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From attendees
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.
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
Open an edition to see the details that belong to that year.
Carolina Furfare 2026 ran October 1-4 at the Hickory Metro Convention Center with Hare Coven as Guest of Honor. The convention's closing post counted 1,347 attendees and 368 fursuiters, and $13,893 raised for Rescue Tails Animal Sanctuary.
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.
Trends
Compare dates, themes, attendance, charity, and guests across the record.
See how this convention grew over time.
2027
Dates TBA
2026
Oct 1-4
Theme
Cryptid Catastrophe
2025
Nov 6-9
Theme
Medieval Mountains
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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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