Gateway FurMeet (GFM) 2026 is scheduled for Oct 16-18, 2026 in St. Louis, United States. The announced theme is 10th Birthday!. Guest of honor information lists DragonMelde. The charity partner is The Endangered Wolf Center.
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From attendees
Friday, Saturday and Sunday. 45 for ages 7 to 12
Adds a sponsor badge ribbon. 95 for ages 7 to 12
Adds a special gift and the Guest of Honor reception. 160 for ages 7 to 12, whose rate does NOT include the reception
Standard prices are shown. Weekend and single-day badges are on sale online until the convention. A parent accompanying a paid attendee aged 7-17 attends free with an on-site Tag-along badge. Children 6 and under attend free; an optional badge costs USD 5. Refund and 2027 roll-over requests close on October 25, 2026.
Earlier prices
Early registration, until 18 Sep 2026
Ages 7 to 12 paid USD 35, 85 and 150. Early registration closed at 11:59 PM on September 18, 2026.
St. Louis sits at the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers in central Missouri:
Curated stays near Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark, St. Louis, United States.
A year-by-year record of this convention
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Earlier prices
Early registration, until 18 Sep 2026
Ages 7 to 12 paid USD 35, 85 and 150. Early registration closed at 11:59 PM on September 18, 2026.
Gateway FurMeet 2025 drew 1,288 attendees to St. Louis for its magical-themed weekend. The convention raised over $19,000 for Friends of the Pet Adoption Center.
Gateway FurMeet 2024 ran March 15-17 at the Sheraton Westport Chalet Hotel under the Murder Mystery Party theme. The convention drew 978 attendees, raised $18,322 for Saint Louis Pet Rescue, and welcomed MattsyKun as Guest of Honor.
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2027
Dates TBA
2026
Oct 16-18
Theme
10th Birthday!
2025
Oct 3-5
Theme
Magical Menagerie
2024
Mar 15-17
Theme
Murder Mystery Party
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View Full CalendarFor the 2026 weekend, the local group Arch City Furs planned a fursuit parade on Saturday, October 17, from Kiener Plaza, across from the hotel, to the Gateway Arch and back, starting right after the fursuit menagerie. Gateway FurMeet has shared the parade but says it is not a con-hosted event, and fursuits are not required.
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3 quirks & policies that don't fit the highlights grid.
Cardinal Clash: a 1v1 single-elimination dance bracket
Gateway runs two separate dance competitions alongside its main dance program. The headline format is Cardinal Clash, a 1v1 single-elimination bracket capped at sixteen dancers. Prelims are a showcase round where five dancers perform back-to-back for 30 seconds each to random song assignments, no advance reveal, no fursuit requirement. The top sixteen advance to bracket finals, where each battle is two alternating 30 to 45-second rounds to the same song, judged on dynamics, originality, personality, execution, and response to music and opponent. Ties trigger a third-song runoff.
Notarized parental consent for unaccompanied minors
Gateway's `/minor-forms` policy goes one step further than the typical signed-PDF model. The parental permission form must be notarized in two specific scenarios: when a 17-year-old attends without a parent or legal guardian present, and when any minor under 18 is supervised by an adult who is not their parent or guardian. Both cases require a notary public attestation, not just a parental signature.
Day passes only went on sale after early registration closed
Gateway kept its 2026 day badges off sale until September 19, the day after the early-bird weekend rate ended at 11:59 PM on September 18. Early buyers got the cheapest weekend badge, and nobody could undercut it with a single day. Day badges now cost $50 for Friday or Saturday and $45 for Sunday, and both day and weekend badges stay on sale online up to opening day. The Sponsor t-shirt is only guaranteed for pre-registration, not for buyers at the door. Refund and badge roll-over requests close on October 25.
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