• No costume which has appeared in two or more Marcon Masquerades may be entered in the competition.
• Purchased, rented, or commercial costumes may not be entered. Credit must be given for all make-up and costume construction.
• No flash photography of contestant(s) on stage. There will be an official photographer in the hall to take your picture after you have finished your stage presentation.
• Total or partial nudity is prohibited.
• No dangerous or potentially dangerous props which could cause injuries or damage. All special effects must be authorized by Masquerade director and be in place before the start of competition.
• Contestants must remove all stage presentation props and costume pieces from stage prior to the next presentation.
• A group or collaborative costume must compete at the skill level of the highest ranked member who participated in the design and/or construction.
• Taped soundtracks may be used and are encouraged, but must not exceed the allotted time limit. The audio portion for presentation is limited to 1 minute or less in length. All tapes must have a ten second blank leader. Longer presentation times may be granted by the Masquerade Director.
• All registration forms & tapes must be turned in on Saturday by the designated time.
• The Masquerade Director has the final word.

There are four contestant categories. Masquerade participants may compete in any category except those that are lower than their skill level. Collaborative efforts must compete at the skill level of the highest ranked group member.

• Youth:

  Anyone 13 years or younger.

• Novice:

  Anyone who is an amateur and has not previousy won at a world class competition (i.e. World Con or Costume Con) and has less than three wins at the regional level. The costume may not have won Best in Show award.

• Journeyman:

  This category includes anyone who is an amateur and has fewer than three wins at the world class journeyman level.

• Master:

  This division is open to anyone, but you must compete at this level if you have more than four wins at the world class level, are a professional costumer, or have won Best of Show at a world class competition.

Judging will be conducted in two parts: Workmanship & Presentation:

Workmanship judging will evaluate the basis of construction, appearance, design, creativity, and accuracy in recreations. We will have a large, separate programming room for workmanship judging/staging this year. Workmanship judging is optional for all contestants.

Presentation judging will occur Saturday evening, during the stage portion of the masquerade. Taped voice-overs for the Presentation judging are strongly encouraged but are not required. No Microphones will be provided for contestants!