Birfday Otter Update 23AUG2026

HI! hugs The big monthly update will be next week. 

There are five (5) birfdays listed for this week on the Unofficial Birthday List:
- Kusac Antonial is forty-eight Today! (Sunday, August 23rd) Happy Birfday! 
-  Kratsminsch Skunk will be sixty-eight tomorrow (Monday, August 24th). 
- Shiver, the Raccoon, will be fifty-six on Tuesday (August 25th). 
-  DredWolf will be forty-four, also on Tuesday. And 
- Maligno Fox will be forty-six on Friday (August 28th). 
Many Happy Returns of your day! 

And heads-up for Stryke Stella’s birfday next Monday (August 31st). 

On the Local Furry Events Desk, this weekend is going to be busy. 

Colin The Original will host a Scooters Skate & Draw Meet today (Sunday, August 23rd), starting at 1:00 PM. The location is Scooter’s Roller Palace, 2105 Royal Windsor Drive, Mississauga (near Slarkson FO Station). They close at 5:00 PM. Roller skate, then take a break, draw and exchange drawings. The entry fee is $16 (cash or plastic). Skate rental is $5; that and concessions are cash only. There are small lockers for your stuff; those only take coins. Fursuits are not recommended. There will be children; no swearing, no pup hoods or other kink gear of any kind. OBEY THE STAFF!
- more information and to RSVP – https://t.me/Torontowo/69822 

- NB. This event was originally dated Saturday, August 29th; I don’t know when or why Colin changed it. No other details have changed.

NorthPaws Events will host Feral Frequency 4: Freak4Freq this Friday (August 28th). From 9:00 PM until 2:30 AM at Geary Avenue Warehouse Project, 209 Geary Avenue, Toronto. Your DJs (in alphabetical order) will be 66mix, Aeons, Azalea The Witch, Novaxdj, weathergirland, and Xeon.
- tickets (probably sold out) - https://www.eventbrite.com/o/120397960231 
- more information - https://www.feralfrequency.net/ or https://t.me/feralfrequency/115 
- also, these guys - https://gearywarehouse.com/ 

It’s not specifically Furry, but The 519 is hosting an Intergenerational BBQ on Saturday, August 29th, from noon to 4:30 PM at Barbara Hall Park, 519 Church Street, Toronto. Celebrate the 2SLGBTQ+ community Summer BBQ. 
- more information and to RSVP - https://www.the519.org/events/summer-bbq/ 

Steel City Beasts will host their third (?) dance on Sunday, August 30th, from 3:00 PM until 9:00 PM at Ringside!, 324 James Street North, Hamilton. It’s an outdoor shaded gazebo with a cash bar that’s wheelchair accessible. There’ll be music, vendors, a headless lounge, a pool table and lounge seating. DJs (in alphabetical order) will be Brock, Dodge, Jin and Sugar. At the time of writing, early bird tickets still seemed to be available.
- more info, how-to-find-us video - https://t.me/SteelCityBeasts/89 
- tickets – https://ra.co/events/2482218 

Serious Sirus will host a Con-Critters Meet at Fan Expo on Saturday, August 30th (meeting time still TBA at time of writing). Obviously this will happen at Fan Expo, Toronto Metro Convention Centre, Toronto. Fursuiters, cosplayers, etc are all welcome. There will be a group photo.
- for more info and to RSVP – https://t.me/c/1356340389/21899 

Animal Instinct – After Dark will happen on Sunday, August 31st from 1:00 PM until 3:00 AM at Oasis Aqualounge, 23 Mutual Street, Toronto. Oasis features a pool, hot tub, and dungeon. Pups, Furries and anthros are invited. Admission to Oasis is $100 for couples and solo men, $15 for solo women. 
- more info – https://t.me/c/2413479984/378051?single 
- tickets – https://tickets.oasisaqualounge.com/events/90566 

At the time of writing,  there were still a few tickets left for Bark In The Dark 4. 
- https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/bark-in-the-dark-4-2-skool-4-kool-tickets-1996378418591 

There were also a few tickets left for Feral Frequency 4: Freak4Freq at the time of writing. You might need an account to see them.) 
- tickets - https://freak4freq.eventbrite.ca/ 

Early bird ticket sales for Faunaesthetics Genesis have ended. The regular price is now in effect: $20 + HST. All ticket sales end September 6th. 
- https://faunaesthetics.ca/events/genesis 

EuroFurence, Megaplex and Pawstral end today (Sunday, August 23rd), while Camp Feral! and Furthest North end tomorrow (Monday, August 24th). Four Furry conventions begin this weekend.
- StratosFur, August 27th to 30th, Houston, TX 
- Aberacon, August 28th to 30th, Port Talbot, UK 
- DenFur, August 28th to 30th, Denver, CO 
- West Aussie Fur Frenzy, August 28th to 30th, Fremantle, West Australia 

On the Holidays and Occasions Desk, today (Sunday, August 23rd) is the 150th Anniversary of Treaty 6, the agreement between the Crown (Queen Victoria at the time) and several First Nations, including the Plains and Woods Cree, Assiniboine, etc. There were also signings on the 28th and September 9th. (Please note that official celebrations started on the 20th with a ceremony at Edmonton City Hall; the Alberta government did not send a representative.) Today is also International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition; yes, there were African slaves in Canada. Today is Black Ribbon Day, a day of remembrance for victims of Stalinism and Nazism. And today is International Blind Dog Day, a day of appreciation for dogs who can’t see, for their special needs and what they can do with their other senses. 

Tomorrow (Monday, August 24th), Mawlid or Milad un Nabi will begin at sunset; it is the Sunni Muslim celebration of the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday (pbuh). Tomorrow will also be International Day Against Intolerance, Discrimination and Violence Based on Musical Preferences, Lifestyle and Dress Code. On August 24th, 2007, Sophie Lancaster died from injuries. She and her boyfriend Rob Maltby had been assaulted by other teens who didn’t approve of Goth culture. “There is no such thing as a right to never be offended. If you don’t like it, fuck off.” (Kindly refrain from killing people because they dress differently, listen to different music, or really for any reason.

On Tuesday (August 25th), Mawlid (or Milad un Nabi) will begin at sunset; this Mawlid is the Shi’a Muslim celebration of the prophet Muhammad’s birthday (pbuh). And Tuesday will be Linux’s Birthday; the anniversary of Linus Torvalds announcing his project (Linux) on comp.os.minix in 1991. 
NB. Four days been suggested as Linux’s birfday; July 3rd, (the day he mentioned it on comp.os.minix for the first time), August 25, (see above), September 17th, (the day the Linux kernel was released), and October 5th, (the day the first full version of Linux was released.) Torvalds favours September 17th. 

Of special note, if you live in the Beaches-East York riding and want to vote by mail in the by-election, you have until Tuesday to apply for a voting kit. Election day is Monday, the 31st.
https://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=vot&dir=reg/svr&document=index&lang=e 

Wednesday (August 26th) will be World Dog Day in Canada. Animal advocate Colleen Paige founded the day in 2004 to remind the world of the plight of homeless and abused dogs. It started as an American national day, but it was a good enough idea that it spread. 

Thursday (August 27th) will be World Lake Day, a celebration of the importance of lakes to nature and human civilization. (It’s an otter thing.) And canidae, please note that the moon will be at its fullest on Thursday at 11:18 PM. This will be the Sturgeon Moon (Feesh!), also known as the Red Moon, Green Corn Moon or Grain Moon. 

Friday (August 28th) will be Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day, a memorial day for pets who died before us. Friday will also be International Read Comics In Public Day; commemorate Jack Kirby’s birfday by reading comics where people can see you do it. And Friday will be Otter Appreciation Day; I admit I’ve yet to find the source for this occasion. It was announced on Fur Affinity by Scrimno Otter several years ago, but it might have something to do with actor Sean Astin being photographed with an otter. 

Saturday (August 29th) will be International Day Against Nuclear Tests, a United Nations day to support bans on testing nuclear weapons. Saturday will also be International Go Topless Day, an annual event held in the United States to support the right of women to go topless in public on gender-equality grounds. (It’s already legal in Canada.) And Saturday will be the first night of International Bat Night; observe bats and learn about bat conservation; it ends on the 30th. 

Here's a heads-up for next Sunday (August 30th). It will be International Whale Shark Day and Frankenstein Day. (It will also be Alberta Day, so keep an eye out for news about that.) And next Monday (August 31st) will be International Overdose Awareness Day. 

If you want to be on the Unofficial Birthday List, or if you'd prefer to be removed or have your entry changed, email me at dotter8@gmail.com, and I'll fix it for you promptly. I WILL NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR REQUEST IF YOU SEND IT IN ANY OTHER WAY! (Requests should include the name you are or want to be entered under so that I know which "Jim Smith" to change to "Honking Camel.") Please note that the UBL is NOT linked to the TorFur list; if you change or delete your TorFur entry, you must notify me separately. Also, it's my policy never to add people to the UBL unless they ask to be added, changed or removed. Please don't ask for somebody else. However, you can have a Character of Significance on the list, as long as you own it. (Ask me.) 

Nips & cuddles, 
-- Dee 

Birfday Otter Update 16AUG2026

HI! hugs 

There are six (6) birfdays listed for this week on the Unofficial Birthday List:
- Scani Forte will be thirty-eight tomorrow (Monday, August 17th). 
- Branwyn will be fifty-two on Tuesday (August 18th). 
- Jinx The Lynx will be thirty-two on Thursday (August 20th). 
- Teddy will be forty-four on Friday (August 21st). 
- Aurorus Kitsune will be forty, also on Friday. And 
- Terry Wesner will be sixty-three on Saturday (August 22nd). 
Many Happy Returns of your day! 

And heads-up for Kusac Antonial’s birfday next Sunday (August 23rd) and for Kratsminsch Skunk’s birfday next Monday (August 24th). 

On the Local Furry Events Desk, 66nix and weathergirl will host All Paws On Deck 2 tonight (August 19th) from 7:00 PM until midnight at The Wych, 1150 Davenport Rd, Toronto. DJs may come to try out for Northpaw Events dances (Feral Frequency and Tailgate). Bring your own USB for a 30-minute spot on their Pioneer XDJ-XZ; first come, first served. If you want to come and listen for free, you’re also welcome. The Wych serves goth cocktails. 
https://t.me/c/3481400727/5464 

The next Oshawa Furmeet is Friday (August 21st) starting at 7:00 PM at Leisure Lanes, 728 Champlain Ave, Oshawa. Come and enjoy fursuit bowling and alley-type snacks.
https://t.me/c/1260370444/401391 

When there’s an Oshawa Furmeet on Friday, there’s usually an Oshawa Virtual Furmeet on Saturday (August 22nd) on VRChat starting at 8:00 PM.
- Info through Telegram, https://t.me/oshawavrmeet 

The only other local event this week is Camp Feral! from Thursday, August 20th to 24th at 1 Camp Arowhon Road, Algonquin Park, ON. If you haven’t registered yet, try again next year.
- details - https://campferal.org 

Steel City Beasts had to change their DJ line-up. Your DJs will now be Brock, Dodge, Jin and Sugar. Some “early nird” tickets were still available last Sunday; they might be gone by now.
https://ra.co/events/2482218 

Tickets for Bark In The Dark: 2 Skool 4 Kool go on sale tomorrow (Monday, August 17th) at 9:00 PM. Sponsor badges are available. Please bring stickers for the sticker board. DJs (in appearance order) will be Kandikat, 66nix, Drag with Alissa Brink, Jude and Azalea the Witch. 
- more info - https://www.Barkinthedark.gay/ 
- or https://bsky.app/barkinthedark.gay
- tickets - https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/bark-in-the-dark-4-2-skool-4-kool-tickets-1996378418591 

Tickets are on sale now for AnthroNiagara’s Paws & Pins event at Kingpin St. Catharines, from 4:00 PM until 11:00 PM. Kingpin offers bowling, mini-putt and arcade games. There will also be a headless lounge. 
- more info – https://t,me/anthroniagara/5 
- still more info and tickets – https://anthroniagara.ca/ 

Registration closes for Camp ConiFur on Thursday, August 27th. Camp ConiFur will happen September 12th to 14th at Camp Wetaskiwin, St. Catharines, ON, and will feature swimming, hiking, capture the flag, and Zee the Raccoon. (She announced it on her Yt.) 
- more info and tickets - https://www.campconifur.ca 

Five Furry conventions begin this week. 
- EuroFurence, August 19th to 23rd, Hamburg, Germany 
- Camp Feral!, August 20th to 24th, Camp Erewhon, Algonquin Park, ON 
- Furthest North, August 20th to 24th, Snow Creek Group Campground, AB 
- Megaplex, August 21st to 23rd, Orlando, FL 
- Pawstral, August 21st to 23rd, Santiago, Chile 

On the Holidays and Occasions Desk, today (Sunday, August 16th) is the Feast of St. Roch of Montpellier. Roch got the black plague in Rome, so he withdrew to a hut in the forest. A dog brought him food every day. The dog’s owner followed and became Roch’s acolyte.

