Catbus at Ironfest: Once Upon a Time

Catbus made his inaugural debut at The Kingdom of Ironfest’s ‘Once Upon a Time’ festival, as one of the Ironfest Furries & Characters – Catbus was the biggest fursuit of all! The purpose in bringing this character to life through the costume was to bring joy, surprise and playfulness to people. He was extremely popular with adults and children alike and everyone wanted to pat him or ‘ride’ in him.

“Once upon a time the creators believed that it could be done and “Catbus” in all its glory will magically appear at Ironfest in the not too distance future, because this is what fairy tales are made of.”
— fellow Ironfest furries member

I observed that many adults loved Catbus and wanted to play with him, but immediately determined him as being “for kids”. They often only gave themselves permission to play if they had children or were explicitly invited to engage with Catbus.

“The Catbus was a fabulous attraction at Ironfest. Riding in the Catbus was my highlight of Ironfest this year. Thank you for the opportunity.”
— fellow Ironfest furries member

We had multiple offers from people to get in and operate him, which was great when he got too heavy for people or people got tired. We were all very tired and footsore by the end of the 2 days. He’s very heavy!