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Retro Con 2026 All-Ages Costume Contest!
The Retro Con 2026 Costume Contest is getting a revamp this year! We’re bringing everyone together for one awesome, concentrated ALL-AGES Costume Contest!
In the past we split the competition between Saturday for costumers ages 14+, and Sunday for those 13 and under. But this year, we’re throwing out the age brackets and putting EVERYONE in the same contest! If you’ve got a great retro costume no matter your age or skillset, we want to see it!
Hosted as always by our good friend Eric “The Smoke” Moran, the contest kicks off at 12:30pm on Saturday, September 12th in our Event & Panel Room! No sign-ups are required! Just show up in costume about 15 minutes before the contest start time so we can get everyone lined up and ready to strut.
If you’ve seen some of the wild, creative, hilarious, and downright awesome retro costumes that have hit the Retro Con floor over the years, you already know this is going to be a fun one. We’ve seen everything from classic cartoons and toys, to movies, TV shows, video games, superheroes, monsters, mascots, and even obscure deep cut characters.
So dig through the closet, raid the prop bin, dust off and revamp that old costume, finish that project you’ve been working on, and bring it to Retro Con! Cash prizes are up for grabs!
Check the Costume Contest tab on our website for more contest info. Our Event & Panel room is located outside the main convention hall, and is connected to our lead-in hallway (near to the front ticket booths)!
Retro Con 2025 Costume Contests!
We will be hosting *TWO* costume contests at Retro Con 2025!
SATURDAY at 1:30pm- Junior & Adult Costumers 14 and over!
SUNDAY at 12:15pm- Kid Costumers 13 and under!
Hosted once again by our good friend Eric “The Smoke” Moran, both contests will be held in the panel area at the show. Individuals and small groups are eligible to participate.
Preregistering for the contest is not necessary and there are no sign-up fees, though we suggest entrants please arrive outside the panel room 15 minutes before contest time for line-up.
Retro Con has a dedicated panel and contest room now, which is connected to our lead-in hallway (right next to the front ticket booths)!
We do a combination of staff judging and crowd reaction to determine our three winners. While craftsmanship will be definitely be taken into account, we will mostly judge costumes on their theme and overall effect. While some costumers are well-versed in advanced sewing and molding techniques, others show their ingenuity through creative glueing, hand sewing, and working with found items. We recognize costuming/cosplay as a hobby for people of all skill sets and budgets!
Please no skits or anything else that might delay the contest. Doing a pose and/or saying something briefly in character is okay. Also please no heckling from the audience or from contestants. Anyone found disorderly will be asked to leave. We believe in a fun and ego-free atmosphere!
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Costumers will have a chance at winning three cash prizes:
Junior & Adult Costumers 14 and over
FIRST place: $150.00
SECOND place: $100.00
THIRD place: $75.00
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Kid Costumers 13 and under
FIRST place: $100
SECOND place: $75
THIRD place: $50
Costume Contests at Retro Con 2023!
The true spirit of costuming is alive and well at Retro Con! And we’ll be hosting TWO costume contests at Retro Con 2023!!
SATURDAY at 1:45PM- Junior & Adult Costumers 14 and over!
SUNDAY at 12:30PM- Kid Costumers 13 and under!
Hosted once again by our good friend Eric “The Smoke” Moran, both contests will be held in the panel area at the show. Individuals and small groups are eligible to participate.
Preregistering for the contest is not necessary and there are no sign-up fees, though we suggest entrants please arrive outside the panel room 15 minutes before contest time for line-up.
Retro Con has a dedicated panel and contest room now, which is connected to our lead-in hallway!
We do a combination of staff judging and crowd reaction to determine our three winners. While craftsmanship will be definitely be taken into account, we will mostly judge costumes on their theme and overall effect. While some costumers are well-versed in advanced sewing and molding techniques, others show their ingenuity through creative glueing, hand sewing, and working with found items. We recognize costuming/cosplay as a hobby for people of all skill sets and budgets!
