Ah, 2019. A wild, wild year, filled with adventure, shenanigans, struggles and everything else you could expect. But this was also the year that we pulled off some ambitious moves and made our imprint more pronounced.

Big guns at my medieval festival? Say it ain't so! Photo courtesy of Silver Sheep

Naturally, as the one penning this retrospective, I would be inclined to begin with myself. Fresh off of debuting my fursuit at a furmeet last December, I can safely say that I’ve been smitten with the fursuiting craze. It is one of those things – you just want to get out there, seek out events and opportunities to wear the suit and bring joy and happiness to the lives of others! After all, I can’t disappoint the Raiders, can I? No doubt you’ve seen me make expeditions within Australia starting with the Lithgow Ironfest and later flying out to Furry Down Under in Surfers Paradise, sprinkle in a healthy share of outings and then say "I've been around the block". Overall, 2019 for Jolty was exciting, exhilarating and with all that he’s been through, a hard act to follow for the years ahead.

Lifted high with a stunning vista over the Nevada Desert, nothing gets better than this.

Twelve Raiders, including Foxler, Kody and yours truly embarked on the adventure of a lifetime – a trip to Las Vegas and Lake Powell in Utah! Established as an opportunity to connect with our members and build up friendships, this grand trip delivered in spades. It was absolutely a surreal experience for me to meet furries that I’d known for 2 years, some less than that, only behind an image on a screen and a voice. While the trip had its fair share of challenges, I’m pleased to say that it turned out to be a total success! We’re always open to exploring new frontiers all around the world, and when our next expedition is planned, we hope you will be there with us to share in this experience!

 Aeveirra partying at Furpocalypse with Frederick Knudsen!

At roughly the same time that the Vegas trip was ongoing, our bad Orange Doggo, Aeveirra, took his yearly tradition to attend Anthrocon, along with a host of other Raiders there. For 2019, his life was brimming with the spirit of adventure, making appearances in Anthro New England and braving the hazards of the broken down Red Lion hotel that hosted Furpocalypse. One other highlight of the year came in the form of Aeveirra landing an appearance on Milo Yiannopoulos’ show, Friday Night’s All Right. In the episode, both talked about their fursonas, the current state of the furry fandom and its denizens whilst looking fabulous as they always do. Aeveirra will also be closing it off with the New Years’ Furry Ball, so look out for that if you’re in the Delaware area.

I see a Skyfox and a fox on the ground. Maybe we can find a way to put them together?

Let us not forget that our members have made their imprints on adventures of their own. Whether it was surviving Denfur in the heart of Summer, fursuiting at a wildlife sanctuary, making your fursuit debut at UK’s premier furry convention, Confuzzled or patiently standing in the registration lines at Midwest Furfest, we’re glad that you’ve gotten out there and had the time of your life!

As for the Raiders Rambles, we know what we are and we’re sticking to it: A show that talks about sometimes serious stuff in a non-serious manner and keeping up with some furry ongoings from time to time. Season 2 brought in more crazy in this world, a vast array of stories, first timers that made great showings and as ever, our members did not disappoint in providing their commentary, banter and insight. There have been some ups and downs, especially when transitioning from the now dead Google Hangouts on Air as we were scrambling for a viable alternative, but in the end, we found a new home in Streamyard, settled in and made it work! Thanks are extended to Nio and Orion for hosting the show in my absence and pulling off something substantial with it. We plan to launch Season 3 with the hope of bringing you more laughs, more sharing of the craziness out there and being more in tune with you, the listeners. But no matter where you are, give it a listen and you might never know what you will pick up because after all, Clown World is the place to be.

Jolt’s personal highlights of hosting Season 2 of the Raiders Rambles:

• Singing a spoof of the Dixie song upon reading a live comment
• Covering the craziness that is Elon Musk, from his troll posts and the Cybertruck
• Regaling the stories of my adventures
• Favourite episodes include #60 – Adventures of a Lifetime and #65 - Money The Calamity Causer
• Favourite first-timer host is Malygos (aka L)

Aeveirra’s personal highlights of hosting Season 2 of the Raiders Rambles:

• Making jokes that had the hosts cracking up for a whole minute
• Bringing in our Special Guests for the year
• Favourite episode is #60 – Adventures of a Lifetime
• Favourite first-timer host is Cross Hyparu

We got red armbands, yellow armbands, rainbow ones too!

So when will the Raiders merchandise store open, you might ask? We get it – it’s a long and slow process to get the products made and so forth, and we’re doing what we can. But rest assured, we’ve got armbands by the dozen and in just about every colour of the spectrum, some more literally than others. And you’ll love the ideas and designs we’ve got planned for our merch.

2020 is a year of many great unknowns, escalating insanity and the opening of many new opportunities, but regardless, we march into it sticking to our principles, having fun along the journey and doing what we do best – existing as furries. We look forward to bringing you more shenanigans, more laughs, more adventures and a truckload of armbands for 2020!

For more on our wrap-up of 2019, feel free to listen to episode #79 of the Raiders Rambles – 2019, That’s a Wrap!, where we wind back through the good and hard times and share special insights not told before.