With our cancellation announcement last week, it’s been a rollercoaster of emotions in our community as we continue to monitor and react to the rapidly-escalating situation in Canada and around the world. However, we’ve also seen how our community can get through difficult times together and keep each other’s spirits up, and we’ve never seen as much support as we have now.
As we all continue to ride out the storm, there’s plenty of information for all our attendees to follow up on. We’re always working our hardest to keep you updated and to process everyone’s requests, but we ask our community to be patient as we take things step-by-step.
FURNAL EQUINOX 2021
As of now, our current direction is NOT to postpone our 2020 event to a later date given the uncertainty with how long the global pandemic will last, as well as conflicting with other events that are already scheduled for later in the year. Instead, we will look forward to hosting our convention at Furnal Equinox 2021 which is currently scheduled for March 19-21st, 2021.
The 2021 convention will have the same theme (Retro Rewind), same Guests of Honour (Anyare and Dr. Wildlife), and same amazing venue at the Westin Harbour Castle, but with twice the fun to make up for this year. This decision is made with ensuring that our attendees can plan accordingly for that event, and respecting the rest of the furry community as we continue to face the challenges that 2020 throws at us.
COMMUNITY ONLINE EVENTS
While we might not be able to meet up with our friends and socialize in-person (or fur-son), our community has banded together to create some alternative experiences through online channels. You can check out some of these online events here:
- KeepCalmCon, hosted by Eevachu – begins Thursday March 19th @ 9 PM Eastern
- StableStream, hosted by Dodge Horse – Saturday March 21st @ 9 PM Eastern
CHARITY – THE HOBBITSTEE WILDLIFE REFUGE
Everyone has been feeling the impact from this year’s difficult times, but our charitable nature doesn’t let us stop our community efforts to help those in need. We encourage all our attendees to support our Charity, the Hobbitstee Animal Rescue, and help realize their charity goals in place of our convention. Some of the online events listed above will also have opportunities to donate, so make sure you tune in!
FURNAL EQUINOX 2020: Q&A SESSION
We’ve been flooded with many questions and ideas over the past week’s time with the rapid change in the year’s event, and we’re aiming to provide opportunities to continue answering those questions. Join some of Furnal Equinox’s key leadership in addressing your questions in a live Q&A session, which we’ll be planning to host on a weekend. Details, date and a link to the live Q&A session will be announced soon!
REGISTRATION
Our team will be automatically rolling over all 2020 registrations to next year’s convention. If you are comfortable with a rollover, please don’t email us as it will be done automatically.
For those that would like to donate their registrations (not rollover) to help make 2021’s event even better, or to inquire about a refund, please let us know by emailing registration@furnalequinox.com.
Some of our attendees have asked when registration for our next convention will open, and at the moment our current focus is to address all of our 2020 concerns before we prepare our 2021 registration cycle. We’ll make sure we announce our plans for registration as the year progresses.
SPONSOR/SUPERSPONSOR PERKS
For our Sponsors, Supersponsors and our Benefactors, our decision regarding all perks and physical “swag” items is to rollover everything to our 2021 event. This means if you’ve elected to rollover your 2020 registration, you will be able to pick up your swag next year.
However should you wish to donate your membership level, or request a refund, please let our Registration team know by email. If you would like to donate your registration, you will not be eligible for 2020 swag. If you want to donate your membership but still receive swag, simply rollover to 2021 and pick up your swag there (no action needed). Please note that we are not able to offer partial refunds at this time; we would refund your entire registration amount if you request a refund.
DEALERS AND VENDORS
Dealers should have received further information via the email that they have registered with for their table. If you have any further inquiries, our Dealers team would be happy to assist you at dealers@furnalequinox.com.
HOTEL RESERVATIONS
The Westin Harbour Castle is allowing ALL attendees to cancel their room up to 24 hours before their check-in date, compared to the standard 72 hours. Please use the Westin Harbour Castle website and call them directly through their phone channels, found on the website. If you cancel following the 24 hours before your check-in date, you will still be subject to a one-night stay charge.
For reservations at the Novotel overflow hotel, contact the Novotel directly using the contact information found on the Novotel Toronto Centre Hotel website.
TRAVEL CANCELLATIONS OR CHANGES
We recommend contacting your travel provider, airline, or transit company for any refunds or changes that could be made. Due to the situation with COVID-19, many travel services and providers are offering refunds or changes for free – check with your arrangements to see if you qualify.
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As always, stay tuned into our social media accounts and follow our website for information updates as we continue to progress through these tough, unprecedented times.