History
With no active furry convention present in the state of Ohio, members of the local community in Columbus decided the time was right to give one a try. Rather than a full convention, the organizers chose to start small, hosting an all-day picnic at Sharon Woods Metropark in Westerville on June 21, 2003.
The picnic, retroactively known as Morphicon Zero, was popular enough that it is still held at the end of every summer in addition to the con.
Ohio Morphicon 1, the first true furry convention held in Columbus, was held the following year from June 25–27, 2004 at the Clarion Columbus North. This first convention featured 108 attendees—and less than a dozen fursuiters.
In 2005, Morphicon would move to a new hotel in the north Columbus suburb of Worthington. The Radisson (which rebranded as a Holiday Inn in 2008) would remain home to the convention for the next 12 years.
By 2017, AnthrOhio had outgrown the Holiday Inn and found itself in need of a new home. For 2018, the convention would move to the Crowne Plaza Columbus North. In this new location, the convention continued to grow, surpassing 1,000 attendees for the first time in 2019.
The coronavirus pandemic led to the con’s cancellation in 2020 and 2021. AnthrOhio would return in 2022, carrying over the theme and guests of honor from the canceled 2020 edition.
With attendance approaching 2,000 by 2024, AnthrOhio was once again outgrowing its home. The convention will be moving to the Hilton Columbus Downtown for 2025, which will offer modern amenities and room to grow for years to come.
