Photos: Local Furries Come to Life at Flap-N-Yap Rave During Pride Weekend

If you're hip to the furry life, these photos need no introduction. For those who are unaware (or tragically misinformed) about furry fandom, the local furry community had their very first rave event during Cincinnati Pride weekend, and major props are in order to folks who braved the heat advisory in those immaculate fursuits.

Called "Bleat," the rave was hosted by Alice OTR on June 21 and was created by furry nonprofit Flap-N-Yap, formed in January 2023, that creates "connections without conventions" for the Tri-State furry community.

The furry fandom, as it's commonly called, refers to a community of people who enjoy anthropomorphic animal characters, most commonly hybrid animals, wolves, foxes, dogs, cats and more. The furry community is known to celebrate art, music and costumes depicting these characters, and they're known to be a very tight-knit fandom. According to a five-year research study from the International Anthropomorphic Research Project, at least 50% of furries regularly attend furry conventions and about half of a furry’s friends are furries as well.