The Convention Fans Blog

8th Annual WonderCon Masquerade Costumers: The Stage Is Reserved for You on Saturday Night!

No celebration of comic books, movies, and the other popular arts would be complete without recognition of the art of costuming. Conventions like WonderCon are great places to see attendees show off their creativity and talent, and sometimes their creations are just as good as – or even better than – the costumes seen on the big screen or professional stage. In celebration of the many remarkable ways that people’s imaginations can devise to clothe the human form, WonderCon again presents its Saturday night Masquerade costume competition.

The Masquerade takes place on WonderCon’s main stage, with a master of ceremonies and a panel of judges, featuring theater-style lighting, enhanced sound, and large HD video screens displaying great close-up views for all in the audience. Some costumes will be re-creations from movies, comics, TV, video games, Japanese animation, and other sources; other entries will be completely original designs from the clever imaginations of the entrants. Some entries will be solo costumes, while others will be groups with a shared theme. If you’ve crafted a costume, or plan to, we encourage you to share your work on the stage, not only because of the thousands of smiles you’ll create but because you might take home a trophy or prize as well. Last year’s audience, which numbered over 2,900, lined up long before the doors opened, to enjoy the show’s amazing and entertaining creations.

Showtime will be Saturday, March 17, at 8:30 PM at the Anaheim Convention Center. Only a WonderCon single-day Saturday badge or a 3-day badge is needed to participate or attend (while seating is available). Doors will open for audience seating at 8:00, and the event will run approximately two hours. Entries must not have been purchased or otherwise commercially obtained; they must be of original construction or show significant modification of pre-existing materials. All genres are welcome, as are all levels of experience, from the novice to the seasoned convention costumer.

Click here for the PDF featuring complete information, detailed rules, and an advance entry form. A limited number of contestant slots are available, so interested costumers should obtain the rules and sign up for a reserved spot now. The deadline for advance entry is March 2, 2012. Last-minute entries will also be accepted until 1:00 PM on the Saturday of the convention, unless all the contestant slots fill up before then.

Impressive WonderCon trophies will be awarded by a panel of guest judges in categories to include Best in Show, Judges’ Choice, Best Re-Creation, Best Original Design, Best Workmanship, and Best Presentation. In addition to these trophies, a number of companies and organizations will present their own awards:

• Frank & Son Collectible Show of the City of Industry, CA, will present a $500 cash prize for what they deem the audience favorite.
• DC Comics will bestow a very special DC Direct collectible to what they deem as the best re-creation of a DC Comics character or characters.
• Lucasfilm Ltd. will present a special Star Wars prize selected from the Lucasfilm Licensing Archives, bestowed to what they choose as the best costume entry from the Star Wars universe.
• Anime Social Scene will award $100 cash to the best single or group anime presentation in the show. Also, TME That’s My Entertainment will award $100 to the best Movie Representation, plus $100 for the People’s Favorite! Courtesy of their parent company, The Testmarket Evolution.

More awards may be added … check back for updates!