The Wondercon Anaheim 2018 masquerade was both familiar and different. We found our seats like every other masquerade we had attended but then the differences began.
The arena was HUGE!!!! compared to the seating for Phoenix Comic Fest, formerly known as Phoenix Comic Con. The number of entrants was also different, with only 36 entries, with group entries making the total costumes 56. This made for a smooth competition which I found out to be new. The audience has a tradition of repeating the entrant’s number like the count from Sesame Street, which the Master and Mistress of ceremonies, Phil and Kaja Foglio, explained added over 30 minutes to the competition.
I’m getting ahead of myself, the arena was much larger than what I was used to, and to fill time before the masquerade begins, we were treated to trailers from upcoming movies, including Incredibles 2, the long-awaited sequel.
Once everyone was seated, the judges were introduced. That is where the familiarity began, we saw a familiar face, Amber Brite. Other judges included Andrea Fontaine, and Max Cervantes. These three all are accomplished in the fields of costuming and prop construction, as well as have had their places switched and competed as convention costumers themselves.
The whole show was a lot of fun to see, and I was surprised by how much detail was in the costumes, and how they blended the categories. While the judges deliberated, the audience was treated to an intermission show of choreographed light-saber fighting by Saber Guild Performance Group.
This was followed by The Corps Dance Crew performing a routine as the DC Bombshells.
The winners gallery can be found here: Wondercon Masquerade Winners and remember to like our page The Con Togs on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Stay tuned for more coverage of WonderCon as well as all our coverage of all things fandom at The Con Togs
