Fur Squared 2027 Opens Registration for Its Y2K-Themed "F2K" Weekend

Editorial maintenance

Reviewed, dated, and accountable

Status

current

Reviewed by

Mello Zone Editorial Team

Last reviewed

August 11, 2026

Next review

February 8, 2027

What changed: Furry Squared Initial con article outlining the 2027 convention.

Furry Squared Con Highlight: What to expect?#

Fur Squared 2027 registration is now open for the February 4–7, 2027 F2K weekend in Milwaukee, making this an especially useful time to compare badge availability, hotel planning, travel costs, and the convention's programming rollout. Check the official Fur Squared registration information for live availability, then use Mello Zone's furry convention culture hub for more convention reporting and planning context.

This year's theme, "F2K," is a Y2K-flavored twist on Fur Squared's long-running tagline, "Come Party Like It's the End of the World… It Might Just Be." Where 2026's convention leaned into a Renaissance-fair aesthetic, F2K trades tunics and tournament brackets for glitch art, countdown clocks, and a wink at turn-of-the-millennium panic. The con's marketing has committed fully to the bit: hotel bookings are being framed as reservations for "apocalypse survival bunkers," and social posts have used a dial-up-era, glitching-monitor visual style to announce new updates as they roll out.\

External YouTube content

YouTube has not been contacted. Load this provider only when you want to view its content.

Load YouTube content✓Remember this provider on this browserReview privacy controls

What "F2K" Actually Means for Attendees#

Beyond the branding, F2K is shaping up to be a genuinely music- and nightlife-forward theme. DJ applications for the convention's dance events are open now, with the con inviting anyone who spins nostalgic tracks, furry fandom favorites, or higher-energy sets to apply before the October 20 deadline. Artist Alley applications haven't opened yet — Fur Squared says it'll announce a window later in the year — and panel submissions are similarly still being finalized behind the scenes. For now, the clearest way to get a sense of what F2K programming will look like is to watch the con's social channels, which have been steadily teasing new pieces of the weekend as they lock in.

It's worth noting that the "end of the world" framing isn't new for Fur Squared — it's been the convention's tagline for years, appearing on merchandise, badges, and the website regardless of the specific yearly theme. F2K is really a fresh coat of paint on a phrase the con has built its identity around since well before this particular Y2K twist.

Fur Squared runs most of its day-to-day announcements through a mix of channels — its own website, Telegram, and Bluesky among them — and F2K's rollout has been a good example of how the con paces information out over the months leading up to the weekend rather than dropping everything at once. Registration tiers, hotel booking, and DJ applications all opened at different points, with Artist Alley and panel submissions still to come. Anyone planning to attend is better off following along as things open rather than checking back once and assuming that's the full picture.

Registration: What's Already Gone, What's Still Open#

Badge tiers for F2K are moving quickly enough that Fur Squared has been posting real-time updates as they sell out. The entry-level Poster tier — traditionally the convention's cheapest badge option — is already gone. That leaves attendees choosing between the remaining tiers, which currently range from roughly $67 pre-registered up to $200 pre-registered (with at-the-door pricing running higher, up to around $250 for the top tier). The priciest of those remaining options, generally understood to be the Super Sponsor tier, was down to only 172 spots as of the con's most recent update — meaning it could sell out well before badges go on sale at the door in February.

For anyone on the fence, the math here is straightforward: pre-registration is meaningfully cheaper across every tier than paying at the door, and the tiers that include extra perks (merchandise, early entry, and similar sponsor-level benefits, depending on the year) are the ones running out first. If you know you're attending F2K, registering sooner rather than later is the safer bet, both for your wallet and for guaranteeing you get the tier you actually want.

Two other application windows are worth keeping on your radar even though they're not open yet: Artist Alley, for artists who want a table to sell and commission work on-site, and panel submissions, for anyone who wants to run programming during the weekend. Fur Squared hasn't published exact open dates for either as of this writing, so the most reliable way to catch them is to follow the con's official accounts.

Fur Squared hasn't published a detailed breakdown of exactly what each 2027 tier includes as of this writing, but at most fan-run conventions, higher badge tiers tend to bundle in perks like exclusive merchandise, early access to the dealers den or a priority line for popular events, and sometimes small con-exclusive extras. Given that the Super Sponsor tier is the one currently running low, it's a reasonable bet that it carries the strongest set of perks this year, on top of simply guaranteeing you a badge before the tier disappears entirely.