Tomorrow (Monday, August 17th) will be Marcus Garvey’s Birthday; he’s a hero to Rastafarians for founding the Universal Negro Improvement Association and the African Communities League. Tomorrow will also be International Black Cat Day. Black cats are the last to be adopted and are often abused because of their superstitious association with witches.  Be nice to black kitties; they need love, too. (Thanks to Kliah Mott for suggesting this occasion. It is celebrated on October 27th in the UK.) Tomorrow will be the first day of Public Service Pride Week; it ends on the 21st. And tomorrow will be the Feast of St. Mamas of Caesarea (also known as Mammes). Mamas preached to animals. They threw him to the lions for being Christian, but he preached to them, and they became docile. One lion stayed with him and protected him. 

On Tuesday (August 18th) nothing in particular will happen. 

Wednesday (August 19th) will be World Humanitarian Day, an occasion declared by the UN to “pay tribute to aid workers who risk their lives in humanitarian service, and to rally support for people affected by crises around the world.” Wednesday is also International Orangutan Day; there are three subspecies of orangutan, and all are critically endangered. Wednesday will be Polygamy Day, a day to promote marriage between one man and two or more women, sponsored by Polygamy Day, Inc. And Wednesday will be World Photography Day, a celebration of photography; show off your best photos. 

Thursday (August 20th) will be  Khordad Sal, the Zoroastrian celebration of the birth of the Prophet Zarathushtra. (We’re not sure how old he’d be.) Thursday will also be World Mosquito Day, the anniversary of Dr. Sir Ronald Ross's 1897 discovery that female mosquitoes, not males, transmit malaria between humans. And Thursday will be A&W Burgers To Beat MS; A&W will give $2 for every teenburger sold to help beat Multiple Sclerosis. (You can also donate at the link below.)

Friday (August 21st) will be  Jashan of Shahrewar; it’s a Zoroastrian thanksgiving festival during their month of Shahrewar, but I couldn’t find what it’s for. Friday will also be World Senior Citizens Day. “The day is intended to increase awareness of the factors and issues that affect older adults, such as health deterioration and elder abuse. It is also a day to recognize and acknowledge the contributions of older people to society.” (Wiki) And Friday will be the first day of the Canadian National Exhibition for 2026; it ends Birfday Otter Update 16AUG2026

Saturday (August 22nd) will be the Feast of Saint Guinefort, a most unusual saint. Guinefort was a dog, a greyhound loyal to a knight who lived in a castle in Lyons. One day the knight went hunting and left his baby in Guinefort’s care. He returned to find his son’s room in a mess and Guinefort with blood on his jaws. He slew Guinefort, thinking he’d eaten the baby. Then the knight heard his baby crying, turned over the cradle and found his son alive and a viper dead of dog bites. The knight put Guinefort’s body in a well and planted trees around it. This became a local shrine. The church tried to stop parishioners from venerating a dog; thus, the Streisand Effect spread his fame even further.

Here's a heads-up for next Sunday (August 23rd). It will be the 150th Anniversary of Treaty 6 (also 28th and September 9th), International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition and International Blind Dog Day. And next Monday (August 24th) will be Mawlid (or Milad un Nabi) and International Day Against Intolerance, Discrimination and Violence Based on Musical Preferences, Lifestyle and Dress Code. 

If you want to be on the Unofficial Birthday List, or if you'd prefer to be removed or have your entry changed, email me at dotter8@gmail.com, and I'll fix it for you promptly. I WILL NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR REQUEST IF YOU SEND IT IN ANY OTHER WAY! (Requests should include the name you are or want to be entered under so that I know which "Jim Smith" to change to "Honking Camel.") Please note that the UBL is NOT linked to the TorFur list; if you change or delete your TorFur entry, you must notify me separately. Also, it's my policy never to add people to the UBL unless they ask to be added, changed or removed. Please don't ask for somebody else. However, you can have a Character of Significance on the list, as long as you own it. (Ask me.) 

Nips & cuddles, 
-- Dee

Birfday Otter Update 09AUG2026

HI! hugs 

There are three (3) birfdays listed for this week on the Unofficial Birthday List:
- Kliah Mott is eighty-three Today! (Sunday, August 9th) Happy Birfday! 
- Amandajean Snowpaws will be sixty-nine on Tuesday (August 11th). And 
-  Blackears will be fifty, also on Tuesday. 
Many Happy Returns of your day! 

And heads-up for Scani Forte’s birfday next Monday (August 17th). 

On the Local Furry Events Desk, Northpaws Events will host TAILGATE this Friday (August 14th), from 8:00 PM until 2:00 AM at Lee/s Palace, 529 Bloor Street W, Toronto. This event is kink-friendly and 2SLGBTQ+ inclusive, so please be nineteen or older. Your DJs will be ClaireWolf, Gussyee, Solvi, Stacxion and weathergirl. 
- more info -  or https://tailgatefurry.net 
- tickets – https://www.ticketweb.ca/event/tailgate-lees-palace-tickets/14208924 – some left? 08AU2026 

Tickets are now on sale for “Steel City Beasts: Ringsde At Ringside,” Ringside!, 324 James Street North, Hamilton, on Sunday, August 30th from 3:00 PM until 9:00 PM. Early bird tickets are $17.05, regular admission is $22.75 (both with tax). Vendor applications are coming soon.
- more info & video on how to find the place - https://t.me/SteelCityBeasts/89 
- tickets – https://ra.co/events/2482218 

General admission tickets for Feral Frequency 4 go on sale today (August 9th) at 11:00 AM. NB. If you bought tickets for Steel City Beasts, you got a discount code for Feral Frequency. 
- more info - https://t.me/feralfrequency/115 or https://t.me/FurryEventsOntario/1489/2003 
- tickets - https//freak4freq.eventbrite.ca 

Furnal Equinox panel applications are open now. (They close October 24th.) They also still need more staff, BTW.
- to submit a panel application – https://furnalequinox.com/panel-event-submissions/ 
- volunteers/staff – https://furnalequinox.com/volunteer/ 

East, Furrydelphia, CanFURence, Fur Raymi, Tails of Summer and IceFurCabin all end today (Sunday, August 9th), while South Afrifur ends tomorrow (Monday, August 10th). Two Furry conventions begin this weekend. 
- Dutch Furcon, August 14th to 17th, Groesbeek, Netherlands 
- Furry Vietnam Eternity/FUVE, August 15th, Ho Chi Minh, Viet Nam 

Before I continue, here’s a PSA. Some time between June 15th and August 16th, 2020, hackers broke into the CRA’s database and stole ID data from some Canadian citizens. There is a class action suit for Canadians affected. To get in on it, you’ll have to show an auditing firm that your data was stolen. Go to the link below and fill out a three-question form to find out if you’re eligible. You have until February 3rd, 2027 to apply. 
- more information - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pE6RV17h_9c 
- to prove you’re eligible - https://www.breachsettlementcanada.kpmg.ca/en/eligibility-check 

On the Holidays and Occasions Desk, today (Sunday, August 9th) is Nagasaki Day; please see the first footnote. Today is also National Peacekeepers Day, a remembrance day for Canadian troops who died in peacekeeping activities. And today is International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples; in a way, it’s a day of protest against the Doctrine of Discovery, a Roman Catholic law that, simply put, when a Christian country discovers land inhabited by non-Christians, the discoverers own it. 

Tomorrow (Monday, August 10th) will be Multiversal Underwear Day, but that’s a Discordian "holy day", so we’re not meant to understand it. Tomorrow will also be World Lion Day, to support awareness of lion conservation. (According to the IUCN, lions are critically endangered; less than 23K remained in 2025.) And tomorrow will be International Biodiesel Day. On August 10th, 1893, Rudolf Diesel's prototype engine ran for the first time, and the fuel he used was peanut oil. 

Tuesday (August 11th) will be Dogbomb & Sarah Day; please see the second footnote. And Tuesday will be World Steelpan Day, a UNESCO heritage day in honour of the famous recycled percussion instrument of the Caribbean. 

Wednesday (August 12th) will be Zaraday, another Discordian “holy Day” that we’re not supposed to bother with. Wednesday will also be International Youth Day, a day to encourage respect for young people. Wednesday will be World Elephant Day, a day of appreciation for conservation of elephants in the wild. (According to the IUCN, Asian and African savanna elephants are endangered, while African forest elephants are critically endangered.) And Wednesday will be Quantum Cat Day,  Professor Erwin Schrödinger’s birfday; he would have been 139. 

Thursday (August 13th) will be a busy day.
- Thursday will be the End of Safar, the second month in the Islamic calendar. It is said to be an unlucky month, but that’s just superstition. Three significant events did happen during Safar, however: the Battle of Al-Abwa, the Prophet Muhammad became sick (but didn’t die until later), and the Prophet appointed Abu Bakr to lead prayers while he was sick.
- Thursday will be the first day of Obon, the Japanese Buddhist/Shintoist grave cleaning holiday. Believers (and everybody really) travel to their family homes to clean their ancestors’ graves and spend time with family. It ends on the 16th. 
- Thursday will be World Organ Donation Day. The purpose of the occasion is “to raise awareness about the importance of organ donation and to make people aware of the misconceptions of organ donation.” 
- Thursday will be International Left Handers Day, a day to dispel myths and promote facts about people whose dominant hand is their left instead of their right. 
- Thursday will be International Wolf Day,  a day to promote not killing wolves for sport or superstition. 
- And Thursday will be Dairy Queen Miracle Treat Day. All net proceeds from the sale of Blizzard treats will be donated to local children's hospitals. (You can also donate at the link.) 

Friday (August 14th) will be World Lizard Day, an occasion dedicated to appreciating lizards. (Scalies are animals too!) 

Saturday (August 15th) will be National Acadian Day; Acadians were the French immigrants who founded the New France settlements in what are now New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Saturday will also be Assumption Day, the Catholic celebration of St Mary being taken into Heaven, body, soul and all, when she died. Saturday will be World Stray Animals Day, also known as International Homeless Animals Day, a day to promote the care of dogs and cats whose “forever home” is the streets. And Saturday will be World Nimbat Day*, which celebrates the anniversary of “Dust: An Elysian Tail” worldwide release 2012, and in particular Fidget the Nimbat, Dust’s adorable sidekick. 

Here's a heads-up for next Sunday (August 16th). It will be the Feast of St. Roch of Montpellier. And next Monday (August 17th) will be Marcus Garvey’s Birthday, International Black Cat Day, the Feast of St. Mamas of Caesarea and the first day of Public Service Pride Week. 

If you want to be on the Unofficial Birthday List, or if you'd prefer to be removed or have your entry changed, email me at dotter8@gmail.com, and I'll fix it for you promptly. I WILL NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR REQUEST IF YOU SEND IT IN ANY OTHER WAY! (Requests should include the name you are or want to be entered under so that I know which "Jim Smith" to change to "Honking Camel.") Please note that the UBL is NOT linked to the TorFur list; if you change or delete your TorFur entry, you must notify me separately. Also, it's my policy never to add people to the UBL unless they ask to be added, changed or removed. Please don't ask for somebody else. However, you can have a Character of Significance on the list, provided you own it. (Ask me.) 

Nips & cuddles, 
-- Dee 

* (Okay, I confess, I made this up after dealing with World Numbat Day in November.) 

