When it comes to destinations for far-out fun in the broader Bay Area, several local cities come to mind immediately.
San Francisco’s proud history of off-the-wall drag shows and psychedelic savvy is undeniable. Berkeley and Oakland’s countercultural bona fides cannot be disputed. The beach community of Santa Cruz—home to The Mystery Spot (opens in new tab), legendary surf culture and the self-explanatory “Keep Santa Cruz Weird (opens in new tab)” bumper sticker—is also a great place to cut loose.
San Jose, on the other hand, is known mostly for its professional hockey team (opens in new tab), bland skyline (opens in new tab) and trademark orange sauce (opens in new tab). It is synonymous with suburban sprawl.
But every winter, the South Bay city of more than a million residents hosts one of the hairiest parties west of the Mississippi.
Further Confusion (opens in new tab), the South Bay’s annual furry convention, awakens from hibernation this weekend. Starting on Thursday, Jan. 12, and running through Monday, Jan. 16, Downtown San Jose will welcome thousands of elaborately costumed celebrants—many of them dressed to the nines in colorful anthropomorphic get-ups.
Some may be skeptical of adults who choose spend their free time and expendable income on expensive animalistic attire. But it would be a mistake to lump the entire furry set in with The Cowardly Lion. In 2020, a video of a group of furries apparently intervening in a domestic violence incident (opens in new tab) on the streets of San Jose went viral.
You can read more about this year’s FurCon here (opens in new tab).