CFC NEWSLETTER, MAY 2026 — SURVIVING THE FWA
To our future attendees,
Let us dive into this month's newsletter. This month we'll be discussing our FWA table, some adjustments to our vendor hall, a new space created by those adjustments to our vendor hall, our upcoming epic crossover event with DC Fur Meet on June 19th, our on-going suite lottery/application process and some general thoughts on our on-going registration process.
The FWA Effect
If you didn't catch our last newsletter, Capital FurCon had its first official convention presence at Furry Weekend Atlanta this year with a table in FWA's Vendor Hall!
So… How did it go?
In one word: Fantastic!
For those who stopped by our booth during FWA weekend, thank you! The amount of support and excitement we received honestly exceeded our expectations.
Over the course of the weekend, FWA attendees had the chance to meet members of our staff team including myself, Ralek (Art Lead), Bowser (Charity Lead), Kaedo (PR Lead), Bodie (PR Deputy), Twoshoes (Vendor Lead), and Eonis (Vendor Relations Deputy).
One thing that surprised us the most was just how many DMV locals we met. We spoke with attendees from DC, Virginia, and Maryland, as well as Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and beyond.
If you stopped by to chat, ask questions, grab merch, or just say hello: Thank you! We hope we made a good first impression and answered all your questions during our brief chats.
FWA also gave us a massive boost online.
Between our presence at FWA and the registration promo we had going there, and the launch of our suite applications we've seen a major increase in website traffic, social media engagement, and registrations overall. We're incredibly excited for the momentum we have going into the summer and we're running on all cylinders as we get prepped for CFC's first year.
We also received a ton of feedback on our first round of merchandise and branding. Huge shoutout to our art team for helping us get convention merch ready this early into our planning. The response was overwhelmingly positive, especially regarding CFC's overall visual identity and themed styling.
And yes, for those wondering: people really liked Jet. Both versions of him 😉.
Based on attendee feedback we're happy to say that the art direction and design style you've seen so far from CFC will remain consistent through the rest of this year. Future merch will continue building on that same quality and aesthetic.
Finally, our registration promo at FWA was extremely well received. Because of that, we plan to continue offering similar promos at future events whenever possible.
At the moment, DC Fur Meet is our only planned outreach event, but we're actively networking with other conventions and meets to expand those opportunities moving forward.
As always, we'll post updates on our social media as new events are confirmed.
Vendor Hall & Artist Alley Changes
After reviewing our current projections and vendor-to-attendee ratios, we've decided to make several quality-of-life improvements to our Vendor Hall layout for Year One.
The biggest change is that Artist Alley and the Dealer's Den will now be merged into one unified vendor space.
To support this change, we are also reducing the total number of vendor slots. Our updated target is approximately 40–45 vendors total, alongside a reduction of Artist Alley capacity from 180 slots to 100.
Why make this adjustment?
Simply put: we want vendors and artists to succeed.
One of the biggest things we've been monitoring throughout planning is making sure the attendee-to-vendor ratio remains healthy and sustainable. After reviewing our numbers, we felt the original layout risked oversaturating the space. These changes should create a stronger sales environment overall while improving traffic flow and visibility for everyone involved.
As an added bonus, merging these spaces frees up a large section of the Woodrow Wilson area that was originally allocated for Artist Alley.
Which means:
More event space.
This newly available area will now be used for larger meetups, social gatherings, and additional programming throughout the weekend. We're incredibly excited about the added flexibility this gives our Events team and the opportunities it creates for activities we originally didn't have room for.
Turns out removing tables from a room does, in fact, create room.
The Most Epic Crossover to Ever Crossover in the History of Crossovers Crossing Over (DCFM x CFC)
As many of you have no doubt seen on our social media, we are planning a Happy Hour crossover at Live K Karaoke at National Harbor with DC Fur Meet. We would like to thank DC Fur Meet's event organizers for working with us to run this event. Additionally, this event also overlaps with our event site inspection, which allows us to have a large deal of event staff on site for everyone to meet!
For those unfamiliar with this upcoming event, please see the event details below:
Name: DC Fur Meet X Capital FurCon Happy Hour
Date: Jun 19, 2026
Time: 4PM - 8PM
Location: Live K Karaoke, National Harbor
Events:
- DJ Sets + Karaoke Happy Hour, featuring DJs:
- NovoCanine
- KaiTo
- HanisAlive
- Fur Suiting (Two Rooms Provided, Partials Recommend - June Heat)
- CFC Promo Registration
- NoVA Prism Center Table
- Happy Hour Prices from 4PM - 7PM
- National Harbor Freedom Day Celebration Events
Note: Please be advised that this event will partially overlap with National Harbor's Freedom Day Celebration, so there will be additional tents and vendors in the public township areas. The road to National Plaza will be the closest drop-off point. Expect the area and garages to be busier than normal with all the festivities.
We hope to see you all there!
The Ongoing Suite Apps & Lottery Period
Suite applications and the suite lottery remain open through June 28th, and applications are filling quickly.
All suites are currently priced at $410/night and include:
- One king-sized bed
- One retractable couch bed
- Additional lounge space ideal for groups or small events
Room layouts and photos are available on our website.
If you want to apply with an event, please go to: Event Suite Application
If you are looking for a non-event suite for more space, please go to: Suite Lottery
Registration 3: Hindsight is 2028
The last major thing to discuss in our newsletter this month is how registration is going on our end. So far our systems are holding up rather well and we're maintaining a very steady flow of new account creations on our ConCat!
Additionally, the hotel is prepped and ready to launch our room block on schedule! If we have a sudden influx of registrations that wipe out our room block, we are already in talks with the hotel to secure more rooms for our attendees. We know you're all excited for a convention at the Gaylord, so we're planning ahead to make sure everyone will be able to attend! For those of you who register as super sponsor, in the event of a room block expansion, you will have guaranteed early booking access to new blocks as they open.
Closing Remarks
We leave you all with two final notes. First, please be on the lookout for two more big updates coming soon. One of which will be a general discussion about the overall theming of the convention, the atmosphere and activities we're looking to foster and the audience that we're looking to cater to. The second major update will be its own news post and will be made as soon as we have confirmation on a few things with the Gaylord.
Have a good rest of the month and see you all in the next post!