*********************************************************** Southern Tails: Official Furry Weekend Atlanta Newsletter!! *********************************************************** ------------- New Hotel! ------------- As many of you have already seen or heard, FWA will be back in 2009 with a new hotel! FWA will be held in the Hilton in downtown Atlanta from March 19-22. The new hotel is absolutely breathtaking! We have worked hard to find a suitable replacement that was not only larger than our past venue, but was also easy to access for those flying to the airport, or driving in from out of town. We wanted to keep that “small con feel” even as our numbers approach being one of the biggest cons in North America! Moving to this new venue causes a slight increase in price but with the world class service that the Hilton provides, we are sure that everyone will be satisfied! There are over 50 restaurants you can choose from right in the immediate area around the hotel – from some of Atlanta’s top restaurants to a huge mall food court! Don’t worry about all these changes being overwhelming, our friendly staff is going to provide Dining guides and be available to help you when you need it! The hotel is easily accessible from anywhere – Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport has flights arriving from and departing to almost any airport in the world. From the airport, guests can take a hotel shuttle (for a fee) or hop on MARTA, our city's public transit system, which will bring you within a few blocks of the hotel. Further details will be available on the website in the coming months with step-by-step directions on how to get to the hotel. We are also very excited about our new date! Though we are sad to leave our Valentine’s Day weekend, this new date not only allow for the greatest expansion of FWA, but it is also brings our attendees to Atlanta during one of the most beautiful months of the year. ------------------ Hotel Reservations ------------------ The hotel is currently taking reservation both on the phone and online for FWA ’09! We managed to get these beautiful rooms for only $127.00 a night! Call the hotel at 1-404-659-2000 and ask for the “Furry Weekend Atlanta” rate for the weekend of March 19-22, or go online at: http://www1.hilton.com/en_US/hi/hotel/ATLAHHH-Hilton-Atlanta-Georgia/index.do Make sure to use the group code “FWA” to get the special rate! ------------------ Registration ------------------ Pre-registration for FWA ’09 is now open! Pre-registration will cost $35 for attending, $90 for sponsors, and $160 for God-level membership. (At the door, prices are $40 for attending, $100 for sponsors, and $180 for God-level membership). Make sure to pre-reg for the con in advance! Pre-registering for the con makes it easier and faster for you to start enjoying your con! See http://www.furryweekend.com/registration for more information and register now! ------------------ Theme ------------------ This year we would like to announce a brand new theme: FWA on Safari! No longer on Valentine’s Day weekend, we felt it was time to change our theme. We, as staff, will enjoy this change of pace and invite everyone to participate! ------------------ Guests of Honor ------------------ Every year we take pride in showcasing the top upcoming talent in the furry fandom, and this year is no exception – this year our two Guests of Honor will be the artist Moonstalker (Richard Foley) and musician Hali of Firpine (Mathew Ebel)! Both of our guests are extremely talented individuals and well-deserve the honor. Matthew Ebel Matthew Ebel has been called a soulful white guy, an acoustic geek-rocker, and the love child of Elton John and Billy Joel. His fans know him as everything from Matthew to Birdman to simply “Hot Wings”. Whatever you call him, though, Matthew Ebel is more than just a singer-songwriter, he’s a space pirate captain that takes his fans and friends beyond the mundane. His latest album, Goodbye Planet Earth, is a rock-solid, complete work in 17 movements. The album is a noted departure from Matthew’s typical organic feel, combining highly electronic elements like synthesizers and loops with raw vocals, pianos, pennywhistles, and more. It follows his critically-acclaimed release Beer & Coffee which, thanks to the power of the music and the pioneering spirit of podcasters, spread Matthew’s reputation across the globe as one of the biggest names in new media music. Moonstalker Moonstalker, well known and recognized among many members of the furry fandom, is a prominant artist who draws using a very realistic presentation of Anthropomorphic anatomy. ------------------- Dealers Den ------------------- This year, our Dealer’s Den will be bigger and better than ever! The tables will be more spread out and give you more room than any previous year, and we will continue to provide the best staffing available to make dealers comfortable. Table reservations are currently open, make sure to reserve your table early as all tables are distributed on a first-come first-serve basis! More information can be found here: http://www.furryweekend.com/dealers. ------------------- Volunteering ------------------- We had a great year for volunteering this past year! As FWA grows, we need more and more volunteers. We would love to keep up this current trend of success! In order to be successful though, we need your help! Ask any volunteer from last year and they can tell it was a blast, plus you get free stuff! You only work as much as you want to, and get to have as much fun as the staff of FWA. Go to http://www.furryweekend.com/volunteer for more information and sign up today! If you have volunteered in the past or otherwise want to give more of your time to helping FWA, you may be interested in become staff. Staff members have a bit more responsibility in both how much they work and how they are to be viewed by attendees of the convention. Being on staff at Furry Weekend Atlanta requires more responsibility, but being a part of making the convention happen is one of the most rewarding things you can do. More information on staff will be available at http://www.furryweekend.com/about/staff -------------------- DJ -------------------- Year after year FWA is breaking the mold and making everything at a con better! We need your help! FWA is actively taking applications for DJs at FWA ’09! We’re offering more variation, more dances, and more fun! If you think you got what it takes to DJ at one of the biggest cons in the US, simply send an email to: djing@furryweekend.com. --------------------- Variety Show --------------------- Furry Weekend Atlanta’s New and improved Variety show is now taking multimedia submissions. Under new direction we’re hoping to make the Variety show the most memorable event at the con! Contact entertainment@furryweekend.com for more information.