SMOF News, volume 2, issue 27

All about costume contests, and news in brief.

How To Convention: Costume Contests

Costume contests can range from a simple show-and-tell at your local comic con to elaborate and intimidating affairs at long-running science fiction conventions. Let’s take a look from the most basic to the most advanced ones you might encounter.

Starting simple

At a typical local comic con, all you need to do is show up with a costume and the courage to walk across a stage in it. The host may ask you a question or two about how you made the costume, or about the inspiration for it if you’re not dressed as someone from a well-known franchise. The audience may run to hundreds of people, but the atmosphere is usually relaxed and friendly. There may be different categories, but they will generally be based on either the source material (best video game, anime, etc.) or type of contestant (best child/adult, best group/individual).

The ICG

Lurking in the background of all the more complicated contests is the International Costumers’ Guild. Founded in 1989 by amateur and professional costumers from across fandom, it offers guidelines for running costume contests and ensuring fair competition (PDF). Only some fan conventions use the full ICG guidelines, but its influence has diffused to many cons beyond that, so you may encounter contests run by some but not all of the ICG system.

Divisions

The ICG divides contestants by their experience level into Novice, Journeyman, and Master divisions. (Actual terms used by individual conventions may vary.) Novices are newbies. Journeymen are people who’ve been around for a while and started winning awards. Masters have been perfecting their craft for a long time and may be producing professional-quality costumes.

Presentation vs. workmanship

ICG-style contests can include not just judging on presentation— how the costume looks on stage— but workmanship, how well the costume is made. This may be done by a completely different set of judges, as it will involve up-close inspection of the costume. Criteria will vary based on division. If you’re a novice, it’s more about whether your seams are straight and the costume more or less resembles the source material (if any, see below). Masters may be nitpicked about the choice of techniques and fabrics.

Original vs. recreation

One last ICG distinction is whether the costume is a recreation, based on a book, game, show, movie, or actual historical outfit, or completely original. Recreation covers anything intentionally designed to resemble existing source material. Mashups of multiple sources still count as recreations.

This is mostly limited to science fiction conventions, as most other types of conventions that have costume contests will have only recreation entries. You may occasionally come across an “Original Character” category at media-type conventions, though.

Skits

Some conventions allow you to present a prepared skit when you go onstage. The contest rules will spell out a limit for how long your skit can be, which may depend on the size of your group. You may be able to provide recorded dialogue or music to go with your presentation. (Conventions will usually have a blanket license to cover any copyrighted music played during the course of the event.)

In deciding what to do for your skit, it is generally agreed that short is better than long, and funny is better than not funny.

Additional logistics

More elaborate contests will provide a green room where contestants can gather before the event for final prep, costume repairs, and so forth. If there is workmanship judging, it will usually take place before the contest, in the green room.

If the contest is advanced enough to include skits, there will probably be a separate tech rehearsal where you can do a quick practice in a space the size of the stage with your soundtrack being played.

There may be a separate photo area where contestants can stop and pose for photographers who want close-up shots.

And a few common rules

Contest rules will vary, so always read all the way through them. But here are a few that you will see often:

• No pyrotechnics, open flames, or other dangerous things.

• Any surprising and unusual aspects of your skit should be reviewed with the staff beforehand. You can surprise the audience, but you don’t want to surprise the staff.

• No trying to break local nudity laws. (Also known as “No costume is no costume”.)

• No messy materials that will have to be cleaned up from the stage or other people’s costumes. (Also known as “the no peanut butter rule” after Scott Shaw’s infamous appearance as The Turd.)

In Brief

• Norwescon 45 (SeaTac, Washington, April 7-9) has added Greg Dubos as its Science Guest of Honor.