+-----------------------------------------------+ 

Nagasaki Day, August 9th

On this day in 1945, at 11:01 local time, the “silverplate edition” B-29 Superfortress “Bockscar” dropped “Fat Man,” a plutonium implosion-type bomb, on the city of Nagasaki. The bomb detonated over a tennis court halfway between the Mitsubishi Steel and Arms Works and the Nagasaki Arsenal. It delivered a 21 kiloton explosion, but the blast and resultant firestorm were confined to the Urakami Valley. Estimates of the death toll vary widely, but at least 22,000 were killed immediately, only 150 of them military personnel. Due to a faulty fuel transfer pump, Bockscar was unable to land at its base at Iwo Jima. The crew diverted to Okinawa, where they made an emergency landing with no casualties.

NB. There is some doubt as to whether Emperor Hirohito and his military advisors decided to surrender because of the nuclear bombings or because Soviet forces were attacking in Manchuria, forcing Japan to fight on two fronts, neither of which they could hold.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fat_Man

+———————————————–+

Dogbomb and Sarah Day, August 11th

On this day in 2010, Dogbomb was out walking in his famous Beastcub Gshep fursuit. As he went along the pier at his local beach, he noticed a girl in a wheelchair, Sarah. She couldn’t move very much, but she could smile. She smiled at Dogbomb. Her smile moved him to let her hold “the big doggy’s” paw and nuzzle his chest. She did not want to let go right away, so he stayed and let her hold hands for as long as she liked.

At last she had had enough. As Dogbomb was leaving, Sarah’s mother explained the situation to him. Sarah had advanced cerebral palsy. Her mind was sharp, but her body failed her, as he had seen. Yet she had learned to express her appreciation to her caretakers in small ways, as she had with him.

Later, he wrote about the experience in his FurAffinity journal. The post went viral. The incident and his description of it so moved the fandom that Dogbomb became a spiritual leader and a considered voice in our little community.

A hero is just somebody who decides to help; sometimes despite danger, sometimes despite fear, sometimes for no other reason than that it’s the right thing to do.

https://www.furaffinity.net/view/4296204

Birfday Otter Update 02AU2026

HI! hugs

There are five (5) birfdays listed for this week on the Unofficial Birthday List:
- Xanothos Tengetsu’s birfday will be tomorrow (Monday, August 3rd). 
- The Zebu’s birfday will also be tomorrow. 
- Snow will be fifty-three on Tuesday (August 4th). 
- Cnipur will be forty-two on Wednesday (August 5th). And 
- D'Bandit will be sixty-four on Thursday (August 6th). 
Many Happy Returns of your day! 

And heads-up for Kliah’s birfday next Sunday (August 9th). 

On the Local Furry Events Desk, there’s nothing. Two local events were scheduled for yesterday, but none for this week. (That doesn’t mean you can’t hold an unscheduled event if you feel like it.) 

This is just a reminder that registration is open for Camp ConiFur.
https://www.campconifur.ca 

CozyCon is selling physical merch again.
https://cozycononline.com/cozy-store 

Faunaesthetic is holding an event of some kind sometime on Saturday, September 5th. It will happen at The Cotton Factory, Mill Building, Suite 301, 270 Sherman Avenue North, Hamilton. They’re still being stingy with details, but they have an FAQ. Also, they’re looking for one more DJ.
https://faunaesthetic.ca/faq 
https://faunaesthetic.ca/contact/dj-application 

HIM has announced the next TEM Shop. Unfortunately, HIM posted all the details on Instagram, so I can’t get them (short of starting an Instagram account, and I refuse to do that).
https://www.instagram.com/p/DbcPm2Slc3w/?igsh=MXU2ZDRzNDI0YzE5aQ== 

Futerkon, Anthro Weekend Utah, AnthroIrish, Osaka Furry Fun Festa and Super Furry Fusion end today (Sunday, August 2nd), while  Bratislava FurFest ends tomorrow (Monday, August 3rd). Eight Furry conventions begin this week.
- East, August 5th to 9th, Suhl, Germany 
- TrashCån, August 5th to 9th, Parpan, Switzerland 
- Furrydelphia, August 6th to 9th, Philadelphia, PA
- CanFURence, August 7th to 9th, Ottawa, ON 
- South Afrifur, August 7th to 10th, Johannesburg, South Africa 
- Fur Raymi, August 8th to 9th, Lima, Peru 
- IceFurCabin, August 8th to 9th, Iceland 
- Tails of Summer, August 8th to 9th, Richmond, BC 

On the Holidays and Occasions Desk, today (Sunday, August 2nd) is Bunny Girl Day in Japan. Eight (for August) and two (second day) in Japanese is “hachi ni”, which can be read as “bunny.” Draw your favourite character in a bunny girl costume (I believe that means the old Playboy Bunny uniform). And today is the first day of International Assistance Dog Week in honour of dogs who help us in our daily lives; it ends on the 8th. 

Tomorrow (Monday, August 3rd) will be Civic Holiday; it’s a statutory holiday in Ontario, so you should be paid extra for having to work on Monday. And Monday will be Esther Day; please see the footnote. 

On Tuesday (August 4th), Arba’een will begin at sunset; a pilgrimage for Shi’a Muslims to the shrine of Husayn ibn Ali (the third Shi’a imam) at Karbala, Iraq. Tuesday will also be Assistance Dog Day, a celebration of dogs who help people with disabilities. And Tuesday will be International Clouded Leopard Day; according to the IUCN, these iconic cats have been vulnerable to extinction since 2008, and their numbers are still decreasing. 

Wednesday (August 5th) will be World Ant Day, which is a celebration of ants. (They’re animals too, you know!) 

Thursday (August 6th) will be Hiroshima Day. On this day in 1945, at 08:15 local time, “Little Boy,” a uranium gun-type atomic bomb, was dropped on the city of Hiroshima from the “silverplate edition” B-29 Superfortress “Enola Gay.” It missed its target, the Aioi Bridge, by 240m, detonating over the Shima Surgical Clinic. It delivered a 16 kiloton blast, however, and had a destructive radius of 1.6km, so nukes and horseshoes. 70,000-80,000 people were killed by the blast and resultant firestorm; only about 20,000 of them were military personnel. 

Friday (August 7th) will be International Beer Day, which is a celebration of beer. Its purpose is to enjoy beer, remember those who brew and serve beer and to bring the world together in support of beer. (mostly the first thing) 

Saturday (August 8th) will be International Day of the Female Orgasm; on this day in 2006 in Espertina, Brazil, Councillor Arimateio Dantas passed a law that men must give their wives or other female lovers an orgasm when they have sex. Saturday will also be International Cat Day, one of several world cat days, this one created by the International Fund for Animal Welfare in 2002. (Thanks to Kliah Mott for contributing this occasion.) Saturday will be Scottish Wildcat Day, dedicated to this Critically Endangered species of small cat found only in Scotland. And Saturday will be Vore Day; don’t. 

Here's a heads-up for next Sunday (August 9th). It will be Nagasaki Day, National Peacekeepers Day and International Day of the World’s Indigenous People. And tomorrow (Monday, August 10th) will be Multiversal Underwear Day, World Lion Day and International Biodiesel Day. 

If you want to be on the Unofficial Birthday List, or if you'd prefer to be removed or have your entry changed, email me at dotter8@gmail.com, and I'll fix it for you promptly. I WILL NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR REQUEST IF YOU SEND IT IN ANY OTHER WAY! (Requests should include the name you are or want to be entered under so that I know which "Jim Smith" to change to "Honking Camel.") Please note that the UBL is NOT linked to the TorFur list; if you change or delete your TorFur entry, you must notify me separately. Also, it's my policy never to add people to the UBL unless they ask to be added, changed or removed. Please don't ask for somebody else. However, you can have a Character of Significance on the list, provided you own it. (Ask me.) 

Nips & cuddles, 
-- Dee

+-----------------------------------------------+ 

Esther Day, August 3rd 
“Esther Earl was a Nerdfighter who died in 2010 when she was 16. When she was very sick, her family asked her how she would like them to celebrate her birthday after she was gone. She said that she wanted them all to take the day to say "I love you" to the people who you love, but you maybe don't say it enough, or maybe it's hard to do. Which is just, like, the kindest, most thoughtful answer to that question ever.” 
-- John Green, author of The Anthropocene Reviewed and The Fault In Our Stars 
 
-- Hank Green, author of An Absolutely Remarkable Thing 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mj96HM9kDTQ  

Birfday Otter Update 26JUL2026

HI! hugs 

There are two (2) birfdays listed for this week on the Unofficial Birthday List:
- FireDragon is forty-three Today! (Sunday, July 26th) Happy Birfday! And 
-  MacX will be forty-seven on Wednesday (July 29th). 
Many Happy Returns of your day! 

And heads-up for Xanothos Tengetsu’s and  The Zebu’s birfdays next Monday (August 3rd). 

On the Local Furry Events Desk, Muzzled is presenting The Beach Episode today (Sunday, July 26th) from noon until 6:00 PM at Hanlans Point Beach (the clothing optional beach), Toronto Islands, Toronto. Obviously, this meet is for furs nineteen and older. Bring beach chairs or blankets, towels, sunscreen and bug spray, food, drinks and water, fursuits and pup hoods. Inflatables welcome, but bring them at your own risk. 
- for more info – https://t.me/muzzled_announcements/127 
- Muzzled - https://www.getmuzzled.ca/ 

PALS Pack Weekend continues today with Brunch at O’Grady’s from 11:00 AM until 1:00 PM, then “ARF” at The Drink from 5:00 PM until 10:00 PM. (Their beach party at Hanlan’s Point was yesterday, Saturday.)

Spike and Kandiwolf will host their SPYKE!Party on Saturday, August 1st from 10:00 PM until 1:00 AM at The Wych, 1150 Davenport Rd, Toronto. This event is kink-friendly, and the dress code is “no genitals,” so please be nineteen or older. Your DJs will be Aurora, Hydro and Kandiwolf. Tickets ($15) are optional, but they help to fund the event, so please consider getting one. (And please buy something from the bar to support the venue.) 
- tickets – https://TAS-Spike.eventbrite.com 
- more info – https://t.me/c/1380778557/712093 or https://t.me/c/4304544209/3 

Jasper and Blue Fox Boots will host Festival of Floof on Saturday, August 1st starting at 1:00 PM. You can find them at the 50th Hamilton Festival of Friends in the Tree-Shaded Area of the Rose Garden, Gage Park, Hamilton. There will be music, food and Furry fun for all ages. Bring food or get take-out at nearby stores. Lunch will be at 1:00, then we’ll wander about in fursuits (or just with the suiter There will be a crowd, so expect to be asked for pictures. 
- more info & to RSVP – https://t.me/Clusterfluff/288647 

Tickets still seem to be available for Northpaw Events’ Tailgate on Friday, August 14th, from 8:00 PM until 2:00 AM at Lee’s Palace, 529 Bloor Street W, Toronto. This event is kink-friendly and 2SLGBTQ+ inclusive, so please be nineteen or older. Your DJs (in alphabetical order) will be ClaireWolf, Gussyee, Solvi, Stacxion and weathergirl. 
- tickets – https://www.ticketweb.ca/event/tailgate-lees-palace-tickets/14208924 
- more info - https://t.me/tailgatetoronto or https://tailgatefurry.net 

Faunesthetics is accepting DJ applications for something in Hamilton on Saturday, September 5th. That’s all they’re saying right now. 
- more info - https://t.me/faunaestheticeventsannouncements/4 
- DJ Applications – https://faunaesthetic.ca/contact/dj-application 

Camp Conifur is accepting panel submissions. However, they announced that for medical reasons they lost three of their five organizers. Things might be less organized than they should be this year.
- panel submissions – https://forms.gle/QWqeVTTUfx8CeX7N6

FurEast, Aurawra, AnthroPomme and Furrest Con end today (Sunday, July 26th). Two Furry conventions begin this week. 
- Futerkon, July 29th to August 2nd, Ossa, Poland 
- Anthro Weekend Utah, July 31st to August 2nd, Layton, UT 

On the Holidays and Occasions Desk, today (Sunday, July 26th) is Esperanto Day, the publication anniversary of Unua Libro in 1887, the first book written in Esperanto. Today is also International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem. (It’s an otter thing. There’s lots of feesh in mangrove swamps and places to nest and hide from predators.) And today is the first day of Shark Week on the Discovery Channel; it ends on August 1st. 

