PHILCON 2008: Masquerade/Cosplay

Enjoying the Philcon Masquerade & Half-Time Show!

The Philcon 2008 Masquerade Judges & Master of Ceremonies

• Diane Kovalcin, judge
• Rob Himmelsbach, judge
• John Picacio, Artist Guest of Honor, judge
• Tina Connell, judge
• jan howard finder, the Wombat, master of ceremonies

The Masquerade Results

Congratulations to all of the winners in the Philcon 2009 Masquerade:

Title	Costumer(s)	Division	Award(s)
Klutzy Peasant	Rayanne Silverman	Junior	Pres: Best Presentation
Kikiyo	Athena Gregory (made by Linda Ester)	Junior	Pres: Best in Class
Angel Meets Devil	Ruth Ferree & Hanna Edwards	Junior	Pres: Best Design/Wkmn: For Costume Embellishment
Vogue	Kim Kindya	Craftsman	Pres: Best performance Craftsman/Wkmn: For Historical Research
The Humans Are Dead	Alex Nackid (mad by) Emma Nackid	Novice	Pres: Best in Class Novice/Wkmn: Best Recreation Novice
It Jingles	Stephanie Burke	Journeyman	Wkmn: Most Creative Use of Found Materials
Poinsettia	Sara Woods	Novice	Wkmn: For Pattern Drafting
Silk Moth	Carole Parker	Novice	Pres: Best Novice Fantasy/Wkmn: For Fabric Dyeing
The Elder Days	Lisa Ashton (made by), Ming Diaz, Vicki Warren	Master	Pres: Best in Show/Wkmn: Best in Show Workmanship, For Obsessive Attention to Detail

The Masquerade is the main event of our Saturday-evening programming. Philcon offers a constant stream of programming from morning until night, but there’s a change of pace around 5 p.m. That's when people start making dinner plans and thinking about what they want to do in the evening. The con feels a bit quieter from until things gear up again around 8 p.m. or so when people return from dinner and socializing.

If you are not interested in the Masquerade or do not have elaborate dinner plans, don’t worry – Philcon has continuous programming so you are not without options. There are even programs at the same time as the Masquerade, so you have choices.

Cosplayers and Anime Fans Welcome!

Philcon welcomes anime fans and cosplayers. Our programming includes both anime and costuming tracks. We love hall costumes and encourage cosplayers to wear costumes around the con. We also welcome cosplay costumes in the Masquerade and encourage cosplayers to enter it.

What to Expect at the Masquerade

But if you are interested in the masquerade, here’s what to expect.

Lining Up for a Seat

First, some people line up early. Every seat is good in the ballrooms where the large events are held, but some individuals *always* line up early because they enjoy the social aspect of the line. They may be in costume themselves, not in competition, but in what is called a "hall costume." If you don't get to the ballroom until almost curtain time, you will still get a seat. Do be sure to wear your badge, as people will be checking at the door.

The Show

Once everyone is settled in, the emcee introduces himself and the judges, and the show begins. Children go first; then the adult entrants present their costumes. They craft them from elaborate and sophisticated materials, which take months of work and fine detail in “building” the costumes and structures, or from very simple items like one woman who made a dress out of ribbons or a very tall young man who wore a robe covered in about 400 buttons he purchased in the dealers’ room. It’s quite a show!

Some people take the stage, twirl around and exit; others have more elaborate productions complete with music, dialogue and special effects. Some use humor or drama to help showcase their costuming talents. People may take the simplest costumes and make wonderful stage productions that leaves the audience laughing, whether from terrible puns or entertaining parodies or more. You will see people recreating familiar (or less familiar) characters, perhaps like Gomez and Morticia Adams or even the one-eyed one-horned flying purple people eater.

The Judging

Once the Masquerade performances are finished, the judges exit. They confer amongst themselves about which costume/performance to award prizes for Best Re-creation, Technical Merit, Best in Class, etc. All children receive a ribbon to help motivate them to continue costuming as adults. It's a great way to help kids build self-confidence and be comfortable in front of people. (So if you have a young one who either wants to make a costume, or mom, dad, or grand-mom wants to help out and make something, please sign your young fan up to participate. You do not have to do this before the con. You can sign up to enter the masquerade when you arrive at Philcon.)

