RAVEFURREST UNLEASHED

Oh boy ! What a wild way to spend my belated Halloweekend. A furry rave, in a haunted house ???? :000 Super sick, super swag.

Ravefurrest Chicago was a blast...

I found out about this event through Instagram, where some of my local faves promoted it like crazy! I've never been to a rave specifically geared towards furries, and it immediately caught my attention. I guess you can say I'm fur-curious...

lol

I'm gonna assume that anyone reading this has at least a vague idea of what furries are, with their big, bright costumes, tails, ears, collars, or whatever, letting out the inner animal. As far as I can tell, furry spaces are generally found online or at conventions. They're generally seen as being safe spaces for marginalized groups, such as queer people, people of color, neurodivergent people, disabled people, and those suffering from mental illnesses. Obviously there's a lot of variety from person to person/space to space, but the furries that I know are very cool, very accepting, and know how to have a great time! :)

A huge part of being a furry is being able to hide your face, so you can make yourself into whatever you want to be. I have this wolf hat that I really dig; wolves are one of my favorite animals and, overall, a fun creature to embody. It's generally too extravagant to wear in public, but this was the perfect opportunity to bring it out. #woof #awooooo

Hehehehe ...I had a really great time skating over to the spot, I got so many funny looks from people.

I got to the super secret special haunted house around 7:30, halfway through my friend Jonnn's set. Side note: I had spent the previous Monday celebrating their birthday over at the HQ of Snailzone, a DIY audiovisual show hosted on datafruits. Jonnn and their partner Zaxy are super kind, talented people, and it was nice to hang out and dance to some awesome music once again. Here's a lil clip I got ..... oUo

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Up next was my homie Axel, known on the scene as DJ MAGITECH. She makes some very danceable, intense beats and also does really psyched-out furry art. I love what she makes, and I take a lot of inspiration from her! During her set, she started off with some really chill, slower stuff. Then after a while, SULPHURR hopped on the mic and started freestyling!! o-0 Sydney and Axel used to perform in a group together, which has since disbanded...however, it was awesome to see that they're still making music together. I don't think I've ever heard Sydney do vocals before, and she killed it !!!

Here are a couple of bits I remember from her set:

• "_____ is normal ! " she used her position as MC to spread positivity! Many people in the crowd had never been to a rave before and had no idea what to do. She made it clear to everyone there that being a furry is normal and awesome and that the space was safe for them to express themselves. Throughout the night, whenever she was on the mic; she went on with the #normal theme, which was a great way to tie things together between sets.

• "GET OFF YOUR PHONES" xD ... a lot of first-time ravers make the mistake of trying to record everything that is going on, which is a bit silly considering the impossibility of that task (I feel awkward enough taking my 10-second clips). I understand the appeal of wanting to have something to look back on, but performers much prefer when people are dancing and having fun, especially when they're standing in front!

• "Chuck-E-Cheese I be token." (toking)

Need I say more? xD

I decided to listen to her advice and not use my phone for the rest of the set.

<3

Also, shout out to whoever figured out how to get that fan working ! It was getting really toasty on the dance floor, especially with the wolf hat. I can't imagine how it must've been for people in the full fur suits 😭 #salutethetroops

Up next was Crispy and then Seanni. Idk either of them, but their sets were cool:

At this point, the house was getting packed, and out of the corner of my eye, I think I saw a ghost ...

:00 #scary

Luckily, I was close to my apartment, so I headed out for a brief intermission. However, as I was making my way to the front, I noticed that the door to the basement was open ,,, but I left that for later later... I was on a mission.

I quickly skated home, and baked peanut butter cookies :3 !! Unfortunately, in doing this, I missed most of the Casper McFadden set (we had the Casper set at home, and I was listening to one of their CDs while baking). The cookies took longer than I had hoped for, but they turned out good, so I can't really complain.

I didn't get back to the show until well after midnight, and it was even more crowded than before! Definitely the biggest show I've been to in a long time.

I hung outside for a while, and gave cookies to a bunch of my friends!

And while I was out there, I discovered a secret cellar door. I cautiously went inside and was shocked to find...

ANOTHER PARTY!!! This one was far more relaxed than the one going on upstairs; it featured DJs, unknown to me, playing some sick vinyl sets. There was a lounge, bar, and additional bathroom (which came in handy because the line to get into the one upstairs was INSANE).

You could actually feel the walls shaking from all the music and dancing going on upstairs, I thought the ceiling was going to cave in on me x_x

TBH, The rest of the night was a blur; I was hopping around between the upstairs, downstairs, and yard, trying to find people to give the final cookies to. It was daylight savings on that night, so I actually experienced two 2AMs. I was not ready for this, I had been up since 7 AM. But it happened anyways! #lol Sydney played for one of the two AMs, and Toxicyurilovetriangle (also known as Agatha) played for the second. I was floored. Literally. I was sitting for most of it.

It was then that the ghost appeared to me, once again. I managed to get a brief glimpse of it on camera.

It was pretty scary ngl, but at least now I know they're real. We like the same music, and I guess that counts for something.

All in all, I'm not scared of ghosts as long as they're not mean about it... and I think the ghosts here were chill?? Like, it seemed like nobody else noticed the paranormal activity, or if they did, they didn't care.

It's hard to tell, but they're out there, alright. 👻 trust me

👁️

BOO!

👁️

Anyways I enjoyed the last little bit of music before the show was over:

I finally made it to the end of one of these things! After all of that, I was too tired to walk home by myself, so I ended up crashing on my friend's couch. Very cozy and very very much appreciated :)

Shout out to everyone who performed, worked, organized, hung out, danced, and made the night what it was. That must've been really hard to put together and even harder to manage. I have no idea how people pull off throwing stuff like this, but I'm here for it. :)

Hope y'all had a happy Halloween.

rawr xD

-Mo H