For the audience, the Costume Contest starts on Saturday, October 6, at 5:00 PM but for the contestants, there are several steps leading up to the event all of which are at least as important as showing your creativity on stage.

Please note that the sign in/pre-judging and the orientation/dress rehearsal are MANDATORY. Contestants who do not sign in or attend the preparatory events will be disqualified.

3:00 PM – Costume Contest Sign In and Pre-Judging (Steveston B)

Please register or sign in (if you have pre-registered) at this time in the Steveston B meeting room where you will be given some preliminary information about the contest. This will lead into pre-judging where each contestant will be asked a few questions about their costumes by the judges. This will continue until 4:20 PM.

Craftsmanship judging is your moment to shine! Show off your hard work; we encourage you to explain your working process to our judges who are eager to listen and admire your costume. If a judge asks you a question about a specific detail or technique, don’t be nervous! This means that there is an aspect of your costume that they like and want to know more about in order to better appreciate your costume.

4:30 PM – Contest set-up, Orientation and Dress Rehearsal (Minoru C&D)

Contestants and volunteers are then required to attend the contest set-up, the orientation and dress rehearsal in Minoru C&D. This is when and where entrants will have an opportunity to ask last-minute questions and to become familiar with the stage and walk-on choreography. This will go on until 5:00 PM when the doors will open to let the audience come in before the contest officially starts.

The last step in your pre-competition preparation is to speak with our audio specialists about any music and your introduction. Please ensure that your audio was emailed to us in an MP3 format after your entry is confirmed if you wish to have custom audio.

5:00 PM – Costume Contest

While the audience gets settled, take a moment and get ready to smile (or glower if it’s more appropriate)! Once the contest has started and the hosts and judges are ready, you’ll be called into line. Prepare yourself for the spotlight! Both the judges and the crowd love to see contestants acting in character.

Rules

1. No open flame, fire, flash powder, lasers, or flash paper is allowed.
2. No messy substances on stage. The stage must be in as good a condition when you leave as when you enter.
3. No flagrant nudity will be permitted. The costume contest is rated PG-13. There will be children in the audience
4. Competitors must attend all mandatory costume contest preparations. Failure to appear or to be ready to go on stage may result in disqualification. While competitors may be subject to circumstances beyond their control, the costume contest director has final say.
5. The costume contest director and staff reserve the right to eliminate anyone from competition on the basis of taste, danger to the audience or other contestants, or for any other reason deemed sufficient. Repeated violations of the rules may result in the contestant being barred from future costume contests.
6. No costume entered can be “package bought” (with the exception of the “Non-Competition” category). Any contestant caught cheating with a bought or pre-made costume will face severe consequences.
7. You must have a VCON membership valid on the date of the competition in order to participate.
8. The decisions of the Judges are final.
9. This is an amateur contest; professionals are not allowed to enter.
10. Attitude is everything. Be kind to your fellow contestants and costume contest staff or you will be disqualified.