The thing I like about furry meets is that they do not need much of a plan. A venue, a rough time, somewhere to get food, and enough people turning up is usually the important bit. Everything else can emerge from whoever is there and what people feel like doing.
Large conventions are brilliant in a different way. There are panels, shows, dealers, photos, late nights, and a schedule full of things you will inevitably miss. Local meets work because the pressure is lower. Nobody has to maximise the weekend or race between rooms. You can talk, wander around, disappear for food, come back, and somehow several hours have gone.
Fursuiting adds its own chaos, but even that is better when it is not treated like a performance with a strict running order. Some of the funniest moments come from an ordinary place becoming briefly ridiculous because a group of colourful animals has arrived. You cannot timetable that properly, and trying too hard would probably make it worse.
Good community events create a reason to gather and then leave room for the people. That is true whether it is York Furs, LondonFurs, or a few friends meeting somewhere convenient. The schedule can be almost empty if the social bit is doing its job.