When the judges return, the emcee announces the winners in the various categories and classes. The top prize of course is "Best in Show."

The Half-Time Show Featuring The Chromatics

While the judges are conferring, Philcon always has a half time show. In the past, we have had east coast premiere movies and the Mummers in full regalia singing and dancing. This year we will have a musical guest, the Chromatics, performing for us.

The Chromatics are a unique, high-energy vocal band that delights their audiences with a combination of outrageous originals, crazy covers, melodic insights into modern life, and a smattering of science songs. The Internet, television and fast food – all are subjects of Chromatics originals.

The Chromatics are performing for Philcon for the first time. Band members are Padi Boyd, Barry Mahaffey, John Meyer, Deb Nixon, Alan Smale and Karen Smale. (Be sure to also plan to see their Childrens’ Concert at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday.)

Photographing the Costumes

If you would like photographs of the costumes, you can do that too, but not during the performances! Entrants have their photographs taken at the official photography area where Philcon photographers document the contestant for convention history. Once they’ve finished, fans may also take photos in the official photography area. The official photographer also usually sells prints.

Even if you miss taking photos in the official area, it is perfectly fine to ask someone later, or in a different place, for a photograph. Some people spend months, if not longer, working on a costume and they want people to enjoy seeing them as much as they enjoy wearing them. Just ask before you shoot. Most people can't wait to pose for you. While some people stay in costume all night and may even wear their winning costume on Sunday, don't expect them to do so. Some costumes are cumbersome and uncomfortable, so they change quickly afterwards! So if you want a photo, try to do it Saturday night as close to the Masquerade as you can. Do congratulate people on their costumes and performances, even if they are strangers. They don't do this for money, and once they win, they cannot wear the costume in competition again, so seeing someone dressed up at Philcon in something funny, or lovely or breathtaking may be your only chance to get that great shot.

After the Masquerade…

The Masquerade can be short or long but Philcon fun is still not over. If you don’t feel like heading off to sleep, you can stop in the con suite, check the party board or go to one of Philcon’s late-night panels. Just remember that other guests are sleeping while you continue to enjoy Philcon’s late-night treats so please be considerate while you enjoy the evening.

The Judges and The Master of Ceremonies

Diane Kovalcin is a long-time costumer, competing in both Science Fiction and Historical masquerades, a quilter and fan fiction writer. She also loves Star Wars – just ask her.

Rob Himmelsbach is a long-time historical costumer and embroiderer who was MC for the 2001 Worldcon, "The Millennium Philcon," and at various other cons, as well as a presentation and workmanship judge at too many to list.  He specializes in male costume of the middle ages and renaissance, traditional Chinese and Japanese costume, American Colonial, Revolutionary War, and Civil War periods.  In what passes for a real world, he is a Program Manager in the Philadelphia Department of Public Health.

John Picacio is Philcon’s Artist Guest of Honor. He has created covers for works by Charles de Lint, Harlan Ellison, Neil Gaiman, Michael Moorcock and many others. He won the 2002 International Horror Guild Award and a 2005 Chesley Award. He was a finalist for the 2008 Hugo and Locus awards.

Tina Connell, our workmanship judge, is usually found backstage, presiding over the Green Room Repair Table. Her costumes have appeared in East Coast cons, at several Costume-Cons, and in two winning Worldcon masquerade groups, at TorCon and LA Con 4.

Diane, Rob, and Tina are all members of the Sick Pups, the New Jersey-New York chapter of the International Costumers’ Guild.

Our Master of Ceremonies is jan howard finder, the Wombat. jan is one of the leading members of LASTSfa (the Latham, Albany, Schenectady, Troy Science Fiction Association) and was chair of this year’s Albacon. He’s known as a serious fan of J.R.R. Tolkein and will recite from The Lord of the Rings at the drop of an (Aussie) hat. A firm Aussiephile, jan is an excellent MC. He assures us that we won’t have vampires or sheep, or even vampire sheep at the masquerade, just a lot of wombat.

Updated Nov 23, 2008