Think you’ve got what it takes to bring your favorite character to life? Show off your creativity, craftsmanship, and stage presence at The Nostalgia Con Cosplay Contest Whether you’re a seasoned cosplayer or brand new to the scene, everyone has a chance to shine
STARTING TIME
PRE-JUDGING @ 5:30 PM
KIDS STAGE WALK @ 6:00 PM
COSPLAY CONTEST @ 6:15 PM
RULES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE IT IS THE JOB OF THE CONTESTANT TO CHECK & SEE IF RULES UPDATE
The nostalgia con cosplay contest
Who can enter?
Open to all ages (with a special showcase for kids 15 & under who want to walk the stage without competing).
Solo cosplays and groups are welcome
All costumes must be 75% handmade or heavily customized, store bought costumes alone won’t qualify.
judging & prizes
Our judges will be looking for:
Craftsmanship (quality, detail, creativity)
Accuracy (how will it represents the character)
Performance (confidence & presentation on stage)
Prizes included:
1st Place: Exclusive VIP merch including an autograph and photo op with 1 guest of their choice (if a group wins, the group has to select 1 guest of their choosing for the autograph & photo op and spilt the vip merch amongst each other)
2nd place: VIP badge for early access/priority for autographs, an autograph OR photo op with 1 guest of you or your groups choosing.
3rd place: Exclusive convention merch, signed VIP print, and $50 cash prize
Rules & Guidelines
All entries MUST be a registered attendee of The Nostalgia Con in order to compete. You or each member of your group must have a badge, pass, and or wrist band in order to participate.
Contestants have a maximum presentation time of 45 seconds on stage. Contestant will not be able to choose a song of their choice Skits are allowed as long as they fit within that time frame. If a contestant goes over said time, we will immediately move on to the next contestant.
Contestants are allowed to cosplay from anime, manga, shows, movies, and video game characters. Cosplay can not display anything obscene, offensive, or endorse any hate or hate group. If staff receive complaints that a contestant is not following the rules they will be immediately disqualified and be asked to leave.
All entries will be judged together, we are not diving contestants into separate groups or categories. To ensure fairness, all cosplays must be 75% handmade. Regardless of age, experience level, or whether you’re entering solo or as a group, everyone will have an equal chance to win.
Cosplay must be family friendly. Revealing outfits are allowed, but excessively inappropriate or explicit cosplay will not be permitted and will join the audience.
A child/contestant can have their parent/guardian to accompany them when they can when they present themselves on stage. That parent/guardian does not have to dress up if they do not want to, they will not affect that child/contestant overall cosplay results.
By participating in The Nostalgia Con Cosplay Contest you are giving us your consent for the convention to take pictures and or videos for The Nostalgia Con to post on their social media for people to see and share and potentially used for promotional events.
If you are bringing a prop, to make sure the prop abide by the convention weapons policy to ensure the safety of everyone around you. If your prop gets seized by security or told to leave it with the ticket attendees you can not use that prop for the contest as it does not abide by convention policies.
If The Nostalgia Con staff is receiving complaints that a cosplayer is acting negatively towards others and causes an issue among the entries you will be immediately disqualified from the contest.
Cosplayers are responsible to arrive in costume ready to go and are responsible for their own belongings. We do not have a dressing room area.
Contestants are not allowed to throw anything off the stage including themselves. If contestants disregard the rules they are immediately disqualified.
Pyrotechnics special effects such as fireworks, flashing paper, or smoking machine will not be allowed
Contestant props that light up or move will not have their prop plugged in as they enter the stage. That is the contestant responsible to ensure that it can function on its own energy source.
When it comes to stage combat performances must remain family-friendly. Innuendos are acceptable, but obscene or vulgar language is not allowed. Any attempts of self-harm or intentionally injuring yourself or others on stage will result in immediate disqualification.
All decisions made by the judges are final
Sign up through our online form or at the ticket registration table at the convention (it is highly recommended that you and or group register online as we can have a record of how many contestant there will be). Any updates regarding the contest will be posted on our social media accounts.