MFF very 1st stand alone convention took place November 17th-19th, 2000, not the 1st weekend in December. Which will happen later, and would take place at The Arlington Park Hilton in Arlington Heights, Illinois,

Yes it had a website even then you can find it here at archive dot org

Which does contain a Press Release

The Press Release

For six years, Chicago’s Duckon has been proud to host a strong, vibrant furry programming track. Duckon’s Furry Track has grown considerably over the past several years, and we’ve had a fun time organizing it. There comes a time for change, though, and this is it. It’s time we moved on…

To our own, full-fledged convention!

Yes, you read that right. 1999 will be the last year that Duckon features a full furry track. In 2000, Duckon’s furry track will ‘hatch’ into Midwest FurFest! Featuring all the fun, excitement, and high-quality programming you’ve come to expect from Duckon’s Furry Track, this new format will allow us to do EVEN MORE of all that good stuff.

Midwest FurFest will be held over the weekend of November 17th through the 19th in the year of 2000. Our hotel is the elegant and spacious Arlington Park Hilton, in Arlington Heights, Illinois, and we’re excited to be able to offer rooms at only $66 a night! More money to spend on Cool Stuff!

Organized by many of the same faces you’ve come to know from Duckon’s Furry Track, we’ve also recruited a number of new folk, all with fresh and exciting ideas. We’re still working on all those little details, but rest assured, we have a committed constaff dedicated to putting on a fantastic convention. If you’re an artist, a writer, a fursuiter, or just a fan in general, there’ll be something for you at MFF.

We’d also like to assure the fandom that Furry’s split from Duckon was amicable in every way. Duckon was an excellent nest for us, but Furry has grown up. We simply needed more room in order to continue to host a wide variety of quality furry programming, and Duckon was beginning to get too confining. While we are going our separate ways as conventions, many FurFest staffers will remain involved with Duckon, and Duckon itself is working with us to make the transition smooth and painless.

So, just to sum up:

All photos are from the Blue Heel archive