Our Mission
Our primary mission is to raise funds for non-profit insitutions that promote the well-being of humans and animals. Secondarily, we also facilitate education and outreach related to anthropomorphic art and literature.
About Us
WPAFW, short for Western Pennsylvania Furry Weekend, is a three-day event held every October at North Park in Pittsburgh, PA. While WPAFW has some elements of traditional furry conventions, it’s quite different. The experience is much more similar to a barbeque than a convention.
While we do have panels, dances, and other activities similar to conventions, we don’t have a Dealers Den or Artist Alley. Instead the focus is entirely on raising as much money for our charity partner as possible. Our main fundraiser, the charity auction, is one of the largest of any furry event. Auction winners are drawn as part of a live comedy show on the last day of the event.
We also provide food and beverges, including plenty of beer!
Our History
WPAFW started as a small fur-b-que in 2001 held in the front yard of our founder, Swift. By 2003, it evolved into a two-day event, with the fur-be-que moving to Fireman’s Memorial Park in Aspinwall. By 2004, the event had grown from its original 12 attendees to 48, so Swift decided to create a full Furry Weekend, marking the first official year of WPAFW (although we didn’t tack the “Western Pennsylvania” to the front of our name until 2007).
Our attendance has jumped from 12 to over 500 today. Over the years, we’ve moved from Fireman’s Memorial Park to Boyce Park to our current home at North Park, where we’ve been since 2015. We hope to be here for many years to come!
For more detailed information about our history, check out our entry on WikiFur.
WPAFW Through the Years
