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Carolina Furfare (CFF) 2026 is scheduled for Oct 1-4, 2026 in Hickory, United States. The announced theme is Cryptid Catastrophe. Guest of honor information lists Hare Coven. The charity partner is Rescue Tails Animal Sanctuary.
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From attendees
Headline rate on record. The full tier ladder for 2026 has not been published yet, so check the convention's own site before you budget.
The nearest major airport is Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT), roughly 60 miles southeast of Hickory via I-40. The Asheville Regional Airport (AVL) is also an option, about 50 miles west. From Charlotte, take I-77 North to I-40 West directly into Hickory. The Hickory Metro Convention Center sits along US-70, making it straightforward to reach by car. There is no direct public transit from CLT to Hickory, so plan on a rental car or coordinating a rideshare.
Curated stays near Hickory Metro Convention Center, Hickory, United States.
The convention is held at the Hickory Metro Convention Center, and the 2026 room block runs across four hotels, three of them on the same short stretch of 13th Avenue Drive SE as the venue itself:
The three Marriott-and-Hilton properties are close enough to the convention centre to walk. Rates are per night before tax, and the block is the cheapest way into them for that weekend.
A year-by-year record of this convention
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At a glance
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2027
Dates TBA
2026
Oct 1-4
Theme
Cryptid Catastrophe
2025
Nov 6-9
Theme
Medieval Mountains
Want more context? Compare this convention against other furry events or browse the attendance rankings.
Drawing 1,134 attendees to Hickory, Carolina Furfare 2025 featured artist The Art of Nicole. The convention raised over $10,000 for Rescue Tails Animal Sanctuary.
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The 6-2-1 rule, post-con depression, and everything else first-timers need to know.
Real costs for badges, hotels, food, and dealers den across three budget tiers.
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3 quirks & policies that don't fit the highlights grid.
SFW twin of Bewhiskered: CFF opts out of NCAS's R-rated panel tiers
Carolina Furfare and sibling con Bewhiskered are both run by the North Carolina Anthropomorphic Society (NCAS), but on a deliberate SFW/R split. Bewhiskered runs NCAS''s R and R+ panel tiers; CFF explicitly opts out of both, positioning itself as the family-friendly counterpart in the NCAS calendar.
The 2024 cancellation retired the "Fursona" registration tier
CFF 2024 was cancelled mid-cycle, per the convention''s own 2025 registration FAQ, which refers to the "sudden cancellation last year". One direct consequence: the "Fursona" registration tier was permanently retired, a perk SKU killed by a cancelled year rather than reshuffled for the next edition.
Volunteer-for-free-reg rung: CFF single-direction, Bewhiskered bidirectional
Both NCAS cons run the same 16 hours of volunteer work = free registration rung, but they''re wired differently: at Bewhiskered the rung is bidirectional (work either con, redeem at either con), at CFF the rung is single-direction (volunteer hours redeem at CFF only). A small but codified asymmetry between two sibling cons under the same parent org.
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