Where You'll Be Staying (and Why You Shouldn't Wait)#

Fur Squared's host hotel is the Hilton Milwaukee City Center at 509 W. Wisconsin Avenue, connected by skywalk to the Baird Center, which the con uses as overflow programming and event space — a pairing it's leaned on more heavily as attendance has grown. Booking happens through an official reservation portal linked from Fur Squared's website rather than directly through the Hilton's general booking system, which is worth knowing if you're used to booking convention hotels the normal way.

Room availability is already tightening. As of the con's latest update, Wednesday night at the host hotel — the night before the convention officially begins — is completely booked, though rooms for the rest of the weekend (Thursday through the con's Sunday close) remain available. Fur Squared has explicitly warned attendees not to wait, noting that remaining nights are filling steadily. If your plans involve arriving Wednesday for an early start, it's worth checking whether nearby overflow hotels have inventory, since the host property's Wednesday block is no longer an option.

For anyone new to the con, it's worth budgeting a little extra time for logistics: downtown Milwaukee hotels during a multi-thousand-attendee convention weekend fill up fast, and Fur Squared's growth over the past few years means overflow options can go just as quickly as the host hotel itself. Self-parking at the Hilton runs about $40 per day if you're driving in, and the garage connects directly into the hotel, so it's a reasonable option for anyone road-tripping to Milwaukee rather than flying.

Getting to Milwaukee#

For attendees flying in, General Mitchell International Airport (MKE) is the closest option, sitting roughly nine miles south of downtown Milwaukee — about a 15-to-20-minute drive outside of rush hour. The Hilton doesn't run its own airport shuttle, so plan on a rideshare or taxi for the last leg; a typical Uber or Lyft between MKE and the host hotel runs somewhere in the neighborhood of $20. If you're driving in from elsewhere in the region, Milwaukee sits along I-94, making it a reasonably straightforward trip from Chicago, Madison, or the greater Great Lakes area, though Chicago O'Hare is roughly 95 miles away if you're weighing airports with more flight options.

Once you're downtown, Fur Squared's location is genuinely walkable. The Hilton sits close to the Milwaukee Public Museum, the Harley-Davidson Museum, and the Milwaukee Public Market, and it's within easy reach of the Milwaukee RiverWalk if you want to get outside during a break between panels. None of that is essential to enjoying the convention itself, but it's a nice bonus for anyone building extra time into their trip, especially first-timers who've never spent a weekend in downtown Milwaukee before.

February in Milwaukee is also worth planning around on its own terms. For broader preparation around crowded social events, moderation, and safety planning, Mello Zone also maintains an 18+ event safety guide. Average highs during the con's dates typically sit in the low 30s°F (around 0°C), with overnight lows dropping into the high teens, and the month regularly sees measurable snowfall — historically somewhere in the 10-to-14-inch range over the full month. None of that should keep anyone away, but it does mean packing a real winter coat, and building a little extra buffer into travel plans in case a snow system slows things down on the drive or flight in.

From a Backyard BBQ to One of the Midwest's Biggest Furcons#

Fur Squared's origin story is about as grassroots as furry conventions get. The idea traces back to 2012, when a group of furries at an annual Pride BBQ hosted at a Milwaukee fan's house — known in the community as Bit Ferret — got to talking about how Wisconsin didn't really have a furry convention of its own, and how the BBQ itself was about as close as the state's fandom got to one. Within a week, that conversation turned into an actual planning meeting, and Fur Squared's staff team was born.

The first Fur Squared convention took place in 2014, and for its early years it was held at the Sheraton Milwaukee Brookfield Hotel in Brookfield, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee. The convention kept its February date for most of that stretch, before shifting to April in 2022 and 2023 — a scheduling change that lined up with the broader wave of pandemic-era rescheduling many conventions went through — and then returning to its familiar February slot starting in 2024.

That same year also brought a change of address: 2024 marked Fur Squared's move to the Hilton Milwaukee City Center, a location the convention has stuck with ever since, expanding in 2025 to also use the nearby DoubleTree Milwaukee Downtown before settling into its current Hilton-plus-Baird-Center footprint. Each year since the move has come with its own distinct theme: 2023's "Fur²assic Park" leaned into a dinosaur-park concept, 2024 embraced a "World of Innovation" theme, 2025 went gothic with a masquerade-style aesthetic, and 2026's "RenFur² – The Royal Tournament" turned the convention into a Renaissance-fair-inspired weekend of court jesting and feast-style events. F2K continues that tradition of committing hard to a new bit every year. The move to a larger, more central property wasn't incidental — Fur Squared's attendance had been climbing steadily, and the Sheraton in Brookfield, while a fine home for the convention's earlier years, was never going to comfortably hold a con pushing toward three thousand attendees. Shifting downtown put Fur Squared closer to Milwaukee's airport, restaurants, and nightlife, which likely hasn't hurt the growth curve either.