Tomorrow (Monday, July 27th) will be World Diabetes Day, the anniversary of Insulin; Frederick Banting and Charles Best isolated insulin from dogs’ pancreases on this day in 1921. Their discovery saved millions of human lives. (Their experiments were awfully rough on a lot of dogs, however.) Tomorrow will also be Bugs Bunny’s Birfday, the anniversary of the first theatrical release of “A Wild Hare” (directed by Tex Avery), generally considered Bugs’s first cartoon. (“Porky’s Hare Hunt” featured a rabbit, but it was not officially Bugs.) And tomorrow will be Kitchen Sink Day, a celebration of anything you like, as long as it doesn’t already have a day. This year’s recommendations are "place" or "concept."  

On Tuesday (July 28th), Tu B’Av will begin at sunset. In ancient Jewish times, it was the beginning of the grape harvest; unmarried women would dress in white and dance in the vineyards. In modern Israel, it’s roughly equivalent to Valentine’s Day. Tuesday will also be the Day of Commemoration of the Great Upheaval, a day of recognition for the Expulsion of the Acadians from the Maritimes between 1755 and 1764. On this day in 1755, King George II signed a deportation order, authorizing His forces to expel French settlers from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Tuesday will be Beatrix Potter's Birfday; the author and illustrator of “The Tale of Peter Rabbit” and 22 other beloved children’s stories was born in 1866. And Tuesday will be World Hepatitis Day,  devoted to reminding the world about virus strains that cause swelling of the liver. 

Wednesday (July 29th) will be Asala Puja, also known as Dharma Day, the Buddhist celebration of the Buddha’s first sermon. Wednesday will also be International Tiger Day; it highlights the immediate need for tiger conservation. (The IUCN lists them as Regionally Extinct.) Wednesday will be Don't Be A Dick Day; Will Wheaton's fifty-fourth birthday, it is devoted to Wheaton's Law, which simply states, “Don't be a dick.” And canidae, please note that the moon will be at its fullest at 9:36 AM on Wednesday. This will be the Full Buck Moon, also known as the Thunder Moon or the Hay Moon.

Thursday (July 30th) will be Earth Overshoot Day, the date on which humans use up all of the biological resources that the Earth can regenerate during the entire year. After Thursday, the biosphere goes even further “into debt” for us. Thursday will also be International Day of Friendship; this observance was declared by the UN in 2011 to celebrate friendship. (It’s another otter thing; friends are wealth!) And Thursday will be the first day of Caribana, the Toronto Caribbean Carnival; the Grande Parade will march on Saturday, August 1st, and it ends on Monday, August 3rd. 

Friday (July 31st) will be the Passing of Taral Wayne; born October 12th, 1951, died July 31st, 2024, found deceased in his apartment by his friend Steve Gatuso, who was bringing up his groceries, died of myasthenia gravis complicated by a previous stroke. Taral was a Furry artist before Furry began, a founder within his local fandom. He was also well known among Science Fiction fan publishers, artists and writers. *RIP* Friday will also be National Mutt Day, a day in honour of dogs without a pedegree. Adopt a mutt! (Thanks to Kliah Mott for suggesting this occasion.) And Friday will be the Feast of St. Ignatius Loyola. Intent on murdering somebody, Iggy set out on his mule to find his victim. But the mule took him on the road that led to the pilgrimage place of Our Lady of Montserrat instead. There, the saint gave up on murder and vowed to live a life of penance and devotion to God.

Saturday (August 1st) will be a busy day.
- Saturday will be the Caribana Grand Parade. It will start from Exhibition Place and proceed down Lakeshore Boulevard for twelve hours! (That’s what they're predicting. With a parade, especially one like this, who knows what will happen.) 
- Saturday will be Food Day Canada, a celebration of all things food, from agriculture to food service to actual food, with a focus on Canadian food. 
- Saturday will be Lammas Christian mass of the first loaf. Christian farmers would harvest the early wheat and take it to be ground into flour, then bake a loaf of bread with it. On Lammas (loaf mass) they would take that loaf to the priest, who would bless it and thereby bless the harvest. After that they could use the rest of the harvest as they (or their masters) chose. 
- Saturday will be Lughnasadh, the Pagan first harvest festival. It honours Lugh, the God of Many Skills, and His foster mother, Tailtiu. Lugh is a king, a warrior and a craftsman, skilled at everything. Lughnasadh celebrates skills and craftsmanship, as well as grain, harvest and gratitude.
- Saturday will be Emancipation Day, the anniversary of the abolition of slavery across the British Empire. The Slavery Abolition Act received royal assent on Aug. 28, 1833, but it came into effect on Aug. 1, 1834 so that word could spread to all the colonies. 
- Saturday will be Girl Friends Day. This occasion honours friendship between and among women. (It does not concern any relationship of any sort between women and men.) 
- Saturday will be World Scout Scarf Day. Current and former scouts wear their scout scarves to advertise the organization. 
- Saturday will be Universal Birthday for Shelter Dogs (aka “Dogust”). If your canine family member came from a shelter, you probably don’t know exactly (or even roughly) when they were born. Celebrate their birfday this Saturday instead! (Thanks to Kliah Mott for suggesting this occasion.) 

Here's a heads-up for next Sunday (August 2nd). It will be Bunny Girl Day in Japan and the first day of International Assistance Dog Week. And next Monday (August 3rd) will be Civic Holiday and Esther Day. 

August begins this week. Holidays, Occasions and Local Events for August 2026 include:
- August 1st – Caribana Grand Parade, Food Day Canada, Lammas (Christian), Lughnasadh (Pagan), Emancipation Day, Girl Friends Day, World Scout Scarf Day, Universal Birthday for Shelter Dogs (aka “Dogust”) 
- August 2nd - Bunny Girl Day (Japan) 
- August 2nd to 8th - International Assistance Dog Week 
- August 3rd - Civic Holiday, Esther Day (Nerdfighteria) 
- August 4th - Assistance Dog Day 
- August 4th (sunset) – Arba’een (Shi’a Islam) 
- August 5th - World Ant Day 
- August 6th - Hiroshima Day 
- August 7th - International Beer Day 
- August 8th – International Day of the Female Orgasm, International Cat Day, Scottish Wildcat Day, Vore Day 
- August 9th – Nagasaki Day, National Peacekeepers Day, International Day of the World’s Indigenous People (UN) 
- August 10th – Multiversal Underwear Day (Discordian), World Lion Day, International Biodiesel Day 
- August 11th – Dogbomb & Sarah Day, World Steelpan Day 
- August 12th – Zaraday (Discordian), International Youth Day, World Elephant Day, Quantum Cat Day  
- August 13th – End of Safar (Islam), World Organ Donation Day, International Left Handers Day, International Wolf Day, Dairy Queen Miracle Treat Day 
- August 13th to 16th – Obon (Shintoist) 
- August 14th - World Lizard Day 
- August 15th - National Acadian Day, Assumption Day (Catholic), World Stray Animals Day/International Homeless Animals Day, World Nimbat Day (D,AET) 
- August 16th - St. Roch (of Montpellier, Furry Saint) 
- August 17th – Marcus Garvey’s Birthday (Rastafarianism), International Black Cat Day, St. Mamas of Caesarea (aka Mammes, Furry Saint)
– August 17th to 21st - Public Service Pride Week
- August 18th - 
- August 19th - World Humanitarian Day, International Orangutan Day, Polygamy Day, World Photography Day 
- August 20th – Khordad Sal (Zoroastrianism), World Mosquito Day, A&W Burgers To Beat MS 
- August 21st – Jashan of Shahrewar (Zoroastrianism), World Senior Citizens Day, A&W Burgers To Beat MS 
- August 21st to Septembewr 7th – Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) 
- August 22nd -  Saint Guinefort (Very Furry Saint) 
- August 23rd - 150th Anniversary of Treaty 6 (also 28th and September 9th), International Blind Dog Day 
- August 24th - International Day Against Intolerance, Discrimination and Violence Based on Musical Preferences, Lifestyle and Dress Code 
- August 24th (sunset) - Mawlid/Milad un Nabi (Sunni Islam) 
- August 25th – Linux Birthday 
- August 25th (sunset) - Mawlid/Milad un Nabi (Shi’a Islam) 
- August 26th - World Dog Day (Canada) 
- August 27th – World Lake Day, Full Moon (23:18, Sturgeon Moon, Red Moon, Green Corn Moon, Grain Moon )
- August 28th - Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day, International Read Comics In Public Day, Otter Appreciation Day 
- August 29th - International Day Against Nuclear Tests, International Go Topless Day 
– August 29th to 30th - International Bat Night
- August 30th - International Whale Shark Day, Frankenstein Day 
- August 31st - International Overdose Awareness Day

August is not dedicated to any Canadian causes that I can find (other than religious ones). August will be MedicAlert Awareness Month and Psoriasis Awareness Month worldwide. Watch for canvassers. 

There are twenty-three (23) Furry conventions in August 2026:
- AnthroIrish, August 1st to 2nd, County Cork, Eire 
- Osaka Furry Fun Festa, August 1st to 2nd, Osaka, Japan 
- Super Furry Fusion, August 2nd, Shanghai, PRC 
- Bratislava FurFest, August 3rd, Bratislava, Slovakia 
- TrashCån, August 5th to 9th, Parpan, Switzerland 
- East, August 5th to 9th, Suhl, Germany 
- Furrydelphia, August 6th to 9th, Philadelphia, PA
- CanFURence, August 7th to 9th, Ottawa, ON 
- South Afrifur, August 7th to 10th, Johannesburg, South Africa 
- Fur Raymi, August 8th to 9th, Lima, Peru 
- Tails of Summer, August 8th to 9th, Richmond, BC 
- IceFurCabin, August 8th to 9th, Iceland 
- Dutch Furcon, August 14th to 17th, Groesbeek, Netherlands 
- Furry Vietnam Eternity/FUVE, August 15th, Ho Chi Minh, Viet Nam 
- EuroFurence, August 19th to 23rd, Hamburg, Germany 
- Camp Feral!, August 20th to 24th, Camp Erewhon, Algonquin Park, ON 
- Furthest North, August 20th to 24th, Snow Creek Group Campground, AB 
- Megaplex, August 21st to 23rd, Orlando, FL 
- Pawstral, August 21st to 23rd, Santiago, Chile 
- StratosFur, August 27th to 30th, Houston, TX 
- Aberacon, August 28th to 30th, Port Talbot, UK 
- DenFur, August 28th to 30th, Denver, CO 
- West Aussie Fur Frenzy, August 28th to 30th, Fremantle, West Australia 

Other upcoming events for August (so far) include:
- Festival of Floof, Rose Garden, Gage Park, Hamilton, August 1st @ 13:00
- SPYKE!Party, The Wych, 1150 Davenport Rd, Toronto, August 1st @ 22:00 to 01:00
- Old Spaghetti Factory Monthly Furmeet, 54 The Esplanade, Toronto, August 5th @ 18:30 
- Cozycon Gesture Drawing Art Jam, VRChat, August 8th @ 20:00 
- TAILGATE, Lee/s Palace, 529 Bloor Street W, Toronto, Friday, August 14th, 20:00 to 02:00 
- Cozycon VRChat Games, VRChat, August 15th @ 13:00 
- Camp Feral!, 1 Camp Arowhon Road, Algonquin Park, August 20th to 24th 
- Feral Frequency 4,  209 Geary Avenue, Toronto,  August 28th @ 21:00 to 02:30 
- Steel City Beasts, 324 James Street North, Hamilton,  August 30th @ 15:00 to 21:00

This is the last update of the month, so the complete Unofficial Birthday List is REDACTED. And if you want to be on the Unofficial Birthday List, or if you'd prefer to be removed or have your entry changed, email me at dotter8@gmail.com, and I'll fix it for you promptly. I WILL NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR REQUEST IF YOU SEND IT IN ANY OTHER WAY! (Requests should include the name you are or want to be entered under so that I know which "Jim Smith" to change to "Honking Camel.") Please note that the UBL is NOT linked to the TorFur list; if you change or delete your TorFur entry, you must notify me separately. Also, it's my policy never to add people to the UBL unless they ask to be added, changed or removed. Please don't ask for somebody else. However, you can have a Character of Significance on the list, provided you own it. (Ask me.) 

Nips & cuddles, 
-- Dee 

Birfday Otter Update 19JUL2026

HI! hugs 

There are five (5) birfdays listed for this week on the Unofficial Birthday List:
- Winter Tw Wolf will be forty-three tomorrow (Monday, July 20th). 
- Firestorm 6 will be fifty-six on Tuesday (July 21st). 
- Gryphan Rose will be forty-seven on Wednesday (July 22nd). 
- Blastgoggles will be forty-four on Thursday (July 23rd). Amd 
- Totem will be forty-nine on Friday (July 24th). 
Many Happy Returns of your day! 

