2 June 2020

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada,

To all of our friends and family of CanFURence:

We have continued to closely monitor the COVID-19 situation as it develops, and it is with a heavy heart that we wish to inform you the status has changed.

 With much regret we announce CanFURence 2020 will not be held this year. 

 As several events before us have had to alter course, we have done our best to ensure the rails were ready for when the whistle blows. 

 We respect the events that have also needed to make this difficult choice, and feel kinship with those still watching cautiously as they make tough decisions of their own. We know we are not alone in the broad statement that the safety and wellbeing of our attendance is - and shall remain - of paramount importance. This is a decision we have made, in continuing a tradition of leading by example and making the tough choices when we are called to action.

Several questions have been asked that have already been answered by friends and other events. We stand by them at this time and echo their sentiments.

Below are some questions pertaining directly to CanFURence 2020. If you have any thoughts or concerns not addressed here, please submit an email to . 

So what happens now? When will you be back?

We are planning to go ahead with CanFURence 2021 from July 30th to August 1st at the Westin Ottawa hotel. We have already reserved the venue and much of what was planned for this year will roll over to next year automatically. Our guiding tenet is that everything that was planned for this year shall happen next.

Will you still have the same theme? Same Guests of Honour?

Yes. Both Niknak and Dodge Horse have been briefed and are on board to meet us down the rails at CanFURence 2021. They have been truly excellent to work with and just simply amazing. We owe them many thanks and plan to continue this run until we meet our destination just steps from Parliament in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

What about the Charity?

Courageous Companions has been working with us for a few years and has likewise been adversely affected. Their ability to fundraise, as well as perform their charitable duties have been extremely impacted by these events. If you would like to show them some kindness directly, their information is here: https://courageouscompanions.ca/

I’ve already paid for my attendance for the convention; what happens now?

For those who have pre-registered, a separate email is being sent out with instructions and more info about your registrations.

At this time, from now until 31 July 2020, the below shall supercede any conflict with our standard registration policy:

• Your registration will automatically be rolled over to our 2021 year unless you choose to refund or donate your registration.
• You may request a refund of your registration. The instructions to do so will be sent to those pre-registered via email. If you have not received the email, the instructions will also be on our webpage under the registration section.  Be aware if you plan to come back for our 2021 year you will have to register again.  Link to Registration page 
  
• You may request to donate your registration. The instructions to do so will be in the same email as the one mentioned above. If you have not received the email, the instructions will also be on our webpage under the registration section. As with refunding your registration with this option you will have to register again for our 2021 year.   Link to registration page
  

CanFURence is at its heart a not-for-profit event run by volunteers all the way up. Any donations would be very much appreciated to help continue to host future events as every dollar is meant to go back to attendee experience. If you choose to donate your Registration, 10% of the funds will be forwarded to Courageous Companions - our esteemed and wonderful charity that is just as adversely affected.

When will 2021 registrations open up?

At this time there isn’t a set date for 2021 registrations to open up. As we want to give our registration team time to focus on any refunds and donations that have been requested. Once a date has been decided, we will send out another email and post on our social media sites with the new registration date.

I’ve already paid for my hotel reservation for the convention; what happens now?

For hotel reservations, if you have reserved a hotel room through our room block it has automatically been canceled; you don’t have to worry about contacting the hotel or following up. If you have any questions regarding anything from our room block please send an email to .

If you have made reservations outside of our room block, then you will have to contact the hotel or booking agency on your own in order to cancel it.

I was on the dealers list for CanFURence 2020, what are my options?

There is a separate email being sent out to pre-registered attendees and dealers with instructions and more info about your registration and dealers table.

Please note that if you choose the option to roll over your registration but donate the fee, your spot will be held for the following year; you will just be required to re-pay the same amount.

I submitted a panel application. What will happen?

All current panel applications will be rolled over into 2021 as well. An email will be sent out to all applicants with details at a later date.

I have a question that wasn’t answered by the above, what can I do?

Great! We love questions, and we love feedback. We also would love to hear from you! Just send an email to and we will reply back as soon as possible.

 As an ask, we request that you please try not to approach staff at this time - this is very hard on a great many of us, having to delay our event.They voluntarily put in a lot of effort both prior and during the con to make everyone’s experience great. We have lots to do to get ready for next year, and the planning starts now.

Final message from the Chairs:

This situation we are in is unprecedented. It is a dreary, sad time during which we are forced away from our friends and our family members. After this is all over, let’s take up all that we planned for this year and bring it right back for CanFURence 2021 as there isn’t any stopping this train we’re on. That being said, please check up on each other; heed the advice of officials; and always be kind when the opportunity presents.

See you soon,

                Co-Chair: BT-Armsitice                                          Co-Chair:  Conreeaght

This announcement is available as a PDF here

posted 2020/06/02