Growth has followed a similarly steady climb. Fur Squared drew 2,128 attendees in 2025 and 2,795 in 2026 — a roughly 31% jump in a single year — putting it firmly among the larger furry conventions in the Midwest, alongside regional peers like Illinois' Midwest FurFest. If registration momentum for F2K is any indication, 2027 could push those numbers even higher.

The HAWS Partnership: Fur Squared's Charity Backbone#

One thing that hasn't changed as Fur Squared has grown its venue, its themes, and its attendance numbers is its charity partner. Since close to its earliest years, the convention has supported the Humane Animal Welfare Society of Waukesha (HAWS), a no-kill animal shelter serving Waukesha County, Wisconsin. The partnership has become such a defining part of the convention's identity that Fur Squared describes its charity fundraising as central to what the weekend is actually about, alongside the panels, performances, and art that fill out the schedule.

HAWS itself is worth knowing a bit about beyond just its name. Incorporated in 1965, it's the only shelter in the greater Milwaukee area that's both open-admission and no-kill — meaning it accepts animals regardless of age, health, temperament, or breed, rather than turning away harder cases the way capacity-limited shelters sometimes have to. The organization assists roughly 8,000 animals and welcomes more than 35,000 human visitors each year, and it reports an unusually high return-to-community rate, with the large majority of animals it takes in eventually finding homes. Beyond adoptions, HAWS runs behavior and training programs, a foster network, low-cost food and supply assistance, and humane education programming aimed at kids and families — the kind of full-service operation that goes well beyond just housing animals until they're adopted.

The fundraising numbers back up how central that partnership is. As of the con's 2020 closing ceremony, Fur Squared had already raised more than $110,000 for HAWS across its history to that point — and the pace has only picked up since. The 2025 convention alone brought in $24,454 for the shelter, and 2026 topped that with $31,536, tracking neatly alongside the con's growing attendance. HAWS recognized the relationship formally back in 2018, dedicating a plaque thanking Fur Squared for five years of dedication and service — a gesture that speaks to just how embedded the shelter has become in the convention's yearly rhythm.

For attendees, that charity focus tends to show up most visibly at the convention's auction events, where fursuit makers, artists, and other community members donate pieces specifically to raise money for HAWS. It's also part of why Fur Squared has built a reputation, even among furries who've never attended, as one of the more charity-driven cons on the regional circuit — the kind of convention where showing up to a weekend of panels and parties also means directly supporting a local animal shelter's day-to-day work. Attendees who want to contribute beyond their badge price can typically do so directly at the con's charity auction and any dedicated donation drives Fur Squared runs alongside it, on top of whatever portion of registration and merchandise proceeds the con directs to HAWS each year.

Artists and Guests of Honor#

Fur Squared's Guest of Honor tradition has consistently spotlighted people working at the intersection of music, fursuiting, and visual art, rather than sticking to a single kind of honoree year after year. In 2024, the con honored RhubarbTheBear, a musician, composer, and art patron, alongside TheRealCosmik, a musician, DJ, and musical director. The following year brought M.A.J.I.C Records, a BIPOC-led music, dance, and event curation collective, together with Lilia Roo, a fursuiter and software engineer, as 2025's Guests of Honor. For 2026's RenFur² theme, the honorees were Little Alpha Pup, a fursuiter and singer-songwriter, and Tikku, a wood sculptor — a pairing that leaned nicely into that year's Renaissance-fair aesthetic.

As of this writing, Fur Squared hasn't announced who'll be honored for F2K. Given the pattern of recent years, expect an announcement that pairs a musical or performance-focused guest with a visual artist, likely timed to land sometime before badges reach their final pricing tiers. Anyone curious will want to keep an eye on Fur Squared's official channels, since guest announcements have historically been one of the bigger moments in the convention's pre-con buildup. The pattern across those years also says something about what Fur Squared values as a convention: honorees aren't chosen purely for name recognition, but for genuine ties to the fursuiting, music, and craft communities that make up the con's core attendee base — a reflection of how thoroughly Fur Squared is a fan-built, fan-run event even as it's grown into one of the region's bigger conventions.

What to Expect On-Site#

For anyone who hasn't been to Fur Squared before, the convention runs on the same basic structure as most mid-sized furry cons, just with its own distinct flavor layered on top. Expect a full slate of panels covering fandom topics, fursuit-making, art, and community discussion; a dealers den and artist alley for buying art, commissions, and fandom merchandise once those applications open; DJ sets and dances that lean into whatever theme the con has committed to that year; and a fursuit parade that's become one of the weekend's signature moments, drawing hundreds of suiters walking through the host hotel in past years.

