When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!

At Retro Con, we have a soft spot for weird stuff. Toys that made no sense, licensed merchandise nobody asked for, and bootlegs that somehow look cooler than the real thing. Whether it’s strange, bizarre, or unexpected, we want to see YOUR collectibles that will make people question reality at the Retro Con 2026 Weird Toy & Merch Contest!!

No pre-registration is required! Just bring your item to the Panel Room shortly before the contest begins (exact time coming soon). However you must be present with your item to compete, so please no drop-offs.

Almost anything qualifies! Vintage or modern, licensed or unlicensed, authentic or bootleg… we love it all! However, custom-made items are NOT eligible, and entries must be suitable for a family audience. (Sorry… your Shape-Shifter Punisher and E.T. Finger Light will have to sit this one out.)

If your item has a gimmick, by all means, show it off! We’re also welcoming “toy-adjacent” collectibles like lunchboxes, electronic toothbrushes, pharmacy rack toys, model kits, candy dispensers, alarm clocks, and of course… vintage Magnum PI clothes hangers! If it celebrates a toy line or pop culture property in a charmingly bizarre way, bring it along!

1st Place winner gets the LEGO Goonies Inferno pirate ship set (a $330+ value!), complete with nearly the entire Goonies cast in minifig form, along with the Walshes’ Attic bonus set!

Helping judge the madness will be Mike from The Breaux Show, alongside Mr. Lobo from Cinema Insomnia! Together they will preside over the uncanniest toys and ephemera ever to escape a factory. Along with audience reaction input, these two brave warriors will determine which of these items prevail!

So come enter to win, or simply come to watch! For one glorious afternoon, the strange shall be celebrated, the bizarre shall be admired, and the toys that should have never existed shall will finally receive the recognition they deserve!

Only Retro Con has the courage to ask the truly important question: “Who has the coolest T-shirt in the building?” Find out at the Retro T-Shirt Contest at Retro Con 2026!

Long before dressing up in costume became in vogue at conventions, the graphic T-shirt was the original geek uniform! Fans wear them proudly to represent their fandoms, manias, and personalities without saying a word. At Retro Con, we celebrate this sacred tradition the only way we know how… by turning it into a contest with awesome prizes!

Join us Saturday in the panel room and show off your retro finest! Whether your T-shirt celebrates cartoons, toys, video games, superheroes, wrestling, sci-fi, horror, mascots, or that forgotten tv show that only aired for eight episodes in 1984… we want to see it! Vintage shirts? Definitely. New but retro-inspired shirts? Absolutely. Custom-made shirts? Bring ‘em. That shirt your family begs you not to wear in public anymore? That’s probably finalist material.

Basic Rules (please study carefully):

1- Wear a retro T-shirt (90’s properties and earlier)

2- Show up before the contest starts (TDB soon)

3- Pose like you’re in a vintage Sears Wishbook!

Prizes this year include a GI Joe Classified Pythona figure for 3rd Place, a Monster High Xenomorph doll for 2nd Place (don’t laugh, this doll currently sells for $200 online!), and a Mondo Toys Real Ghostbusters Egon Spengler and Boogieman set for 1st Place! All prizes are new and unopened.

Returning once again to preside over the fashionable chaos is our good friend Mike Breaux from The Breaux Show! So dig through those closets, raid the attic, or uproot your dresser drawers. The greatest T-shirt you own has been training its entire life for this moment…

More Contest Info Below:

-You must wear your t-shirt at the contest.

-Only actual t-shirts can be entered. Sorry, no sweatshirts, jackets, snuggies, jerseys, hoodies, long-sleeve shirts, etc..

-The Retro Con t-shirt contest is a family-friendly event! Tees with overly sexual/graphic imagery or crude language will not be allowed.

-We’ll allow a small group to enter as one contestant if they have t-shirts associated with each other.

-The contest will be slated for about 30 minutes. Hosts will ask questions to the contestants on-hand, after which they will pick approximately 10 entrants to be finalists.

-After our Finalists are picked, they will be asked to go to the front of the Panel area. An additional round of questions, along with some audience participation, will determine our 3 winners!