And heads-up for FireDragon’s birfday next Sunday (July 26th). 

On the Local Furry Events Desk, Sirus (@SeriousSirus) is hosting the Furry contingent in the London Pride Parade TODAY! (Sunday, July 19th) from 10:00 AM until it finishes. Furry marchers will assemble at the Agriplex parking lot, Western Fairgrounds in London, Ontario. 
NB. As of writing, the parade has NOT been cancelled due to forest fire smoke. The City of London and parade 0rganizers continue to watch the situation closely. Environment Canada’s forecast for London is clear with local smoke by parade time, wind moderate, high 24°, humidex 27°, UV index 8 (pretty high) and an AQHI of 6 (on the high side of moderate). Good luck, stay hydrated!
- Link for Updates – https://telegram.me/+HnAnqFarahZkZjkx 
- New RSVP Address – https://telegram.me/FurryEventsOntario/1119/2499  

Aqua Manokit's Fur Fun In The Sun is also today (Sunday, July 19th) from noon until 8:30 PM (not yesterday, as I said last week. Sorry, I didn’t see the change until it was too late.) Gather for the walk at Woodbine Beach, 1675 Lake Shore Blvd E, Toronto. Everyone is welcome. Bring blankets, food and drinks (but no alcohol). Please wear sunscreen and dress appropriately. There will be kids, so no inflatables, pup hoods or other kink gear. Swim at your own risk, but there is a lifeguard. And please note that this will be the last furmeet Aqua ever hosts.
- for more information – https://telegram.me/Clusterfluff/286687 

PALS will present their Pack Weekend from Wednesday, July 22nd until the 26th for pups nineteen and older. (Please bring ID.)
- for more information – https://PALSEVENTS.CA 

The next Oshawa Furmeet will happen this Friday (July 24th) starting at 8:00 PM at Chasers Bar & Grill, 1300 1king St, Oshawa for dinner and drinks.

And when there’s a furmeet on Friday, there’s usually an Oshawa Virtual Furmeet on Saturday (July 25th) starting at 8:00 PM.
- Info through Telegram, https://telegram.me/oshawavrmeet 

Arrkay and DJ Kay will host a Furry Community Clothing Swap on Saturday (July 25th) from noon until 5:00 PM on the 3rd floor of Roseneath Theatre, 651 Dufferin Street, Toronto. (Use the north side glass doors.) Bring gently used, laundered clothing. Exchange it for something new (to you) or PWYC. You can also leave clothing, accessories and donations. The Roseneath Theatre is a 2SLGBTQ+ theatre company. 
- https://telegram.me/c/2413479984/13/373734?single 

Muzzled: The Beach Episode will be on Saturday (July 26th) from noon until 6:00 PM at Hanlans Point Beach, Toronto Islands, Toronto. It’s the nude beach, so please be nineteen or older. Bring beach chairs or blankets, towels, sunscreen, bug spray, food, drinks, water and fursuits or pup hoods. Bring footwear too, the sand is likely to be hot. Inflatables are welcome at your own risk.
- for more info – https://telegram.me/muzzled_announcements/127 
- Muzzled - https://www.getmuzzled.ca/ 

Camp Conifur is running out of spaces in the cabins! Register and reserve yours sooner, not later (unless you’re planning on a tent. That’s okay too, BTW.) Camp Conifur will take place from Saturday, September 12th to 14th at Camp Wetaskiwin, Short Hills Provincial Park, St. Catharines, Ontario.
- discussion https://telegram.me/CampConifur 
- Website -- https://www.campconifur.ca 

Tailgate’s Telegram links have stopped working.
- For now, you can find them at https://telegram.me/+is8OBx5UI6YwOGZh 
- Their website link still works. https://tailgatefurry.net 

Feral Frequency is having similar problems.
- For now, you can find them at https://telegram.me/+16LlyVW4GlZkNjIx 
- And their website still works, too, - https://www.feralfrequency.net/  

Tickets are on sale for SPIKE!Party. 
- https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/spikeparty-tickets-1993741684047?aff=ebdsoporgprofile 

Fur-Eh!, Brasil FurFest, Noctfurnal and FurCan end today (Sunday, July19th), while Big Sky Camp Paw and Purple Clouds Festival end tomorrow (Monday, July 20th). Six Furry conventions begin this weekend.
- Awoostria, July 22nd to 25th, Wein, Austria 
- Eufuria, July 23rd to 25th, Albany, NY 
- FurEast, July 23rd to 26th, Strasbourg, France 
- Aurawra, July 24th to 26th, Parramatta, NSW, Australia 
- AnthroPomme, July 24th to 26th, Brittany, France 
- Furrest Con, July 24th to 26th, Kyiv, Ukraine (brave souls) 

On the Holidays and Occasions Desk, today (Sunday, July 19th) is the first day of National Drowning Prevention Week in Canada. Drowning is preventable! It ends on the 25th.  

Tomorrow (Monday, July 20th) will be International Moon Day. On this day in 1969, Colonel Neil Armstrong took the first step of a human on the moon. 

Tuesday (July 21st) will be International Lamington Day. Lamingtons are popular in Australia. You soak a square of sponge cake in chocolate sauce, roll it in desiccated coconut, then let it set before serving. Yum! 

On Wednesday (July 22nd), Tish’a B’Av will begin at sunset. This Jewish fast commemorates the destruction of the first Jerusalem Temple (“Solomon’s Temple,”) by Nebuchadnezzar III in 587 BCE and the second Jerusalem Temple by the Romans in 70 CE. They were destroyed on the same day, 655 years apart. For 25 hours, Jews refrain from eating, drinking, bathing, having sex, wearing leather shoes, and it does not put the lotion on the skin. (Jewish fasts usually begin at sunrise, but my sources inform me that this one begins at sunset.) Wednesday will also be the other Ratcatcher's Day; according to Robert Browning’s poem, the Pied Piper led the children of Hamelin away on the 22nd day of July, 1376. (In Hamelin, however, they observe the day on the date given by the Brothers Grimm: June 26th, 1284.) And Wednesday will be Pi Approximation Day, the 22nd day of the 7th month; twenty-two divided by seven is close enough to Pi for some practical purposes. 

Thursday (July 23rd) will be  the Birthday of Emperor Haile Selassie I, a holy day for Rastafarians; the emperor was born in 1892. And Thursday will be Guru Har Krishan Jayanti, the birthday of the 8th Sikh Guru; he was installed as the head of their religion during a smallpox epidemic, so he helped the disease’s victims, no matter who they were, until it claimed his life, too.  

Friday (July 24th) will be Pioneer Day, the Mormon celebration of Joseph Smith’s caravan of Mormon pioneers arriving at the Great Salt Lake in Utah, beyond the reach of those back east who persecuted them. And Friday will be International Self-Care Day; prevent getting sick by taking care of yourself. 

Saturday (July 25th) will be a busy day. 
- Saturday will be the Feast of St James the Great for Orthodox Christians. He was one of the twelve apostles and the first Christian to be martyred. 
- Saturday will be the Jashan of Amurdad. This is a Zoroastrian festival to commemorate the creation of animals. 
- Saturday will be World Drowning Prevention Day. Drowning is a leading cause of death. It is mostly a problem in third-world nations that don’t or can’t implement water safety measures: learn to swim, learn rescue and water safety, set and enforce regulations for boats, implement flood management measures, etc. (And always swim with an otter.) 
- Saturday will be John B Goodenough Day. Professor Goodenough’s birthday. He was a Nobel laureate. He invented Random Access Memory and the lithium-ion battery, as well as less practical things like the rules for finding the sign of magnetic superexchange in materials. He was still working to invent a solid-state battery when he was 100 years old. And that’s more than good enough!
- Saturday will be Furrinalia, the Festival of Furrina. She’s a largely forgotten Roman goddess of freshwater springs, fountains, headwaters and so forth. Not much is known about Her or how She was worshipped; in fact, Her cult wasn’t well known even in Her day. But with a name like Furrina, she’s a natural patron for Furry. (As a Goddess of springs, I think She’s best portrayed as a river otter, but I’m probably biased.) 

Here's a heads-up for next Sunday (July 26th). It will be Esperanto Day, International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem and the first day of Shark Week. And next Monday (July 27th) will be the Anniversary of Insulin, Bugs Bunny’s Birfday and Kitchen Sink Day (place or concept). 

If you want to be on the Unofficial Birthday List, or if you'd prefer to be removed or have your entry changed, email me at dotter8@gmail.com, and I'll fix it for you promptly. I WILL NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR REQUEST IF YOU SEND IT IN ANY OTHER WAY! (Requests should include the name you are or want to be entered under so that I know which "Jim Smith" to change to "Honking Camel.") Please note that the UBL is NOT linked to the TorFur list; if you change or delete your TorFur entry, you must notify me separately. Also, it's my policy never to add people to the UBL unless they ask to be added, changed or removed. Please don't ask for somebody else. However, you can have a Character of Significance on the list, provided you own it. (Ask me.) 

Nips & cuddles, 
-- Dee

Birfday Otter Update 12JUL2026

HI! hugs 

There are five (5) birfdays listed for this week on the Unofficial Birthday List:
- Verec is forty-six Today! (Sunday, July 12th) Happy Birfday! 
- Randolf R Wolf will be sixty-seven on Wednesday (July 15th). 
- Spatter will be fifty-two, also on Wednesday. 
- Rava will be fifty-one on Thursday (July 16th). And 
- Jessie T. Wolf will be forty-four, also on Thursday. 
Many Happy Returns of your day! 

And heads-up for Winter Tw Wolf’s birfday next Monday (July 20th). 

On the Local Furry Events Desk, this Thursday (July 16th) will be Steel City Beasts from 10:00 PM until 2:00 AM at Andthenyou, 145 Main Street East, Hamilton. The bar is fursuit-friendly; all are welcome. Your DJs will be Jin, Gaknek, weathergirl and Billboard; expect dubstep. 
- more info - https://t.me/SteelCityBeasts/78 
- tickets – https://ra.co/events/2456740 

The Cozycon Monthly Meet this Saturday (July 18th) will be VRChat Games starting at 1:00 PM.
- https://cozycononline.com/ or https://www.twitch.tv/cozycononline 

Aqua Manokit will host Fur Fun In The Sun on Saturday (July 18th) from noon until 8:30 PM at Woodbine Beach, 1675 Lake Shore Blvd E, Toronto. All are welcome. Please bring blankets, food and drinks (no alcohol please). Don’t forget sunscreen, and please dress appropriately. Swim at your own risk, but there will be lifeguards present. There will also be kids, so no inflatables, pup hoods or other kink gear. Please note that this is the last event Aqua Manokit expects ever to host. 
- for more information – https://t.me/Clusterfluff/286687 

Sirus (@SeriousSirus) will host the Furry contingent at the London Pride Parade on Sunday, July 19th. Please gather by 10:00 AM at the Western Fairgrounds in London, Ontario. 
- Link for Updates – https://t.me/+HnAnqFarahZkZjkx 
- more info and to RSVP – https://t.me/c/2413479984/13/37138 

The Clusterfluff Beach Picnic on Saturday, July 18th *has been cancelled.* @Rekshana might reschedule the event later.

Ticket sales for Tailgate will start on Friday, July 24th at 11:00 AM. 
- for more information – https://tailgatefurry.net/ 

Furway and Moonfest end today (Sunday, July 12th), while Furtopia ends tomorrow (Monday, July 13th). Eight Furry conventions begin this week.
- Furtastic, July 13th to 17th, Jutland, Denmark 
- Fur-Eh!, July 16th to 19th, Edmonton, AL
- Big Sky Camp Paw, July 16th to 20th, Helena, MT 
- LondonFurs Summer Weekender, July 17th to 18th, London, UK
- Brasil FurFest, July 17th to 19th, Campinas, SP, Brasil 
- Noctfurnal, July 17th to 19th, Carsonville, MI 
- Purple Clouds Festival, July 17th to 20th, Hude, Germany 
- FurCan, July 18th to 19th, Puebla, Mexico 

On the Holidays and Occasions Desk, today (Sunday, July 12th) is Malala Day, the anniversary of Malala Yousafzai’s impassioned 2013 speech before the United Nations in favour of education for girls (which is still banned in some countries). It’s also her 29th birfday. And today is International Day of Hope. In this time of threats that are mostly imagined, division and exclusion, fear and hate, greed and conquest and winners and losers, hope is all we have left to cling to. 