Fur Squared operates under a published non-harassment policy that applies throughout the convention space, and — like most furry cons — draws a mixed crowd of first-timers, veteran attendees, and local Wisconsin furries who treat it as something close to a hometown convention. That local flavor is part of what gives Fur Squared its personality: the con leans into Wisconsin's reputation for cheese and Midwest hospitality as much as it leans into whatever elaborate theme it's running that year, and past attendees often describe it as a friendlier, more community-driven alternative to some of the region's larger events.

The fursuit parade in particular tends to be the moment even non-suiters plan their schedule around — a procession through the host hotel that's become a kind of unofficial photo op and community celebration rolled into one, and one of the more reliable ways to see just how many attendees showed up in costume that year. The dealers den and artist alley, once their applications open, round out the weekend's economic engine, giving attendees a chance to support independent artists and makers directly rather than just browsing panels and parties.

Tips for First-Time Attendees#

If F2K will be your first Fur Squared, a little planning goes a long way. Badge pickup and the convention itself will be at the Hilton Milwaukee City Center, so lock in your badge tier and hotel nights first — especially given how quickly both have already started selling out for this particular year. If you're flying in, budget for the roughly nine-mile trip from Mitchell International Airport into downtown, since there's no hotel shuttle; if you're driving, factor the hotel's daily self-parking fee into your trip budget, or look into whether a nearby garage offers a better rate for the weekend.

Bring a badge holder or lanyard if you can, since most furry cons expect badges to be visible at all times. If it's your first time in a fursuit at a convention this size, it's worth pairing up with a friend or fellow attendee for your first trip through the dealers den or down to a panel — not because Fur Squared has a reputation for being unwelcoming, quite the opposite, but because navigating a packed hotel with limited visibility and airflow is easier with a second set of eyes nearby. And because Artist Alley and panel schedules are still being finalized, it's worth checking Fur Squared's site and socials again closer to February rather than assuming the current lineup is final — a lot can (and likely will) be added between now and the con. If you're still deciding between the two open badge tiers, weigh how much of the weekend's extras actually matter to you versus just wanting reliable entry — a straightforward badge is perfectly enough to enjoy panels, the dealers den, and the parade, and there's no reason to feel pressure into the pricier tier if it's outside your budget.

Volunteering at Fur Squared#

Like most fan-run conventions, Fur Squared depends heavily on volunteer labor to actually happen — everything from registration desk shifts to running the dealers den, moderating panels, and helping with load-in and load-out at the Hilton and Baird Center. The convention maintains a dedicated staffing section on its website for anyone interested in getting more involved beyond just attending as a badge holder. For furries who've been to a few conventions already and are looking for a way to get more plugged into the community side of things, con volunteering is generally one of the more direct paths in, and Fur Squared's steady growth over the past few years likely means it'll need a correspondingly larger volunteer team for F2K.

How to Register#

Getting registered for F2K is straightforward. Badge registration is handled directly through Fur Squared's official site, where the current tiers, pricing, and remaining availability are listed in real time — useful given how quickly some tiers have already sold out. Hotel booking runs through a separate reservation portal linked from the same site, rather than through the Hilton's general booking system, so it's worth going through Fur Squared's own links rather than searching for the hotel directly.

From there, the best way to stay current on everything still to come — Artist Alley applications, panel submissions, DJ lineup announcements, and eventually the 2027 Guests of Honor — is to follow Fur Squared's official social accounts and check the website periodically as the con gets closer.

Bottom Line#

If you are comparing F2K with other fandom events, browse the Mello Zone community hub and our furry convention culture coverage for more context before booking.

Between a fully committed Y2K theme, a badge structure that's already selling out ahead of the con, and a charity track record that keeps climbing year over year, F2K is shaping up to be one of Fur Squared's biggest weekends yet. For furries in the Midwest weighing whether to make the trip to Milwaukee this February, the early signs — sold-out tiers, a tightening hotel block, and a convention that's grown by double digits in back-to-back years — suggest this isn't a con to leave until the last minute. Whether F2K ends up being remembered mainly for its glitchy Y2K branding, another record-setting HAWS total, or whoever ends up announced as Guest of Honor, the run-up alone has already made clear that Fur Squared isn't slowing down — and neither, it seems, is the Midwest furry community that keeps showing up for it.

Sources and further reading

• Official convention site (opens in a new tab)
• Registration and hotel info (opens in a new tab)
• 2026 attendance and charity totals (opens in a new tab)
• Convention history, Guests of Honor, HAWS totals (opens in a new tab)
• Year-by-year attendance and charity totals (opens in a new tab)
• HAWS background (opens in a new tab)
• Hotel/airport distance and parking info (opens in a new tab)