the hiring, organization, delegation, final decisions, and oversight of all departments to ensure the continued smooth running operation of VPE for the 2022 convention cycle. This position calls for a range of skills and abilities. Ideally, a good candidate would be someone who can bring great organizational skills to the table, along with great ideas to expand and improve the convention. Some business knowledge such as management, budgeting and similar is highly beneficial.

The BCAEA is looking for candiates that will continue to build on, improve, and innovate to make VPE the best event it can possibly be.

What are the qualities of a strong chair candidate?

• Passion. We are looking for individuals who are highly motivated to make a major difference in the local MLP community and believe they have the skill set to do so.

• Organization. Organizing is the cornerstone to the success of any team. We’re looking for a leader who can plan, set and meet reasonable deadlines, delegate appropriately, provide structure, manage time lines, and coordinate a team.

• Communication. Communicating with many people is an essential part of this role. You will have a staff of many volunteers working under your supervision. You need to know how to effectively communicate with many types of people, manage interpersonal conflicts while still being collaborative.

• Reliable. The chair must be someone that the VPE team can rely and depend on. They must be visible, providing guidance and available to answer questions, field issues, and deal with problems in a timely manner throughout the year. A good candidate will have a history of dependability and composure under stress.

• Experience. We are looking for someone who knows our event from an organizational standpoint and has ideas and experience that will contribute to improving the event and continuing to foster success in the upcoming year.

Ready to Nominate? Here’s how:

Nominations are open from Feb 14, 2021 to March 7, 2021. To nominate someone, send an email the Board of Directors of the BC Anthropomorphic Events Association at [email protected] with the information below. You can nominate yourself.

Your email should include the following:
1) The name of the Candidate
2) Contact email for the candidate
2) Tell us why you nominated this person (or put yourself forward) to be the Chair of Vanhoover Pony Expo 2022?
3) What unique quality do you feel that your nominee (or yourself) brings to the chair role for Vanhoover Pony Expo 2022?
4) What skills or resources do you feel this person would bring to the table to enhance VPE for the future?

All nominees will be contacted to accept their nomination. Nominated candidates must accept their nomination within three days of being contacted to be considered in the selection. Nominees that do not accept (including self nominations), will not be considered. After this point only the successful candidate will be contacted.

The BCAEA Board of Directors wishes to thank you for taking the time to nominate a Chair candidate.

Sincerely,
BCAEA Board of Directors

BCAEA 2021 board nomination call

Nominations are now open for the BC Anthropomorphic Events Association Board of Directors. Existing and former staff members of the VancouFur and Vanhoover Pony Expo (VPE) conventions are invited to submit their nominations for capable, dedicated and motivated people to work in the background of the conventions and other activities in the Vancouver area.
The Board of Directors has one seat available for election with position to be filled as of March 8, 2021.

The seat is for a three-year term ending in 2024.

The Community Representative Position is also up for nomination, for a one year term. The Community Representative is responsible for bringing the voice and concerns of the community to the board.

The BC Anthropomorphic Events Association, a registered not-for-profit in the province of British Columbia, is the group that oversees the operation of VancouFur, principally, as well as events surrounding it in the Vancouver area. Board members are not involved directly with the operations of the convention from year to year (although Directors are welcome to volunteer as part of convention staff, remembering that they have no direct authority from their Board position); instead, they are responsible for establishing the rules, direction and financial allocation for the convention, as well as appointment of the Chair of the convention each year. Elected board members are legal representatives of the non-profit corporation legally responsible for VancouFur, VPE and other events.

At present, the Board consists of:

• Skepicolt (term ends 2022)
• Jerome Fox (term ends 2022)
• Havok (term ends 2023)
• ShadowsMyst (term ends 2021)
• Malicai (term ends 2022)
• RainRat (term ends 2023)
• AceCoyote (Community rep; term ends 2021)

Who is eligible for nomination?

Consider nominees who are motivated to assist in the growth of VancouFur, VPE and other area activities within the furry community. Convention operation experience is not necessary, but can certainly be a benefit. People who are driven to succeed, have good moral ethics, and unique perspectives are good candidates who can help the convention and the local community grow. They do not have to be current or former VancouFur or VPE staff members to be eligible.

