Rainfurrest 2013 was one of the most pleasant surprises I've had.

It wasn't the first time I'd hosted my panel at the con. I had held it (I think) in 2011, back when I was still figuring things out, trying to find the best way to keep the workshop fun. I'll confess, it wasn't my best performance. My plan for the panel was not well executed, and the experiments I tried just weren't that engaging.

But there were more problems than that. The con had given me a strange time slot, like 10pm in the evening on Friday, much later than I was used to. (Though granted, I once did a 9pm panel at FurFright that was OUTSTANDING.) When I arrived to set up, the room was a mess, with some earlier panel having thrown pieces of paper all over the room. I ended up having to clean the room myself and was late getting started. And only a handful of people showed up, no doubt most furs already drunk and having fun on their Friday night, so the panel just sort of dragged to its conclusion.

I was so unhappy with how things had gone, I didn't even bother going to Rainfurrest 2012. But I used to live in the Seattle area, I have a lot of friends up there, and I was coaxed back into going in 2013. By then, I'd already done a dozen panels using the new "Furrywood" format and had the system down. If I was going to go to the con anyway, might as well give the workshop another shot.

It did not start out well. I had another late Friday slot, though earlier this time, around 8pm. A few hours before start time, my friend  kyell asked for my help with his podcast. His usual engineer wasn't able to make it to the con until Saturday, and I had my recording equipment because of my panel. Only trouble was-- his panel was scheduled at the same time as mine.

Oh, well. I let the staff know I wouldn't be able to host my panel, and they helpfully rescheduled me-- to late Sunday afternoon. I helped out my friend, who very generously included me in the podcast (Thanks, KG-2!), and then enjoyed the convention, wondering if I'd be lucky enough to get even one pair of voices to record.

My panel was PACKED.

I couldn't believe it. After being rescheduled to nearly the very end of the con, barely announced (I think someone taped up a flyer somewhere), and my previous experience hosting my panel at Rainfurrest, I figured I'd have barely anyone. But instead, I had people standing by the door because every chair was filled. And this time, the room was clean and quiet, the attendees were enthusiastic, and I got some terrific recordings. It was an awesome panel.

That alone was enough to wash out the bad taste from my first panel experience at RF. Months later, the con took it a step further. I was contacted by convention staff several weeks ago asking if I could bring my panel back to the con. I was flattered immensely. They even let me have two panels, like I did at Rocky Mountain Fur Con, and I'm hoping I can fill them up, too.

I'm certainly looking forward to it! Rainfurrest may have made a poor first impression on me, but it most certainly turned that around!

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#1 - Company Policy written by  tazel
Grayson played by Aki-Rin
Dale played by Aspera

#2 - Alley-Oops written by Buck Hopper
Bruce played by Sere
Ryan played by  pyrostinger

#3 - Rats and Rainbows written by Buck Hopper
Chipper played by FennecHelix
Raymond played by  tazel

#4 - The Jackal and the Ostrich Part 2 written by Buck Hopper
Len played by Hunter
Jamil played by  bellua

#5 - Clarity written by Buck Hopper
Sara played by Xemos
Henry played by GuerySRose

#6 - The Jackal and the Ostrich Part 1 written by Buck Hopper
Alden played by Entaru
Cherry played by  dolph

#7 - The Curse written by tazel
Gypsy played by Nigel
Tommy played by Twins

#8 - Alley-Oops written by Buck Hopper
Bruce played by  whyteyote
Ryan played by Shokuji

#9 - Claw of the Dragon written by Buck Hopper
Katsuro played by  kodachrome
Yori played by Songdawg

#10 - Deep Roast written by Buck Hopper
Braugh played by Iridescent Sprinkles
Joe played by Hunter

#11 - The Homestretch written by  kintomythostian
Samson played by  iedino
Hecuba played by  augustactor

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