Tomorrow (Monday, July 13th) will be Jabotinsky Day, the Jewish celebration of Ze’ev Jabotinsky, their great Zionist leader, to commemorate and perpetuate his life and his vision. (It is mostly celebrated in Israel.) Tomorrow will also be Orangemen’s Day, the Irish celebration of the forces of William of Orange defeating the forces of James II in the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. The occasion is celebrated in Northern Ireland and in Newfoundland and Labrador. (It is being held on the 13th this year because the 12th is a Sunday.) 

Tuesday (July 14th) will be World Chimpanzee Day, the anniversary of Jane Goodall arriving in Gombe National Park in 1960 to study chimpanzees. And Tuesday will be International Non-Binary People’s Day, an occasion to raise awareness of the issues faced by non-binary people. (The date was chosen because it’s exactly halfway between International Men's Day and International Women's Day.) 

Wednesday (July 15th) will be Confuflux, but that’s a Discordian “holy day,” so we’re not supposed to understand it. Wednesday will also be Bastille Day, the French celebration of the storming of the Bastille prison and the freeing of political prisoners there. It is also known as Fête Nationale Française and is celebrated in parts of the French diaspora, including Quebec. Wednesday will be St. Swithin's Day. Legend has it that if it rains this Wednesday, it will rain every day for forty days. And Wednesday will be Tim Hortons Camp Day; buy a coffee (hot or iced) to help send kids to camp. 

Thursday (July 16th) will be World Snake Day, a day to admire snakes and advocate for their preservation. (It’s true that some of them are dangerous to humans, but they also eat pests. Just admire them from a distance.) And Thursday will be Guinea Pig Appreciation Day, a day of appreciation for the popular pets. 

Friday (July 17th) will be International Firgun Day, an Israeli celebration of taking pleasure in somebody else’s good fortune. (It’s sort of the opposite of schadenfreude.) Friday will also be the 50th anniversary of Canada hosting the Olympics for the first time. Saturday will be World Day for International Justice, the  <anniversary of the founding of the International Criminal Court in The Hague in 1998. And Friday will be World Emoji Day, a celebration of the humble emoji. 

Saturday (July 18th) will be Canada’s Parks Day, “...an annual event where thousands of people participate in fun, educational, family-oriented events in parks and Historic Sites across the country.” And Saturday will be Nelson Mandela International Day, the great freedom advocate’s birthday; he would have been 108.

Here's a heads-up for next Sunday (July 19th). It will be the first day of National Drowning Prevention Week. And next Monday (July 20th) will be International Moon Day. 

If you want to be on the Unofficial Birthday List, or if you'd prefer to be removed or have your entry changed, email me at dotter8@gmail.com, and I'll fix it for you promptly. I WILL NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR REQUEST IF YOU SEND IT IN ANY OTHER WAY! (Requests should include the name you are or want to be entered under so that I know which "Jim Smith" to change to "Honking Camel.") Please note that the UBL is NOT linked to the TorFur list; if you change or delete your TorFur entry, you must notify me separately. Also, it's my policy never to add people to the UBL unless they ask to be added, changed or removed. Please don't ask for somebody else. However, you can have a Character of Significance on the list, provided you own it. (Ask me.) 

Nips & cuddles, 
-- Dee

Birfday Otter Update 05JUL2026

HI! hugs 

There are two (2) birfdays listed for this week on the Unofficial Birthday List:
- Torrle will be fifty-one on Thursday (July 9th). And 
- Xoa Grey will be fifty-two on Saturday (July 11th). 
Many Happy Returns of your day! 

And heads-up for Verec’s birfday next Sunday (July 12th). 

On the Local Furry Events Desk, this Wednesday (July 8th) will be All Paws On Deck from 7:00 PM until midnight at The Wych, 1150 Davenport Rd, Toronto. This event is a Djs try-out for Feral Frequency/NorthPaws Events, hosted by 66NIX and weathergirl. Bring your own USB key. The deck will be a Pioneer XDJ-XZ. Listeners are also welcome, no cover. But it’s a bar, so please be nineteen and older. 1
- for more information – https://t.me/c/3481400727/5012 

Saturday, July 11th will be a busy day!

Saturday will be the Collingwood Pride Parade. Bandirbigears will host a Furry contingent. Please be at Collingwood Public Library by 4:30 PM.
- more info and to RSVP – https://t.me/c/2413479984/13/373478 

Saturday will be Resonance: Light And Dark from 10:00 OM until 6:00 AM, hosted by Resonance Events. At the time of writing, the location has not been announced, but it will be an outdoor event. Fursuits are welcome, but there will be no storage spaces. The theme will be light and dark. DJs for the light side will be Nolly/Videospit, 3mma/L0v3Sick, Psyberix and Pavv; DJs for the dark side will be Tattz, Aurora, Kira Loxx and Azalea The Witch.
- for more information – https://t.me/Resonance_Events/48
- sign up for their mailing list – https://mailchi.mp/c7515ccbdb1c/welcome-to-resonance-events
- tickets – https://ra.co/events/245971 

And Saturday will be the Cozycon Monthly Meets, Gesture Drawing Art Jam, starting at 8:00 PM.
- https://cozycononline.com/ or https://www.twitch.tv/cozycononline 

Tickets are on sale now for Steel City Beasts on Thursday, July 16th.
- https://ra.co/events/2456740 

Anthrocon, FurryEST and Indonesia Weekend Anthro Gathering all end today (Sunday, July 5th). Three Furry conventions begin this weekend.
- Furway, July 10th to 12th, Brandbu, Norway 
- Moonfest, July 10th to 12th, Paipa, Boyacá, Colombia 
- Furtopia, July 10th to 13th, somewhere in Colombia 

On the Holidays and Occasions Desk, today (Sunday, July 5th) is Guru Hargobind Jayanti, the birfday of the 6th Sikh Guru; he founded the Sikh military tradition to defend the faith, the weak and the needy. Today is also International Bikini Day, the anniversary of the introduction of the bikini bathing suit by engineer and clothing designer Louis Réard in 1946 at the Piscine Molitor, an Art Deco pool in Paris. It was named after the Pacific atoll where the first atomic bomb test was carried out, and Micheline Bernardini was the first woman to wear one. And today is Souther. The Souther Squirrel leaves chocolate rocks under the pillows of good girls and boys and dances on their heads to give them squirrelly dreams. 

Tomorrow (Monday, July 6th) will be a busy day.
- Tomorrow will be the Dalai Lama's birthday. Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama and the current leader of Tibetan Buddhism, was born in Taktser (now Hongya Village) in 1935.  When the armed forces of the People’s Republic of China invaded Tibet in 1959, he fled to Dharamshala, India, where he has lived to this day. Happy Birfday Your Holiness, and congratulations on your new left knee. 
- Tomorrow will be Canadian Injury Prevention Day, a day to raise awareness around the importance of injury prevention so that Canadians can live long lives to the fullest. 
- Tomorrow will be Viola Desmond’s Birthday. Please see the footnote. 
- Tomorrow will be International Kissing Day, a celebration of kissing for the sake of kissing. (It is also celebrated on February 13th.) 
- Tomorrow will be National Fried Chicken Day. This is a strictly American occasion, but American fried chicken chains might have specials in Canada, too. 
- Tomorrow will be A&W Free Root Beer Day. Get a free mug of A&W root beer. (A coupon might be required.) 

Tuesday (July 7th) will be World Chocolate Day. Nobody knows exactly why, although some suggest it’s the anniversary of chocolate's arrival in Europe in 1550. Honestly, who cares? Celebrate, eat chocolate! 

Wednesday (July 9th) will be Nunavut Day, the anniversary of the signing of the Nunavut Act in 1993. It split Nunavut off from the Northwest Territories. (It actually came into being on April 1st, 1999, but the territorial government decided the day the act passed was more important. I can see how celebrating the territory on April Fool's Day could be a problem, and anyway, the weather’s nicer in July.) 

On Thursday (July 9th), the Martyrdom of the Báb will begin at sunset. The Báb was the founder of Babism, the belief that a new Prophet was coming and that the Báb would find him. He claimed that he was to come before this new prophet. He eventually found his man, Baháʼu'lláh and Babism became the Baháʼí faith. For his efforts, the Báb was convicted of apostasy and sentenced to death by the Persian Empire. On the morning of July 9th, 1850, he was taken from a jail cell in Tabriz, tied to a wall beside one of his companions in front of a firing squad and shot with muskets. When the smoke and dust from the musket fire settled, his companion was dead, but the Báb was gone. He was found in a room nearby, completing some paperwork. When he was done, he allowed himself to be taken back out to the firing squad and shot. This time, he died. 

Friday (July 10th) will be Capybara Appreciation Day, a day of celebration for the world’s largest rodent. And Friday will be Nikola Tesla Day; the inventor of AC electricity, three-phase power, induction electric motors, radio transmission and reception, remote control, and countless other things we take for granted today was born on this date in 1856. 

Saturday (July 11th) will be another busy day. 
- Saturday will be Imamat Day. This is the day when Ismaili Shi’a Muslims re-affirm their allegiance to whoever the Ismaili Imam (the leader of the Ismaili faith) is at that time.
- Saturday will be World Population Day. This is an occasion to draw attention to the many problems posed by the world's growing human population, especially since it is already draining Earth’s resources faster than they can be replenished. (The bad news is that there are still more and more humans every year. The good news is that the human population is not increasing as quickly as it was a while ago. The Earth needs our population to be about a tenth of what it is now however, so there’s progress, but it’s nowhere near enough.) 
- Saturday will be World Horse Day, a  day in tribute to our equine partners. For centuries, they have carried us, ploughed our fields, pulled our burdens, run our races, even fed us with their milk and their meat. It’s only right to honour them. 
- Saturday will be Free Slurpee Day at 7-Eleven. On July 11th (7/11), 7-Eleven stores in Canada give away free small Slurpees. They will also have deals on their snack foods. 
- Saturday will be the Feast of St. Benedict of Nursia. Benedict had a raven friend who would sometimes eat from his hand. One day, a jealous priest gave Benedict poisoned bread. He asked his raven friend to dispose of it where it would never harm anybody. The bird did this, then came back for some good food. (Never underestimate a raven! It’s also wise to be nice to crows; they don’t forget their friends, or their enemies!) 

Here's a heads-up for next Sunday (July 12th). It will be Malala Day and International Day of Hope. And next Monday (July 13th) will be Jabotinsky Day and Orangemen’s Day. 

If you want to be on the Unofficial Birthday List, or if you'd prefer to be removed or have your entry changed, email me at dotter8@gmail.com, and I'll fix it for you promptly. I WILL NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR REQUEST IF YOU SEND IT IN ANY OTHER WAY! (Requests should include the name you are or want to be entered under so that I know which "Jim Smith" to change to "Honking Camel.") Please note that the UBL is NOT linked to the TorFur list; if you change or delete your TorFur entry, you must notify me separately. Also, it's my policy never to add people to the UBL unless they ask to be added, changed or removed. Please don't ask for somebody else. However, you can have a Character of Significance on the list, provided you own it. (Ask me.) 

Nips & cuddles, 
-- Dee 

+-----------------------------------------------+ 

Viola Desmond’s Birthday -- July 6th , 1914
Viola Irene Desmond (née Davis), the Canadian Rosa Parks, was a black businesswoman in Halifax, Nova Scotia. On November 8th, 1946, her car broke down while travelling through New Glasgow. The garage told her that it would take a day to get the parts to repair it. While in town, she went to see "The Dark Mirror" at the Roseland Film Theatre.

She asked for a seat on the lower floor because watching movies on the upper level hurt her eyes. The balcony was the blacks' section; only whites were allowed in the orchestra, and tickets cost a penny more. The ticket booth attendant sold her a balcony ticket, but she went and sat in the white section anyway. An usher told her she would have to sit upstairs because she hadn't paid the extra penny. She returned to the attendant and paid another penny, but the usher still told her that she had to sit upstairs. She still refused and returned to the lower floor. The usher called the manager. The manager called the police. The police arrested her for tax evasion; the extra penny was a "black tax," a way to enforce segregation. Ms. Desmond was fined $20 plus $6 court costs, which she paid and returned to Halifax.