How to submit a nomination

Please do not nominate people publicly. Instead, please direct an email with the subject line “2021 Board Nomination” to [email protected] with the name of your nominee or nominees. Staff members may nominate up to three people. If you are nominating a person for a director, or for the community representative specifically, please note that in your nomination email.

Nominations must be submitted by 11:59 pm Tuesday Feb 23, 2021.

Nominees will be contacted by members of the Board to confirm their acceptance of the nomination. Once the nominations are complete, the Board of Directors will convene and elect the new member(s) who will assume their responsibilities on March 8, 2021.

For more information about these elections or anything else regarding the BC Anthropomorphic Events Association, please email the board at [email protected].

Thank you!

Vancoufur 2020’s charity got a much needed infusion of funds as the BCAEA delivered a cheque for $8,230.35 CAD to the SPCA’s Wild Animal Rehabilitation Centre (WildARC) on Vancouver island on May 5th, 2020. The donation helped the center keep its doors open for orphaned and injured wildlife in the wake of Covid-19 completely eliminating or severely limiting their options for additional fundraising.

Wild ARC would like to thank the … BCAEA …for organizing this fundraiser and for working with his team to make this significant donation possible. Thank you!

BC SPCA Wild Animal Rehabilitation Centre (Wild ARC)
May 5, 2020 · 

The donations will be going to the various expenses that need to be covered to keep WildARK saving animals, including emergency vet costs, food, regular vet costs, facilities, and more.

If you would like to learn more about SPCA WildARK and the work they do, check out their website, or facebook page. If you missed Vancoufur 2020 and still want to donate or

2020 has been a challenging year for everyone, and for the BCAEA and Vancoufur, this year was no exception. Sliding in just before Covid-19 shut down most of Canada, and North America, it was one of the last furry conventions to run before the widespread cancellation of cons that occurred due to the pandemic. 

Despite this, Vancoufur ran successfully for 2020, not a small feat. There were issues with shortages of staff due, and unexpected cancellations as the concerns around Covid grew at the time. There were also several technical and logistical issues that come with moving to a new hotel. However, the spectacular and hardworking volunteer team we had this year handled each challenge with remarkable dexterity and still managed to pull off an amazing event that was very well received by the community. Extra precautions were put in place for the convention which had included extra sanitizing of sensitive areas by the hotel and hand sanitizer stations all over the hotel. 

Many attendees were particularly delighted with this year’s theme idea and the decor team really stepped up and knocked it out of the park to bring Neon City to life. Vancoufur 2020 had many great events this year with some big winners:

• Fursuit Dance 2020 Competition Winners:
  1st: Fikko Frutopia 2nd: Rennzu 3rd: Tosh
  2020 Dance Comp Audience Favorite: Renzo
• Floor wars 2020 Winner: OttertheFox
• Cutie Pageant 2020 Winner: Renzo

Vancoufur saw growth again this year with 1, 211 attendees for 2020, up from 2019. We also had over 231 suits in our parade this year.

VF’s charity fundraising efforts raised 8,230.35 for the SPCA WildARC for 2020, which was a huge boon to WildARC as the pandemic severely impacted their fundraising abilities. Everyone who donated can feel good that they have helped WildARC keep their doors open to continue rescuing and rehabilitating local wildlife through the summer and beyond. 

The BCAEA and Vancoufur Team are extremely pleased that we were able to bring this event to the community for 2020, and we know it will certainly hold a special place in our hearts as we look forward to when it will be safe to put on another physical convention for our community. We want to thank the Chair of 2020, ShadowsMyst, and her vice-chair, Zanwolf for their hard work on this past event, as well as thank all the fantastic talent and volunteers of those who helped make this a great experience for our attendees. 

For now, everyone keep taking care of yourselves and we are excited to see you all when we can have another in-person convention in the future safely!

In traditional Canadian fashion, our “Tropical Canada” theme was not only based around weather but so was the convention! In our 2020 year of Vanhoover Pony Expo, we succeeded in bringing 313 of our close brony friends together (including 16 spirit attendees) to celebrate all things My Little Pony, despite the snowstorm that plagued Vancouver for that weekend. Compared with our first year, we had more panels, a larger lineup of amazing DJs, additional challenging gaming and CCG tournaments, more costume contests, and more, we received a record number of upper-tier memberships and raised a very impressive $6285.10 CAD for our charity, the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption! We continue to show Vancouver the magic of friendship and look forward to inviting everyone back again next time!