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)
Thank you for reading! Send tips, corrections, press releases, and letters of comment to: smofnews@gmx.com.