Event Calendar

Weekend of March 10-12

• Picocon 40, London, UK

• Nerdi Gras, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

• MarsCon 2023: When Books Come Alive!, Bloomington, Minnesota, USA

• Pulp Fiction Central, Dania Beach, Florida, USA

• Wild Wild West Steampunk Convention 11, Tucson, Arizona, USA

• World Steampunk Exposition, Lafayette, Louisiana, USA

• Cosplay Up! 2023 (costuming), Manila, Philippines

• AireCon (gaming), Harrogate, UK

• Granite Game Summit, Nashua, New Hampshire, USA

• Great Plains Game Festival, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA

• Terminal City Tabletop Convention (gaming), Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

• Arizona Game Fair, Mesa, Arizona, USA

• GAD-CON 2023 (gaming), Aberdeen, Maryland, USA

• ShushCon 2023 (gaming), Pawleys Island, South Carolina, USA

• MidWinter ‘23 (gaming), Haugesund, Norway

• Sioux City Game Con Spring 2023, Sioux City, Iowa, USA

• Louisville Arcade Expo, Louisville, Kentucky, USA

• PrinceCon 46: Le Petit PrinceCon (marathon RPG), Princeton, New Jersey, USA

• Lost Golaricon 2023 (Pathfinder & Starfinder RPGs), Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

• Cold Wars 2023 (miniatures gaming), King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, USA

• MinamiCon 28 (anime), Southampton, UK

• Banzaicon (anime), Columbia, South Carolina, USA

• Animeverse Fest (anime), Pasadena, Texas, USA

• Banzaicon (anime), Columbia, South Carolina, USA

• Mississippi Anime Fest, Jackson, Mississippi, USA

• Colorado Anime Fest 2023, Denver, Colorado, USA

• ACEcon 2023 (anime), Palm Harbor, Florida, USA

• IndigiPop X (indigenous media), Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA

• TFcon (Transformers), Burbank, California, USA

Weekend of March 17-19

• Cleveland ConCoction, Aurora, Ohio, USA

• WOWCon Beyond (women in media and geekdom), Dallas, Texas, USA

• OutlantaCon: Resume Play (LGBTQ+ geekdom), Atlanta, Georgia, USA

• 44th International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts, Orlando, Florida, USA

• Furnal Equinox: Tales From the Tavern (anthropomorphic), Toronto, Ontario, Canada

• Texas Furry Fiesta: Attack of the Jackafluffies! (anthropomorphic), Dallas, Texas, USA

• Blue Ridge Furfare 2023: Mainfurame Meltdown (anthropomorphic), online

• Marmalade Dog 26 (gaming), Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA

• Token Con (gaming), Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA

• Zuiderspel (gaming), Veldhoven, Netherlands

• Ludesco (gaming), La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland

• Breakout 2023 (gaming), Toronto, Ontario, Canada

• Long Island Tabletop Gaming Expo 2023, Garden City, New York, USA

• SIMCON 44 (boardgames), Rochester, New York, USA

• GOBfest (boardgames), Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

• Playthrough (video games), Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

• COSCON XXXII (RPGs), Lyndora, Pennsylvania, USA

• Concrete Cow (RPGs), Milton Keynes, UK

• Ambercon US (diceless RPGs), Livonia, Michigan, USA

• Anime Impulse San Diego, Del Mar, California, USA

• ScottyCon (anime), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

• Kikori Con 2023 (anime), Flagstaff, Arizona, USA

• Toronto Comicon, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

• All-Con (media), Dallas, Texas, USA

• My-Con (media), Orlando, Florida, USA

• Collective Con (media), Jacksonville, Florida, USA

• Power Comicon, Florence, South Carolina, USA

• CarrierCon 2023 (media), Alameda, California, USA

• Bedford Who Charity Con 8 (Doctor Who), Bedford, UK

Weekend of March 24-26

• FantaSci 2023: Here Be Dragons, Durham, North Carolina, USA

• Fluke 2023 (independent comics and zines), Athens, Georgia, USA

• Motor City Furry Con: Fur Imagination, Ypsilanti, Michigan, USA

• Thaitails Siam Sawasdee (anthropomorphic), Bangkok, Thailand

• Woods Flock (anthropomorphic), Spencer, Tennessee, USA

• GameStorm 23, Portland, Oregon, USA

• WittCon XVIII: Magic vs. Machines (gaming), Springfield, Ohio, USA

• Gary Con XV (gaming), Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, USA

