Bowling

Every third Saturday of the month, the LAFFurs hold their monthly fursuit-friendly bowling meet. The evening begins with a welcoming dinner and then once food and drinks are had we round-up the fans towards their vehicles to head to the bowling alley. Thanks to cooperation with the bowling alley staff, furry fans are welcome to suit up and bowl in their fursuits. A headless lounge is provided by the alley free of charge. In the background, artists set up supplies on the tables and begin drawing, often offering free sketches to friends or those interested. The event usually lasts 2 or 3 games before the after-parties begin. Popular venues are Denny's, Steak n Shake, and SliderCon at White Castle.

Contents 1 Event Summary 1.1 Code of Conduct 1.2 Dinner 1.3 Bowling 2 After-parties 3 History

[edit] Event Summary

[edit] Code of Conduct

Main article: LAFF Event Code of Conduct

[edit] Dinner

Started: Early 2004 Originally hosted by: Ash Previous hosts: Butterscotch, Shale, Blazger, Rayven Currently hosted by: Timoran Date: Every third Saturday of the month Time: 7 pm to 9 pm Current location: Buona Beef at 1341 Butterfield Rd (on Downers Dr.), Downers Grove, IL Cost: $5-$10 Fursuit/furry paraphernalia-friendly: The dinner is ear/tail/badge-friendly, but for the most part, there are no suiters at dinner Expected activities: Eat and socialize Average number of attendees: 35 ~ 40 Regular attendees: See the list of Bowling Attendees

[edit] Bowling

All details are as same as above except for the following:

Time: 9:30 pm Current location: Tivoli Bowl, 938 Warren Ave., Downers Grove, IL. Driving Directions Cost: $10 for unlimited bowling through midnight and shoes Fursuit/furry paraphernalia-friendly: Full-fursuits are allowed, but your footpaws must be non-slip, indoor only for safety. A designated changing space is provided for fursuiters. Expected activities: Bowling, Artists Alley, Arcade games, etc. Or you could be boring and just talk with your friends and socialize the whole time. Notes: You may sign up for bowling at Buona Beef or the bowling alley, but signup must be done before 9:25. After then, signup is closed.

[edit] After-parties

After parties are usually organized on a spur of the moment basis around midnight, as bowling winds down.

• SliderCon
• Denny's
• Steak n Shake

[edit] History

The LAFF Bowling event was first organized by Ash in early 2004. The first meet only had four attendees. Since then, attendance has skyrocketed to an average of 30-50 furries each month, with some months bringing even bigger crowds than that. Several people have taken charge of organizing the event as it has been handed down to new volunteers. Following Ash were Butterscotch, Shale, Blazger and Rayven, and currently Timoran.

The event began at the Fox Bowl in Wheaton, Illinois, where it remained for several years. While Shale was running the event, it moved for the first time; on October 28th, 2006, the Halloween Bowl event introduced the Brunswick Zone Glendale Heights alley. At this alley, there were several new features: Air Hockey, DDR, Karaoke, and a large party room. At first, fursuit feet could not be worn in the alleys, and there was no private changing area except the restroom; both issues have since been resolved. Unfortunately, the alley's Karaoke event was moved to Friday nights, but soon after Timoran began hosting Wii events, primarily including Super Smash Bros. Melee.

In addition to the new alley, October brought a new staff member to the bowling event: Blacksilver, who would assume the role of Bowling Alley Liaison. He is responsible for maintaining good will with the bowling alley to ensure that the event's unique needs are met. Any issues the group has with the alley, or vice versa, are often channeled through him. However, being an employee of the alley specially suited him for this role, and when the event moved to Tivoli Bowl he resigned the position.

Since the move to Brunswick, several furs wanted to revive a Fox Bowl event. On June 23, 2007, Blazger and Rayven briefly revived the Fox Bowl event. Two dinners were run prior to bowling: Baker's Square by Blazger, and Buona Beef by Rayven, both at 7:00. Unfortunately, Fox Bowl's leagues posed a space problem and Fox Bowl could no longer host Furry Bowling. The hosts have indicated that they are investigating the option of starting a new LAFF event, such as Miniature Golf.

On August 18, 2007, Shale announced that he would no longer run the Bowling meet. Timoran volunteered to assume the role of event organizer, and his first organized bowling event ran on September 15, 2007.

In January 2008, Timoran announced that Bowling would move to a new alley, since the Brunswick Zone would no longer have a party room available. The new alley, Tivoli Bowl, would provide the same amenities and pricing as before.