Anthrocon returns to Pittsburgh

PITTSBURGH — Anthrocon 2024 — also known as the Furry Convention — begins on July 4.

And this year is expected to be a record breaker.

More than 15,500 furries are traveling from around the world to the city for its annual convention, July 4-7 at the David Lawrence Convention Center.

It’s one of the largest anthropomorphic conventions in the world, where people dress as human-like animal characters.

“I love animal-based creativity,” Sebastian told Channel 11. “I’m a wildlife artist and a painter. So this is like a natural place for me. We make our own costumes. We make our own characters, it’s great.”

The convention’s economic impact is huge.

The hotel room block sold out within 12 minutes after registration opened.

Across the city, furries are booked in 22 hotels

VisitPittsburgh partnered with local businesses to offer discounts and anticipates about $17-and-a-half million in direct visitor spending over four days.

“This is a very big deal for Pittsburgh,” said Andrew Ortale, of VisitPittsburgh. “It’s one of the largest events that we host every year. And just that partnership with them coming back year-over-year, it’s just continual reinvestment in our city and our investment in them together.”

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