Furry Weekend Atlanta
Furry Weekend Atlanta’s inaugural convention took place in 2004 at the Holiday Inn Atlanta Airport North in Atlanta, Georgia. That year we welcomed 270 attendees, followed by 500 in 2005, and 563 in 2006. In 2007 we made our first move to accommodate our growth and headed to the Sheraton Atlanta Airport Hotel. Every few conventions we outgrew our spaces and found new homes to hold our event. In 2015 we packed up and moved into our current primary host hotel, The Atlanta Marriott Marquis. In 2023, Furry Weekend Atlanta achieved two of its biggest milestones to date. With 10,328 attendees, Furry Weekend Atlanta became the 2nd furry convention to break the 10,000 attendee threshold. And as a result, we were able to reach an organizational milestone by donating $100,000 to our Charity, Animal Park at the Conservators Center, our largest amount yet. Our progress continued in 2024 where we became the second to break 15,000 attendees with a total attendance of 15,021. And thanks to all of the support of our attendees, we donated $100,000 to our new primary charity, Lost and Found Youth.
Our mascots are a rabbit and a fennec fox. They are gender fluid and do not have set colors. Instead of defining our mascots, every year our GOH creates their own representation of mascots. Starting in 2009, FWA began theming each convention. Since then our GOH and creative team have worked together to create art, scenarios, and even backstories to transform our mascots into fursonas that are unique to that year’s theme. And we don’t stop there, those mascots and attendees get to live in a digital and physical world created by our staff and volunteers. Each year we build props, standees, photo opportunities, digital games, and more to build an immersive story-like experience.
Furry Weekend Atlanta, Inc. is a non-profit corporation, organized pursuant to the Georgia Non-Profit Corporation Code. It is headed by an Executive Committee and tasked with operating a yearly convention, Furry Weekend Atlanta, to provide high-quality education and entertainment for our attendees in a safe and fun environment, and to promote the acceptance and appreciation of the anthropomorphic fandom in the Southeast and throughout the country as a whole. Also, Furry Weekend Atlanta, Inc. hosts year-round events at their office and community space to promote community growth throughout the Metro Atlanta Area and Southeast. As a non-profit corporation, only funds necessary for the continuing operation of the convention are retained; the remaining funds are donated to appropriate charities.