Please no skits or anything else that might delay the contest. Doing a pose and/or saying something briefly in character is okay. Also please no heckling from the audience or from contestants. Anyone found disorderly will be asked to leave. We believe in a fun and ego-free atmosphere!
_ _ _
Costumers will have a chance at winning three cash prizes:
Junior & Adult Costumers 14 and over
FIRST place: $150.00
SECOND place: $100.00
THIRD place: $75.00
Kid Costumers 13 and under
FIRST place: $100
SECOND place: $75
THIRD place: $50
Retro Con Costume Contests!
What’s better than one costume contest? TWO costume contests, obviously!
Join us Saturday at 1:15pm at Retro Con for the “Ages 14 and Up” costume contest, and then again on Sunday at 12:15pm for the “Ages 13 and Under” costume contest! Both hosted by our good friend Eric “The Smoke” Moran, a one man costume army!
Both contests will be held in the panel area at the show, with individuals and small groups welcome to participate. Preregistering for the contests is not necessary and there are no sign-up fees, though we do suggest entrants please arrive outside the panel area for line-up in the minutes prior to the scheduled start time.
Top prize on Saturday is $150 in cash, with Skelly awards for our 3 winners. Top prize on Sunday is $100 in cash, and a box of toys for all participants to choose from after the contest is over.
We love having costume contests and we love seeing all the imaginative ideas you bring to the show every year. What we DON’T love is to waste your time with long drawn-out contests. We always do our best to keep our contests moving at a brisk pace, so you can get back to enjoying the rest of the event and make the most of your time at Retro Con!
Free Pack of A-Team Cards with Van Photo Op Purchase!
While supplies last, we’re giving a FREE pack of vintage A-Team trading cards to anyone who buys a photo op with the A-Team van!! We just pity the poor fool that eats the bubblegum…
Photo ops with or in the van (on your own camera or phone) are only $5 for a group up to 4 people!
Have an A-team related costume? Wear it to Retro Con! We’re offering a FREE photo op with the van for anyone in an A-Team outfit!! This promotion does not extend to photo ops with Dwight Schultz and Dirk Benedict with the van, however.
A big thanks to Nick Govosdian for donating these card packs to the show!
Meet the Cybertronic Spree at Retro Con 2017!
Beyond Good. Beyond Evil. Beyond Your Wildest Imagination.
If you’re into Transformers, there’s a good chance you’ve seen youtube videos of our next guests in action. Hailing from the planet Cybertron (and currently stationed in Ontario, Canada), they are a band like no other!
Hotrod, Arcee, Rumble, Unicron, Spike, Soundwave, Bumblebee, and a Quintesson have been brought together by the power of rock ‘n’ roll. Together, they form:
The Cybertronic Spree!
Known across the galaxy for having cast aside their warring factions for the sake of entertainment, the band has put together a wide repertoire of music for the enjoyment of all sentient beings! Most notably they perform songs from The Transformers: The Movie (1986) animated feature film. But they also rock tunes from hit retro films, cartoons, video games, and more- all at full volume!
These rockstars in disguise blend their love for 80’s metal into an unforgettable live show. It’s your cartoon childhood coming back to whack you in the face with awesome!
The Cybertronic Spree will be attending the show early in the day on Saturday as convention guests, where fans can meet with them and purchase band-related merchandise. Tentative times are 10am to 1pm.
But of course we can’t stop there! The Cybertronic Spree will also be performing an hour long concert that Saturday night (October 14th) at 8pm at the nearby Arnold’s Family Fun Center!
**Cybertronic Spree Concert Tickets are now SOLD OUT!**
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Check out a small sample of the Cybertronic Spree’s music here:
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So come to the Retro Con to hang with the band, and then see them in concert Saturday night! This is one party you don’t want to miss!!
Follow the Cybertronic Spree at these places:
Retro Con 2016 Costume Contests!
