How furry convention descended into orgy of sex, violence and destruction as ... trends now
RainFurrest 2015 was one for the books. The convention, filled with full-grown adults dressed as bears, wearing diapers and taking drugs, catapulted the often sex-crazed subculture cast into the public eye.
It was meant to be an annual convention designed for and by furries. But the debauchery that ensued left animal loving organizers banned from ever holding another event in the city of Seattle after brass at the hotel they defiled spread word about what happened the social gathering.
Permanently plastered in the annals of internet history, the event started to go off the rails when someone purposely loosened a bolt on one of the Hilton Seattle Airport & Conference Center's toilets, causing it to flood instantly.
The floor was soon filled with two inches of putrid toilet water - the first sign hosts had overestimated the wholesomeness of their guests, and were losing control.
Things only worsened from there - as attendees indulged in drink and drugs that eventually gave way to destruction. A series of arrest ensued, as attendees donned diapers and even went as far to defecate in a pool. A hot tub was also flooded, when a person shoved towels into the pump filling it with water. The hotel was left in ruins.
After receiving a bill for more than $100,000 in damages, organizers would eventually issue a cryptic statement as to why the event was called off permanently.
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LAST MARCH OF THE FURRIES: Attendees are seen piling into the ninth annual RainFurrest in Seattle for its first day on September 24, 2015, not knowing it would be the last-ever festival
Meant to be an annuals convention designed for and by furries, it has since been permanently cancelled. It was held at Hilton Seattle Airport & Conference Center over four days, during which cops and firefighters were repeatedly called because of poor behavior from attendees
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'So what did happen - who's curious?' asked event organizer Trapa in March 2016, after Rainfurrest 2016 - and all the events that would have followed - were suddenly cancelled.
'OK, so let's start with why was the rainforest board so quiet,' the man who identifies as an African Civet went on, speaking to a Canadian crowd in Vancouver.
'The rainforest board was quiet because we got a letter from the hotel.
The hotel said, "you guys are going to send us a letter telling us you're canceling your event, and if you don't, we're gonna pretend like you did and charge you a cancellation fee."'
'It was like $100,000 or something like that,' he recalled. '[I] don't remember the exact amount. $116,000.
'And then they said, “and then we're going to sue you for that amount of money.”
'So they wanted us out - and why do they want us out?' he asked fellow furries.
'Well, we'll get into that.'
Dressed in normal get-up, the mind behind other furry festivals like Califur, RainFurrest, VancouFur, and FurEh proceeded to explain just what had gone wrong a few months earlier.
To this day, the four-day event still stands as the sixth-largest furry con in history
It serves as a warning of what not to do at a welcoming venue, like donning - and using - literal diapers
Permanently plastered in the annals of internet history, the event started to off the rails when somebody purposely loosened a bolt on one of the Hilton Seattle Airport & Conference Center's toilets, causing it to flood instantly
Things only worsened from there - with as attendees indulged in drink and drugs that eventually gave way to destruction, to the point where cops were called multiple times and arrests were made
A series of arrest ensued, as attendees donned diapers and even went as far to defecate in a pool. A photo of a furry at the event, which drew more than 2,700 views, is seen here
A hot tub was also flooded, when a person shoved towels into the pump filling it with water. A passed out attendee at the con is seen here
The hotel was eventually left in ruins, as organizers blamed the bad behavior on a combination of drink and drugs
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'So the first thing that was discussed was do we sign the letter or do we get a lawyer,' he said - recalling how he and other organizers arrived at a quick decision.
'If we fought and we won, where would we be? At a hotel that didn't damn well want us,' he said of the board's decision.
'So we decided to say no, but unfortunately at that moment, when we had a split in the board, where half the board said, "Well then we need to tell everybody right now," and the other half said, "We should wait we should get a new venue - there's no reason to panic people"'.
'So, the news could have been, rather than canceled - we don't know,' he added.
Citing some alleged back and forth between him and hotel brass, the member of the now-defunct Rainfurrest board said he and others soon came to the conclusion that they would need to look elsewhere in Seattle, no longer welcome at the Hilton.
However, after an extensive search, they quickly discovered they were not welcome anywhere else in The Emerald City either - an occurrence that Trapa said he found odd.
'[We] couldn't find anything in the local area - it seemed strange. Almost as if, like, they were being talked to.'
And talked to, they had - every hotel in town suitable to accommodate such a large, boisterous crowd.