The Rev. William Pearl Oliver of the Cornwallis Street Baptist Church and his wife Pearline had founded the Nova Scotia Association for the Advancement of Coloured People not long before. They encouraged Ms. Desmond to fight the charges. Together, they hired a lawyer, Frederick William Bissett, to take the matter to a higher court, but the judge ruled against them. However, Ms. Desmond's case was made public through The Clarion, the first black-owned, black-published newspaper in Nova Scotia; it is still well known today.

On December 8th, 2016, Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced that Viola Desmond's face would replace that of Sir John A. Macdonald on the Canadian ten-dollar bill to commemorate her stand against racism. (Sir John A's face adorned the $100 note instead.) Ms. Desmond passed away at age 50 on February 7th, 1965; her younger sister, Wanda Robson, attended the announcement in her place. 

(The better-known Rosa Parks incident happened on December 1st, 1955, after Ms. Desmond's case.)

Birfday Otter Update 28JUN2026

HI! hugs Sorry folks, it’s the big monthly update this week.

There are four (4) birfdays listed for this week on the Unofficial Birthday List:
- The Irate F.O.X. will be forty-one tomorrow (June 29th). 
- Felinix will be thirty-nine, also tomorrow. 
- "Chris"’s birfday will be on Friday (July 3rd). And 
- Teryl will be thirty on Saturday (July 4th). 
Many Happy Returns of your day! 

On the Local Furry Events Desk, first, just a note that there will be no Old Spaghetti Factory Monthly Furmeet in July. Danskunk will be at Anthrocon on Wednesday, July 1st. 

The Toronto Pride Parade is today (Sunday, June 28th). Don’t forget that Muzzled and Bark In The Dark are co-sponsoring the Furry float. Furry Marchers, your parade placement is F2. You need to gather at Yonge and Aylmer before 3:00 PM. (They’ll start handing out badges to those who ordered one at 2:00 PM.) 
- more information – https://t.me/c/2413479984/2/375114 

Mepix will host a Furry Market on Saturday, July 4th, from noon to 6:00 PM at Hack Lab.TO, 1677 St Clair Ave W, Toronto. This will be a pop-up market for Furs who can’t make it to Anthrocon.
- details for dealers – https://forms.gle/mjBxv3uawc5jN8Sd9 or https://shorturl.at/XqhSL 

Rekshana will host a Bayfront Picnic and Furwalk, also on Saturday, July 4th, from noon until 1:30 PM at Bayfront Park, 200 Harbour Front Drive,Hamilton. Gather at the picnic table area by the parking lot. Please bring your own food, or get something at Hutches. Bring a blanket in case there are no tables free. Rain date will be the next day.
- for more info and to RSVP – https://t/me/Clusterfluff/283832 

PortConMaine and Unforgettable Taiwan Furry Gathering end today (June 28th). Two Furry conventions begin this week.
- CeSFuR, June 28th to July 3rd, Bystřice nad Pernštejnem, Czech Republic 
- Lakeside Furs, June 28th to July 5th, Achenkirch, Austria 

On the Holidays and Occasions Desk, today (Sunday, June 28th) is the day of the Toronto Pride Parade. Don’t forget that Muzzled and Bark In The Dark are co-sponsoring the Furry float. Furry Marchers, your parade placement is F2. You need to gather at Yonge and Aylmer before 3:00 PM. Today also happens to be the Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, the incident in NYC that began the push against socially-approved homophobia. (Please see the footnote.) Today is Tau Day, a movement to promote the use of tau in mathematics. (Tau is just two times pi. It’s occasionally convenient.) And  Fish For Free Week continues today; it ends on July 5th. 

Tomorrow (Monday, June 29th) will be the first day of Maidyoi-shema Gahambar, a Zoroastrian seasonal festival similar to Thanksgiving; it ends on July 3rd. Tomorrow is also the Christian Feast of Saints Peter and Paul. And canidae, please note that the moon will be at its fullest at 6:57 PM tomorrow. This will be the Strawberry Moon, also known as the Rose Moon or the Honey Moon, 

Tuesday (June 30th) will be Social Media Day, a day of celebration of social media, launched in 2010 by Mashable. And Tuesday will be Asteroid Day; the anniversary of the 1908 Tunguska event, it is meant to remind us of the danger large asteroids pose to humanity. 

Wednesday (July 1st) will be Canada Day,  the anniversary of the signing of the British North America Act and the founding of Canada. It’s a statutory holiday, so you should be paid extra for having to work that day. Wednesday will also be Jashan-e Tiragan, a Zoroastrian festival dedicated to Tir, their Yazad (saint) of the star Sirius and of rain. Wednesday will be ID Your Pet Day, a good idea that will help get your pet back to you if they go astray. And Wednesday will be the first day of Canada History Week; it ends on the 7th. 

Thursday (July 2nd) will be the Feast of St. Francis de Geronimo (also known as Jerome). Francis was a well-spoken Jesuit priest who preached to congregations in and around Naples. His homilies were brief and to the point, easy for anyone to understand. I found a reference to oxen and horses kneeling as he preached, but I can’t confirm it. 

Friday (July 3rd) will be Linux’s Birthday (1 out of 3 proposed). On this day in 1991, Linus Torvalds first posted a newsgroup query for help in finding “a (preferably) machine-readable format of the latest posix rules” to help him with “a project I'm working on”– that project being, of course, Linux. And Friday will be the first day of Summerlicious, Toronto’s semiannual festival of restaurants; it ends on the 19th. 

Saturday (July 4th) will be Indudependence Day, the Dudeist commemoration of the founding of the USA. “...Dudeists use this holiday to affirm their psychological independence from any powers-that-be. Slavishly following any cause, flag or ideology (including that of Dudeism) is dangerous and hampers personal growth. Our indudependence brings us together.” Saturday will also be Alice in Wonderland Day, the anniversary of Lewis Carroll taking the Liddell sisters on a boat trip in 1862, during which he first created the story of Alice’s adventures in Wonderland. (He later wrote it down and published it.)  Saturday will be International Day of Cooperatives. This occasion aims to promote the cooperative movement. It was founded by the International Co-operative Alliance and is supported by the UN. Co-ops are a particular type of nonprofit business that is run by and serves its members. Examples include housing and food co-ops. The main advantage of co-ops is cost control. And Saturday will be International Free Hugs Day, the start of International Free Hugs Month, which ends August 1st. “...a social movement involving individuals who offer hugs to strangers in public places. The hugs are meant to be random acts of kindness—selfless acts performed just to make others feel better.” (Wiki) 

Here's a heads-up for next Sunday (July 5th). It will be Guru Hargobind Jayanti, International Bikini Day and Souther. And next Monday (July 6th) will be the Dalai Lama's birthday, Canadian Injury Prevention Day, National Fried Chicken Day, Viola Desmond’s Birthday, International Kissing Day and A&W Free Root Beer Day. 

July begins this week. Holidays, Occasions and Local Events for July 2025 include:
- July 1st – Canada Day, Jashan-e Tiragan (Zoroastrianism), ID Your Pet Day 
- July 1st to 7th - Canada History Week 
- July 2nd -  St. Francis de Geronimo aka Jerome (Furry Saint) 
- July 3rd - Linux Birthday (1 of 3) 
– July 3rd to 19th - Summerlicious 
- July 4th - Indudependence Day (Dudeist), Alice In Wonderland Day, International Free Hugs Day, International Day of Cooperatives 
- July 5th – Guru Hargobind Jayanti (Sikh), International Bikini Day, Souther 
- July 6th - Dalai Lama's birthday (1935, Tibetan Buddhism), Canadian Injury Prevention Day, National Fried Chicken Day, Viola Desmond’s Birthday (1914), International Kissing Day, A&W Free Root Beer Day 
- July 7th - World Chocolate Day 
- July 9th - Nunavut Day 
- July 9th (sunset) - Martyrdom of the Báb (Baha’i, 1850) 
- July 10th – Capybara Appreciation Day, Nikola Tesla Day (1856) 
- July 11th - Imamat Day, World Population Day, World Horse Day, Orangemen's Day, Free Slurpee Day (7-Eleven),  St. Benedict of Nursia (Furry Saint) 
- July 12th - Malala Day (International), International Day of Hope 
- July 13th - Jabotinsky Day (Jewish), Orangemen’s Day (NFLD) 
- July 14th - World Chimpanzee Day, International Non-Binary People’s Day 
- July 15th – Confuflux (Discordian), Bastille Day, St. Swithin's Day 
- July 16th - World Snake Day, Guinea Pig Appreciation Day, Tim Hortons Camp Day 
- July 17th - International Firgun Day, 50th anniversary of Canada hosting its first Olympics (1976), World Day for International Justice, World Emoji Day 
- July 18th - Canada’s Parks Day, Nelson Mandela International Day 
- July 19th to 25th – National Drowning Prevention Week (Canada) 
- July 20th - International Moon Day 
- July 21st – International Lamington Day 
- July 22nd (sunset) – Tish’a B’Av (Jewish) 
- July 22nd - Ratcatcher's Day (Browning), Pi Approximation Day 
- July 23rd - Birthday of Emperor Haile Selassie I (Rastafarianism), Guru Har Krishan Jayanti (Sikh)  
- July 24th - Pioneer Day (Mormon), International Self-Care Day  
- July 25th – St James the Great (Orthodox Christian), Furrinalia (Ancient Roman), Jashan of Amurdad (Zoroastrianism), World Drowning Prevention Day (UN), John B Goodenough Day 
- July 26th - Esperanto Day, International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem 
- July 26th to August 1st – Shark Week (Discovery Channel) 
- July 27th – Anniversary of Insulin, Bugs Bunny’s Birfday, Kitchen Sink Day (place, concept) 
- July 28th (sunset) – Tu B’Av (Jewish) 
- July 28th - Day of Commemoration of the Great Upheaval, Beatrix Potter's Birfday (1866), World Hepatitis Day 
- July 29th - Asala Puja/Dharma Day (Buddhist), International Tiger Day, Don't Be A Dick Day, Full Moon (09:36, Buck Moon, Thunder Moon, Hay Moon ) 
- July 30th - Earth Overshoot Day, International Day of Friendship, Dairy Queen Miracle Treat Day 
- July 30th  to August 3rd  - Caribana (Grand Parade August 1st) 
- July 31st – Passing of Taral Wayne (2024), National Mutt Day,  St. Ignatius Loyola (Furry Saint) 
- August 1st – Caribana Grand Parade, Lammas (Christian), Lughnasadh (Pagan), Emancipation Day, Food Day Canada, Girl Friends Day, World Scout Scarf Day, Universal Birthday for Shelter Dogs (aka “Dogust”) 
- August 2nd - Bunny Girl Day (Japan) 
- August 2nd to 8th - International Assistance Dog Week
- August 3rd - Civic Holiday, Esther Day (Nerdfighteria) 

July is Disability Pride Month and International Group B Strep Awareness Month. That’s pretty much it. Watch for canvassers. 