We will be hosting *TWO* costume contests at Retro Con 2016!
SATURDAY at 1:00pm- Junior & Adult Costumers 14 and over!
SUNDAY at 12:00pm- Kid Costumers 13 and under!
Hosted once again by our good friend Eric “The Smoke” Moran, both contests will be held in the panel area at the show. Individuals and small groups are eligible to participate. Preregistering for the contest is not necessary, just be around the panel area prior to the announced time if you would like to be included. There is no sign-up fee.
We do a combination of staff judging and crowd reaction to determine our three winners. While craftsmanship will be definitely be taken into account, we will mostly judge costumes on their theme and overall effect. While some costumers are well-versed in advanced sewing and molding techniques, others show their ingenuity through creative glueing, hand sewing, and working with found items. We recognize costuming/cosplay as a hobby for people of all skill sets and budgets!
Please no skits or anything else that might delay the contest. Doing a pose and/or saying something briefly in character is okay. Also please no heckling from the audience or from contestants. Anyone found disorderly will be asked to leave. We believe in a fun and ego-free atmosphere!
_ _ _
Costumers will have a chance at winning three cash prizes:
Junior & Adult Costumers 14 and over
FIRST place: $100.00
SECOND place: $75.00
THIRD place: $50.00
Kid Costumers 13 and under
FIRST place: $75
SECOND place: $50
THIRD place: $25
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The Skelly Awards!
In addition to the cash prizes, winners of the costume contest will receive these specially painted Skelly awards: 1st place gold, 2nd place silver, and 3rd place bronze! The mini Skellies will go to the winners of the Kids costume contest.
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And as a special added treat, the voice of Skeletor himself, Mr. Alan Oppenheimer, has kindly agreed to give away the Skelly awards at the end of the costume contest on Saturday!!
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Some of the fantastic costumes from previous Retro Cons!
Retro Con 2015 Highlights!
A look back at some of phenomenal sights around 2015! A big thanks to everyone that dressed up and helped add to the show this year!! Click the post title to see all the pictures!
Photos by Grenex Media, Christopher Wetherell’s Photography, Jason S Colflesh Photography, Knightmare6, Christopher Beaumont, Jennifer Pote, Bob Trate, Erica Schmidt, Mike Breaux, TJ Becker, Jack Doud, Matthew Kelly, Symbiote Collectibles, and Tom Kingsmill. Thanks!
Retro Con 2015 Recap Video by Bestow TV!
A huge thanks to Bestow TV for putting together this excellent montage video from the show this year! They truly captured the spirit of the show in motion!
Check out Bestow TV on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/BestowProd
Bestow TV returns to Retro Con 2015
Bestow TV will be back this year to cover Retro Con!
Bestow TV renders award-winning creations in a range of video media offerings. Bestow’s original offering, Creative Continuity, a comic book/pop-culture interview show, quickly outgrew its humble Central Pennsylvania roots and spawned Bonus Content, a web-hosted series of convention and cosplay highlights. Bestow TV’s convention coverage includes many mid-Atlantic events, such as Wizard World Conventions, Baltimore Comic Con, Otakon, Awesome Con, and the ever-popular Retro Con.
Join Bestow TV at Retro Con to view the entire library of previous years’ coverage, and to showcase your own cosplay for future viewers to enjoy.
For a sample of Bestow’s gamut at Retro Con:
For your convience, Bestow TV’s Retro Con for the completionist.
Click here to view Bestow’s People’s Telly Award Silver Award Winning piece entitled, “New York Comic Con 2014 Cosplay Montage“!
PRE-REG HAS ENDED! PLEASE BUY AT DOOR!
Vendor Table Info Below!
Sponsors!
Retro Con would like to thank all those that helped to sponsor this show!
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98.5 WXPM The Phoenix
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The Retro Network
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Rediscover The 80s
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Friends of Retro Con!
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The Breaux Show
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Fandom Spotlite
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Toy Spotlite
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The Very Best
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