Meant to be an annuals convention designed for and by furries, it has since been permanently cancelled
Organizers were hit with a bill for more than $100,000 in damages, after which they issued a cryptic statement as to why future festivals were being called off
Photos show how an emergency plumber was also called to the scene, after much of the damage was already done
One of the furries relieved themselves in the hotel's swimming pool, seen here during another portion of the convention. It wasn't number one
The trainwreck of a gathering serves as a stark reminder of how venue vandalism can ruin a convention - especially anthropomorphic animal related ones
It started when a guest deliberately loosened the bolt on one of the first-floor toilets so that when the next person flushed, water flooded everywhere, two and a half inches deep. The water eventually seeped down into the floor below, causing damage in the hotel's server room
'So what did happen - who's curious?' asked event organizer Trapa in March 2016, after Rainfurrest 2016 - and all future Rainfurrests that would have followed - were suddenly cancelled
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He went on to claim he and others signed a 'mutual non-disparagement' with the Hilton, supposedly forbidding them from speaking negatively about his costumed crowd.
'Technically, if anybody phones the Hilton... they should be unable to talk bad things about us, other than to say just the facts.'
He went on to reveal how he and other organizers were able to secure a spot at a hotel in not-so-nearby Spokane - more than four hours away.
However, they also bailed out last-minute, he said, just a month before.
Because of this, Trapa claimed the prospective costumed cons had been sabotaged, by the same people he claimed purposely sent his event off the rails.
As proof, he cited letters allegedly sent to hotels across Seattle and Spokane, in which he said an unnamed attendee described some of the scenes they saw at the gathering.
The letters allegedly described the four days of debauchery in-depth, warning hoteliers why they should not host the next Rainfurrest. It remains unclear if it was a hotel staffer who sent the correspondences, or a sabotage-minded attendee as he claimed.
Either way, those warnings would all be heeded - quickly making Rainfurrest not only a failed experiment, but a thing of the past.
The disturbing account, however, lives on, and as a case study, serves as a stark reminder of how venue vandalism can ruin a convention - especially anthropomorphic animal related ones.
Citing some alleged back and forth between him and the hotel , the Rainfurrest board member said he and others soon came to the conclusion they would need to look elsewhere in Seattle, no longer welcome at the Hilton. A furry in a diaper at the now infamous con is seen here
Beers in one of the attendees rooms are seen here, showing how the alcohol flowed over the course of the con
Other confirmed conduct was the open use of nitrous oxide canisters - or whippits - which create feelings of euphoria when used as an inhalant. More than 2,000 of the cannisters were seen just laying around rooms and hallways - just the start of the venue's drug problem
As this was all occurring, attendees - already dressed like animals - began donning diapers, some of which were not just for show. The furry-related phenomenon is often called 'crinkling' - after the noise those wearing the disposable garment make when walking around
As this was happening, staff and security were threatening to throw people out, as they had become increasingly rowdy, with many under the influence of drugs
Some disabled their hotel room's fire alarms to 'hotbox' their rooms, smoking marijuana feely with their windows closed
The fire department was called causing even more unrest, while someone took dozens of towels and tossed them into the pool.
A tweet from the now-defunct festival's still-operational Twitter account recounts in real time: 'Due to vandalism the hot tub is close the rest of the con. 'Sorry for the inconvenience'
This photo shows two unnamed attendees being arrested - one for drug possession and the other for dealing
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It started with a talent contest - which was documented, and went off without a hitch.
However, as the night went on, things devolved - as alcohol flowed freely and the furries were left to their own devices.
A streak of vandalism ensued, along with some bad behavior - to say the least.
First, a guest deliberately loosened the bolt on one of the first-floor toilets so that when the next person flushed, water flooded everywhere, two and a half inches deep.
Photos from outside the hotel room show how water sept as far out as the hallway, staining the carpet with soiled toilet water.
An emergency plumber was called to the scene, photos and posts to Twitter show, but for the most part, the damage was done.
The flooding had become so bad, water had leaked through the first floor and into the basement below, damaging the hotel's servers.
As this was happening, staff and security were threatening to throw people out, as they had become increasingly rowdy, with many under the influence of drugs.
Some disabled their hotel room's fire alarms to 'hotbox' their rooms, smoking marijuana feely with their windows closed.
The hotel bathroom that was purposely flooded by one of the animal enthusiasts is seen here. In the same bathroom, there allegedly was a unsanctioned installation of a glory hole - a small hole in the wall usually found in men's restrooms for anonymous oral sex
Attendees also damaged amenities like the hotel's elevators, to the point where some of them were left out of order
This, however, wasn't fully confirmed - unlike the other occurrences later laid out by a combination of cops, attendees, and hotel staffers, as well as a letter from the furry festival's frustrated chairman the next month
Psychedelic mushrooms were also used, to the point where two people had to be hospitalized after becoming to intoxicated