There are twenty-three (23) Furry conventions in July 2026:
- Anthrocon, July 2nd to 5th, Pittsburgh, PA 
- FurryEST, July 2nd to 5th, Rapla County, Estonia 
- FurTal, July 4th, Fortaleza, Brazil 
- Indonesia Weekend Anthro Garhering, July 4th to 5th, Kabupaten Tangerang, Banten, Indonesia
- Furway, July 10th to 12th, Brandbu, Norway 
- Moonfest, July 10th to 12th, Paipa, Boyacá, Colombia 
- Firtopia, July 10th to 13th, ?, Colombia 
- Furtastic, July 13th to 17th, Jutland, Denmark 
- Fur-Eh!, July 16th to 19th, Edmonton, AL
- Big Sky Camp Paw, July 16th to 20th, Helena, MT 
- LondonFurs Summer Weekender, July 17th to 18th, London, UK
- Brasil FurFest, July 17th to 19th, Campinas, SP, Brasil 
- Noctfurnal, July 17th to 19th, Carsonville, MI 
- Purple Clouds Festival, July 17th to 20th, Hude, Germany 
- FurCan, July 18th to 19th, ?, Mexico 
- Awoostria, July 22nd to 25th, Wein, Austria 
- Eufuria, July 23rd to 25th, Albany, NY 
- FurEast, July 23rd to 26th, Strasbourg, France 
- Aurawra, July 24th to 26th, Parramatta, NSW, Australia 
- AnthroPomme, July 24th to 26th, Brittany, France 
- Furrest Con, July 24th to 26th, Kyiv, Ukraine (brave souls) 
- Futerkon, July 29th to August 2nd, Ossa, Poland 
- Anthro Weekend Utah, July 31st to August 2nd, Layton, UT 

Other upcoming events for July (so far) include:
- Furry Market, Saturday, July 4th, noon to 18:00, Hack Lab .TO, 1677 St Clair Ave W, Toronto
- Bayfront Picnic & Furwalk, Saturday, July 4th, noon until 13:30, Bayfront Park, 200 Harbour Front Drive, Hamilton 
- All Paws On Deck, Wednesday, July 8th @ 19:00 to 00:00. The Wych, 1150 Davenport Rd, Toronto 
- Collingwood Pride Parade, Saturday, July 11th @ 16:30, Collingwood Public Library 
- Resonance: Light And Dark, Saturday, July 11th, 22:00 until 06:00, Location TBA
- Steel City Beasts, Thursday, July 16th, 2026 @ 22:00 to 02:00, Andthenyou, 145 Main Street East, Hamilton 
- Clusterfluff Beach Picnic, Saturday, July 18th, time & location TBA 
- London Pride Parade, Sunday, July 19th, 10:00 AM, Western Fairgrounds, London, ON 
- Furry Community Clothing Swap, July 25th, Noon until 17:00, Roseneath Theatre, 651 Dufferin Street, Toronto, 3rd floor

This is the last update of the month, so the complete Unofficial Birthday List is REDACTED. And if you want to be on the Unofficial Birthday List, or if you'd prefer to be removed or have your entry changed, email me at dotter8@gmail.com, and I'll fix it for you promptly. I WILL NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR REQUEST IF YOU SEND IT IN ANY OTHER WAY! (Requests should include the name you are or want to be entered under so that I know which "Jim Smith" to change to "Honking Camel.") Please note that the UBL is NOT linked to the TorFur list; if you change or delete your TorFur entry, you must notify me separately. Also, it's my policy never to add people to the UBL unless they ask to be added, changed or removed. Please don't ask for somebody else. However, you can have a Character of Significance on the list, provided you own it. (Ask me.) 

Nips & cuddles, 
-- Dee 

+-----------------------------------------------+ 

Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, June 28th 
On this day in 1969, the NYPD conducted a raid of the Stonewall Inn, an infamous gay bar also frequented by drag performers. It was a frequent target for police raids, but this time the drag queens weren’t having it. A riot erupted that took in the drags, the queers and some locals who for various reasons didn’t like cops. It lasted for six days before the city gave in and dropped charges. This riot proved to be a turning point in the gay rights movement.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/stonewall/ 
https://guides.loc.gov/lgbtq-studies/stonewall-era 

Birfday Otter Update 21JUN2026

HI! hugs 

There are six (6) birfdays listed for this week on the Unofficial Birthday List:
- KIWind is forty-five Today! (Sunday, June 21st) Happy Birfday! 
- Fuzzi-Fox is forty-two, also Today! Happy Birfday! 
- Tesek will be forty-eight tomorrow (Monday, June 22nd). 
- Tanuki Gokuhi will be forty-one, also tomorrow. 
- Naiser Zo'Rais will be forty-one on Thursday (June 25th). And 
- Smilee will be forty-seven on Saturday (June 27th). 
Many Happy Returns of your day! 

And heads-up for The Irate F.O.X.’s and Felinix‘s birfdays next Monday (June 29th). 

On the Local Furry Events Desk, Friday, June 26th will be Muzzled from 9:00 PM until 2:00 AM at The Parkdale Hall, 1605 Queen St. W, Suite 3, Toronto. Tickets are long gone, but there’s a wait list; you could try that. (Tickets cost $33.59 all-in for those nineteen and older, please.) Remember, members are allowed to go topless, just keep your bits covered. 
- wait list? – https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/muzzled-tickets-1986999456864?aff=oddtdtcreator
- more info – https://t.me/FurryEventsOntario/553/1659
- Muzzled - https://www.getmuzzled.ca/
- The Parkdale Hall - https://theparkdalehall.com/new/

In Local Event News...

The application form for the Toronto Pride Parade, courtesy of Bark In The Dark/Muzzled, opened on Thursday, 18th. They can only guarantee spots in the march for the first 200 Furs, so don’t delay!
- more info – https://t.me/c/2413479984/2/373734
- Want to be a sponsor? – https://forms.gle/nSBBtiXHFGXQbaRMA
- apply for Pride – https://GETMUZZLED.ca/pride

Dealers' Applications for Furnal Equinox close July 7th. 
https://furnalequinox.com/dealers-information-package 

Registration is open for Camp Confur. 
- more information – https://campconifur.ca 
- registration – https://campconifur.regfox.com/camp-conifur 

Incidentally, there’s an alternative Pride event, Abolition Pride, scheduled opposite the Toronto Pride Parade in Grange Park that some of us might be interested in. It’s a protest against needless and excessive policing and Israel’s war against Palestine. It starts at 12:30 PM, Sunday, June 28th. 
- more info – https://t.me/c/2349204881/2957 

CastleCon, Argentina FurFiesta, Mo Furry House, Texas Furry Siesta and Borneo Anthro Hub all end today (June 21st). Two Furry conventions begin this weekend.
- PortConMaine, June 25th to 28th, Portland, ME 
- Unforgettable Taiwan Furry Gathering, June 27th to 28th, Zhubei City, Taiwan 

On the Holidays and Occasions Desk, today (Sunday, June 21st) is a very busy day. 
- Today is the Summer Solstice, when the day is longest and the night is shortest. It officially began at 4:24 AM.
- Today is therefore the official First Day of Summer. (The weather might disagree.) 
- Today is Father’s Day*. I wish we could all have good, positive relations with our fathers. For those of us who don’t, maybe just send a card next year. 
- Today is The Summer Slowstice. As this is the longest, slowest day of the year, Dudeists try to do everything at half-speed. (I’m not sure how this is different from every other day...)  
- Today is Litha, the Pagan festival of the summer solstice. Themes for celebration (and for ritual in the case of Wicca) include masculine energy, abundance and vitality. They can also include solar power; that would refer to magickal energy, but lately it might include electrical energy as an aside. (PVs are kinder to Mother Earth, you see.) 
- Today is World Humanist Day, an occasion to promote  Secular Humanism. 
- Today is National Indigenous Peoples Day, a day in honour of the people who already lived in what we call Canada when white explorers and settlers arrived from Europe. 
- Today is World Giraffe Day. This occasion was founded by the Giraffe Conservation Foundation to celebrate the world’s tallest mammal. 
- Today is World Music Day or Fête de la Musique. Founded by Jack Lang outside the French Ministry of Culture, its purpose is to give people a day of free music. 
- Today is International Day of Yoga, an occasion to promote Yoga as an exercise that promotes physical and mental health. 
- Today is Dog Party Day, a party for dogs to spend quality time with each other, or with their favourite human if they’re not fond of other dogs. 
- Today is Global Orgasm Day. Have an orgasm while focusing on peace and well-being. If enough people do it, world peace will finally come. (I had trouble finding a clear history for this occasion. It might have to do with Masters & Johnson; it might be limited to female orgasms. I’m not sure. 
- Today is the first day of  Celebrate Canada, a blanket celebratory period that includes National Indigenous Peoples Day (June 21st), Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day (June 24th), Canadian Multiculturalism Day (June 27th), and Canada Day (July 1st). It ends on July 1st. 

Tomorrow (Monday, June 22nd) will be International Camel Day; camels have carried heavy loads across deserts for humans since we needed to trade with people on the other side and even give us milk. Tomorrow will also be the first day of Rabbit Awareness Week. (The occasion started in the UK; I don’t know how far it’s spread.) Take the time to learn how to properly care for your pet bunny. It ends on the 26th. And tomorrow will be the first day of Take Your Pet to Work Week, an occasion established by Pet Sitters International to encourage fellow employees who don’t have dogs to adopt one. (It’s mostly an American occasion, but there is some participation in Canada and the UK.) It ends on June 26th. 

Tuesday (June 23rd) will be another busy day. 
- Tuesday will be International Women in Engineering Day. This occasion reminds the world that women can be capable engineers. It is sponsored by the Women’s Engineering Society. 
- Tuesday will be International Widows Day, a day of recognition for the problems faced by women whose husbands are dead. 
- Tuesday will be the National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terror, the anniversary of the Air India Flight 182 tragedy. 
- Tuesday will be United Nations Public Service Day. The occasion honours public service workers and underscores the need for honest, efficient public service. 
- Tuesday will be  World Whistleblowers Day, a day to encourage people who saw something to say something. 

Wednesday (June 24th) will be St Jean-Baptiste in Quebec, the feast day of John the Baptist, patron saint of Quebec. And Wednesday will be Cat World Domination Day, which was  declared by Angel Sparkle Cat on her birfday, several years before her death. (Adopt a shelter cat.) 

On Thursday (June 25th), Ashura will begin at sunset. Shi’a Muslims will commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Hussain at the Battle of Karbala. Sunni Muslims fast and celebrate repentance and forgiveness, in particular the parting of the Red Sea, Noah disembarking from the Ark, Joseph being released from prison, God forgiving Adam, and so on.

Friday (June 26th) will be World Drug Day, an international day against drug abuse and illicit trafficking. Friday will also be Take Your Dog To Work Day. Your poor pooch gets bored waiting all day for you to come home. Let your workmates show them some love! And Friday will be Ratcatcher's Day, the anniversary of the Pied Piper of Hamelin. The Brothers Grimm cited June 26th, 1284, while Robert Browning cited July 22nd, 1376. Hamelin, Lower Saxony, Germany, commemorates the day on the date given by the Brothers Grimm. 

Saturday (June 27th) will be Canadian Multiculturalism Day, a celebration of Canada being a multicultural country; one country, many cultures, living happily together. Saturday will also be Birthday Day, the anniversary of the publication of “Happy Birthday To You” in 1893 by Patty and Mildred Hill. (Fun Fact: “Happy Birthday To You” was once held under copyright by Warner/Chappell, but in 2015, a court ruled that it was already in the public domain.) Saturday will be National Chip Day, a Canadian celebration of the humble potato chip. (In America, it’s on March 14th.) And Saturday will be the first day of Fish For Free Week in Ontario; for the whole week, you may fish without a permit. It ends on July 5th. (So it’s not a gift of feesh, you still have to catch the feesh, you just don’t have to pay for a permit. Otter is disappointed.) 

Here's a heads-up for next Sunday (June 28th). It will be the Toronto Pride Parade, the Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots and Tau Day. And next Monday (June 29th) will be the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, the first day of Maidyoi-shema Gahambar and the Full Moon. 

If you want to be on the Unofficial Birthday List, or if you'd prefer to be removed or have your entry changed, email me at dotter8@gmail.com, and I'll fix it for you promptly. I WILL NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR REQUEST IF YOU SEND IT IN ANY OTHER WAY! (Requests should include the name you are or want to be entered under so that I know which "Jim Smith" to change to "Honking Camel.") Please note that the UBL is NOT linked to the TorFur list; if you change or delete your TorFur entry, you must notify me separately. Also, it's my policy never to add people to the UBL unless they ask to be added, changed or removed. Please don't ask for somebody else. However, you can have a Character of Significance on the list, provided you own it. (Ask me.) 

Nips & cuddles, 
-- Dee

+-----------------------------------------------+ 

Fathers Day

(by Harry Ruby, usually performed by Groucho Marx)

Dear old dad we are glad to be here with you

On this day of days

And we swear always

That we will be here

On this day each year…

Today, father, is Father’s Day

And we’re giving you a tie

It’s not much, we know

It is just our way of show

(-ing you) We think you’re a regular guy

You say that it was nice of us to bother

But it really was a pleasure to fuss

For according to our mother you’re our father

And that’s good enough for us!

Today, father, is Father’s Day

A day that we all revere

The tie that you got

Didn’t cost such a lot

But we’ll give you the same tie next year

You tell us it was nice of us to bother

But it really was a pleasure to fuss

For they say a child can only have one father

And you are the one for us

Yes, you are the one for us!