Let’s turn it up to Eleven!! Play lead singer in Retro Con’s “Truly Truly Truly METAL Karaoke Contest”! \m/\m/

To shake things up, we’ve started giving our Karaoke contest a specific theme each year, and this year we’re going full metalhead! We’ll have an elite mix of headbanging classics to choose from.

The contest will be held on Sunday afternoon, tentative start time 2:30pm. Since contestant space is limited and we’ll need time to get the playlist ready, sign-ups will be required! Sign-ups will be at the Preregistrant table in our lead-in hallway around Noon on Sunday. If interest is high, we may have to adopt a “lottery” system to pick our 12 metalists.

First Place this year wins the brand new in box HasLab GI Joe Rattler set! This set is sealed, has all the bonus tiers, and is currently selling for nearly $500 on the secondary market! We’ll have some awesome prizes for 2nd and 3rd place as well.

We’ll handle the retro, you bring the rock! A fun contest to compete in, and a fun contest to watch and cheer on from the audience!

View Track List HERE!

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Contest Rules!

#1. No staff or volunteers may enter.
#2. Singing in costume is allowed, but will not affect the judges’ scoring.
#3. No skits are allowed. Dancing in place however is just fine (and encouraged).
#4. Songs will be picked on a first-come, first-served basis. Songs will not be held for specific contestants. Also, outside songs will not be allowed.
#5. No actual instruments will be allowed (props are okay).
#6. All contestants must arrive at the panel/event room *15 minutes* prior to showtime for check-in and singing order assignment. If you are not present at this time, you may have to forfeit your place.
#7. Please no heckling from the audience or other contestants. Anyone found to be disorderly will be asked to leave the panel area.
#8. You MUST rock.

When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!

The Retro Con household has an unhealthy obsession with offbeat/quirky toys, and now we wanna see YOUR weird flex! Come witness the strange, the bizarre, the unexpected… at the Retro Con 2025 Weird Toy Contest!

The contest will be held in our Panel room on Saturday afternoon (exact to be determined soon). No sign-ups are required, you can simply arrive for line-up with your toy just before contest start time. However, you must be present for the contest, so please no item “drop-offs”.

Your toy can be officially licensed, unlicensed, vintage, new, or even bootleg. However, custom toys will *not* be allowed in this contest. We also request that your toy be suitable for a family-oriented crowd. We reserve the right to decline any toy we feel is inappropriate for the contest (nudity, bodily functions, suggestive features, etc). So leave your Shape-shifter Punisher and ET Finger Light at home, per favore!

If your toy involves a gimmick you’d like to demonstrate, you’re welcome to do so. We’re also allowing “toy adjacent” items to be entered, which are those tie-in items associated with a toy line or brand, such as lunchboxes, gumball machines, electronic toothbrushes, model kits, pharmacy rack toys, and of course… Smurf Big Wheels!

Top prize for the contest is the HasLab Ghostbusters “Two in the Box” prop set featuring a PKE Meter, Ghost Trap, and all bonus tiers, a $400+ value! 2nd Place gets you a 40th Anniversary Studio Series Optimus Prime figure ($90 retail price), and 3rd Place gets you the new Target-exclusive Star Wars ‘A New Hope’ figure set ($60 retail price)!

The contest will be co-hosted and judged this year by Mike from The Breaux Show, and our old friend Mr. Lobo from Cinema Insomnia! Come watch or participate in the fun! And remember… weirdness is often just a side-effect of being awesome!