• Ludinord (gaming), Mons-En-Barœul, France

• LeiriaCon (gaming), Leiria, Portugal

• WillowCon (gaming), Wayne, Nebraska, USA

• Fargo GameFest, Fargo, North Dakota, USA

• FallsCon 2023 (gaming), Wichita Falls, Kansas, USA

• PAX East (video games), Boston, Massachusetts, USA

• Hotlead (miniatures gaming), Stratford, Ontario, Canada

• Adepticon 2023 (wargaming), Schaumburg, Illinois, USA

• Not-A-Con 2023 (Pathfinder & Starfinder RPGs), Alcoa, Tennessee, USA

• Nadeshicon (anime), Québec City, Québec, Canada

• EvilleCon (anime), Evansville, Indiana, USA

• SwampCon Pantheon (anime), Gainesville, Florida, USA

• Isekai Anime Con, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

• AnimeJapan 2023, Tokyo, Japan

• Zenkaikon 2023 (anime), Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA

• ExpOtaku Almería 2023 (anime), Almería, Spain

• Comic Con Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria

• Armageddon Expo Tauranga (media), Tauranga, New Zealand

• GalaxyCon Richmond (media), Richmond, Virginia, USA

• Fan Expo Cleveland (media), Cleveland, Ohio, USA

• Island Entertainment Expo (media), Charlottetown, PEI, Canada

• WonderCon 2023 (media), Anaheim, California, USA

• Revelcon 33: The Wedding Episode (media relaxacon), Houston, Texas, USA

Weekend of March 31-April 2

• Corflu Craic (fanzines), Belfast, UK

• Romics XXX (comics), Rome, Italy

• Consonance 2023 (music), Milpitas, California, USA

• 13 Gears (steampunk), Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

• Tell-Tale Steampunk Festival, Hunt Valley, Maryland, USA

• CosXpo (costuming), Reading, UK

• Midwest Gaming Classic, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

• Alamo City Game Convention, San Antonio, Texas, USA

• DayCon (gaming), Kettering, Ohio, USA

• ADK Tabletop Day (gaming), Glens Falls, New York, USA

• Midwest Gaming Classic (video games), Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

• Havoc XXXVII (miniatures gaming), Marlborough, Massachusetts, USA

• Gary Con XV (Gary Gygax), Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, USA

• KokoroCon 2 (anime), Nottingham, UK

• Kawaii Kon (anime), Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

• Triad Anime Convention, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA

• Angers Geekfest #4: Utopie & Dystopie (media), Angers, France

• RodCon (media), Cedar Falls, Iowa, USA

• FACTS (media), Ghent, Belgium

• ETSU-Con (media), Johnson City, Tennessee, USA

• Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo, Chicago, Illinois, USA

• Creation Nola (media), New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

• Megacon Orlando (media), Orlando, Florida, USA

• ETSU-Con (media), Johnson City, Tennessee, USA

• Paris Manga Sci-Fi Show (media), Villepinte, France

• Rose City Comic Convention, Windsor, Ontario, Canada

• CyPhaCon 2023 (media), Lake Charles, Louisiana, USA

• CabbageCon (Avatar: The Last Airbender), Columbus, Ohio, USA

Weekend of April 7-9

• Conversation 2023 (UK national sf convention), London, UK

• Minicon 56, Saint Louis Park, Minnesota, USA

• Norwescon 45: Between Two Worlds, SeaTac, Washington, USA

• Fastaval '23, Hobro, Denmark

• Golden State Fur Con (anthropomorphic), Los Angeles, California, USA

• Fur Squared 2023 (anthropomorphic), Brookfield, Wisconsin, USA

• Fauntastic 2023: Wild in the Street (anthropomorphic), Lyon, France

• Clockwork Alchemy: Villains & Heroes (steampunk), San Mateo, California, USA

• GothCon XLVI (gaming), Göteborg, Sweden

• DaveCon (gaming), Bloomington, Minnesota, USA

• Conquest Games Convention (RPGs), Melbourne, Australia

• Scrum Con (wargaming), Silver Spring, Maryland, USA

• WeebCon Year 3 (anime), Grapevine, Texas, USA

• MTAC Blackjack (anime), Nashville, Tennessee, USA

• Anime Detour, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

• Anime Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

• Karoshi-Con (anime), DeKalb, Illinois, USA

• Kanpai!Con (anime), Omaha, Nebraska, USA

• Sakura-Con 2023 (anime), Seattle, Washington, USA

• Puerto Rico Comic Con, San Juan, Puerto Rico, USA

• BABSCon 2023 (My Little Pony), Burlingame, California, USA

• Star Wars Celebration 2023, Anaheim, California, USA

Coda

• An oral history of Chinese sf (China.org.cn)

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