Top photo: the Wild in the Woods poster, drawn by NievarisArt. Image: courtesy of WildOut APS.
On 1 November WildOut APS posted the poster for Wild in the Woods on its Telegram channel. It’s the furry convention the association is running from 23 to 25 April 2027 at the RHI Porta Bologna hotel in Pieve di Cento, near Bologna, and you can already register on the WildOut website.
The same post gave a first look at the programme, including a brand-new Art show.
The theme: three days camping
WildOut’s first event, Back2Fun in April 2026, had a 90s theme. This time it’s a camping trip. The website sets the scene with a short story: Wild and friends head off for three days in a clearing deep in the woods, with a small lake, tents, a campfire and sausages on the grill. Then night falls, something moves between the trees, a twig snaps a bit too close and the phone loses its signal. The YouTube tutorials they watched before leaving don’t help much. “Maybe telling each other all those horror stories before getting into our sleeping bags wasn’t such a good idea”, the organisers write.
Nobody needs to be properly scared, though: WildOut describes a weekend where “the thrill of mystery and adventure blends with relaxation and fun”, a chance to switch off and meet new people.
The official poster, with Wild hiking through the woods. Artwork: NievarisArt, courtesy of WildOut APS.
The poster was drawn by NievarisArt, a freelance artist based in Austria. Wild strolls along a path at sunset with a backpack on and looks perfectly relaxed, while behind, in the undergrowth, there are red eyes and the outline of a giant spider.
The programme
There will be panels (WildOut also takes proposals from attendees), the Dealer’s Den with tables for artists and makers, and the new Art show. For socialising there are video games, board games, karaoke and a fursuit lounge for anyone who brings their fursuit.
In the evening the party moves to the Move, the hotel’s soundproofed disco, which is reserved for WildOut during the event and has DJ sets and a cocktail bar. It stays open all night, “or at least until you run out of energy”.
Tickets, rooms and meals
To buy a ticket you need an account on the WildOut website. Trekker costs €60 and includes a badge, lanyard, ConBook and stickers. Camper, the sponsor ticket, costs €90 and adds a badge holder, a themed T-shirt and pin, and an honourable mention. Survivalist, the super sponsor ticket at €140, also gets you a cap, a drawstring bag, a bandana, a frisbee, priority check-in and a welcome drink.
Rooms are booked separately. The hotel has 140 of them, from singles to triples, at a discounted rate for attendees, and buffet breakfast is included. For lunch and dinner you can pick from five set menus for the event, priced from €10 to €24, or eat at the hotel’s pizzeria, which has a wood-fired oven.
Venue and getting there
The RHI Porta Bologna is at Via Ponte Nuovo 42, about 700 metres on foot from the historic centre of Pieve di Cento. WildOut has been there before with Back2Fun, which had 83 attendees and 46 fursuits in April 2026.
By car, take the A13 motorway to the Altedo exit and follow the signs for Pieve di Cento; parking at the hotel is free. By train, get off at San Pietro in Casale on the Bologna-Ferrara line. From Bologna there is also the TPER 97C bus, which leaves from Via Indipendenza and stops about 600 metres from the hotel. If you’re flying in, the nearest airport is Bologna Marconi, less than half an hour away by car.
Who’s going and how to help
On the day of the announcement the attendee page already listed 27 people, 15 of them with fursuits.
If you’d like to get more involved, you can volunteer (if you’re 18 or over), propose a panel or an activity, or ask for a spot in the Dealer’s Den. Anyone with a ticket valid for every day of the event gets their table (half a table) for free. The forms are in the “Join us” section of the website.
First convention? Our guide to Italian furcons has some practical tips, and other events coming up in the next few months are in our autumn and winter furry events calendar.