Show off your creativity, skills, and passion for fandom!
Cosplay is a big part of the creative spirit that Neosho Arts Council hopes ArtCon will present. We encourage anyone who wants to attend in costume to do so!
Meet the ArtCon 2024 Cosplay Judges Panel here!
Sponsored by Nerd Alert Contest Connections.
Free to Enter!
Prizes will be awarded to first, second, and third place for the following three age groups:
Kids ages 6 to 12 - Cash prizes! First place $50, Second Place $30, and Third Place $20
Teens ages 13 – 17 - Cash prizes! First place $100, Second Place $75, and Third Place $50
Adults ages 18+ - Cash prizes! First place $300, Second Place $200, and Third Place $100
How To Sign Up
There is no advance online sign up!
Sign up at ArtCon on February 3, 2024.
All kid contestants must be signed up by Noon to be eligible. Awards will be at 1:00pm.
All teen and adult contestants must be signed up by 3:00pm to be eligible. Awards will be at 4:00pm.
How Will I Be Judged
All contestants will be judged based on creativity, craftsmanship, and technique. Bring your best designs and skills to show your passion for a character we all know and love or one your created yourself!
Acceptable Costumes
General Contest Rules – These Are Important!
Safety
Neosho Arts Council welcomes cosplay to our convention and the wonderful creativity and fun it adds to our show. We also value the safety of all those attending and are working to help all attendees to enjoy our event to its fullest. NEOSHO ARTS COUNCIL reserves the right to conduct bag checks and other safety checks. We sincerely appreciate your patience and support.
Costume Props Policy
Please review PRIOR to attending ArtCon (by NEOSHO ARTS COUNCIL).
All props will be inspected and evaluated by local law enforcement officers at ArtCon to determine if they present an unreasonable risk of harm to attendees of the show. Props will be evaluated from the standpoint of the risk they present based on the materials used, the way they are displayed or carried, their functionality, and potential for harm to others.
No Air Soft guns of any kind will be allowed.
No prop guns which could be mistaken for contemporary real-world guns will be allowed. The question is – would the prop gun be reasonably confused with a real gun?
Light sabers and blasters and other futuristic prop gun weapons may be allowed. Simulated or costume prop weapons are allowed as a part of your costume, subject to approval by Neosho Arts Council and compliance with the following:
All costume props and weapons must be inspected at the entrance of the convention.
All inspection of weapons will be by a member of the Neosho Police Department or Newton County Sheriff's Department.
Prohibited Items
Anti-harassment Standards
Neosho Arts Council is dedicated to providing a safe and fun environment for all fans. We ask all in attendance to be respectful of follow event attendees and cosplayers. Anyone harassing an attendee physically or verbally will be asked to leave.
Cosplay is a big part of the creative spirit that Neosho Arts Council hopes ArtCon will present. We encourage anyone who wants to attend in costume to do so!
Meet the ArtCon 2024 Cosplay Judges Panel here!
Sponsored by Nerd Alert Contest Connections.
Free to Enter!
Prizes will be awarded to first, second, and third place for the following three age groups:
Kids ages 6 to 12 - Cash prizes! First place $50, Second Place $30, and Third Place $20
Teens ages 13 – 17 - Cash prizes! First place $100, Second Place $75, and Third Place $50
Adults ages 18+ - Cash prizes! First place $300, Second Place $200, and Third Place $100
How To Sign Up
There is no advance online sign up!
Sign up at ArtCon on February 3, 2024.
All kid contestants must be signed up by Noon to be eligible. Awards will be at 1:00pm.
All teen and adult contestants must be signed up by 3:00pm to be eligible. Awards will be at 4:00pm.
How Will I Be Judged
All contestants will be judged based on creativity, craftsmanship, and technique. Bring your best designs and skills to show your passion for a character we all know and love or one your created yourself!
Acceptable Costumes
- For everyone's safety, firearms and sharpened instruments are prohibited. Many characters are associated with various weapons. All costume props must be checked in at time of initial admission to ArtCon. See Costume Props Policy below.
- All costumes must observe a PG-rating, kid-friendly policy; no nudity, profanity, or abusive content.
- Any offensive content complaints from fellow attendees must be addressed by convention staff and could result in dismissal from the premises until alterations are made to the costume.
General Contest Rules – These Are Important!
- All contestants must have valid arm bands for ArtCon.
- Only individual entries. No groups!
- Convention staff and volunteers may not enter the Cosplay Contest. Headlining and invited cosplay guests are also not eligible to enter the costume contest.
- Costumes entered must have been created or heavily altered in some way. No fully purchased costumes are allowed. Get creative!
- You can have someone model your costume, but you, the craftsman, must register for the Costume Contest and be present for pre-judging to answer the judges’ questions. If the costume receives an award, the award recipient will be the craftsman, not the model.
- No nudity or profanity. Anything deemed racially or culturally offensive will not be allowed. No politically charged or discriminatory cosplays or props will be allowed. When in doubt, ask! neoshoartscouncil@gmail.com
- No liquids, messy substances, glitter, confetti or anything that may pose a danger is allowed on stage.
- No pyrotechnics, fireworks or open flames. No fog machines. Safety yo.
- All electronics must be self-contained. There are no electrical outlets onstage.
- No weapons that violate ArtCon’s Weapons Policy or local laws, including but not limited to: realistic-looking firearms, No Air Soft guns of any kind will be allowed, No prop guns which could be mistaken for contemporary real-world guns will be allowed, orange muzzle cap should be on any prop weapon; no live steel; no projectiles of any kind; no unsheathing of bladed weapons without clearance from the Contest Directors. Due to safety concerns, minors may not perform combat simulations.
- No throwing things into the audience, including yourself.
- Background music requests are not available at this time, so all background music will be provided by ArtCon’s staff.
- Contestants agree to allow video recording and photography of their costumes for future promotions of ArtCon.
- Showing integrity and the spirit of competition are important! You may not enter with a costume that has previously won an award at ArtCon.
Safety
Neosho Arts Council welcomes cosplay to our convention and the wonderful creativity and fun it adds to our show. We also value the safety of all those attending and are working to help all attendees to enjoy our event to its fullest. NEOSHO ARTS COUNCIL reserves the right to conduct bag checks and other safety checks. We sincerely appreciate your patience and support.
Costume Props Policy
Please review PRIOR to attending ArtCon (by NEOSHO ARTS COUNCIL).
All props will be inspected and evaluated by local law enforcement officers at ArtCon to determine if they present an unreasonable risk of harm to attendees of the show. Props will be evaluated from the standpoint of the risk they present based on the materials used, the way they are displayed or carried, their functionality, and potential for harm to others.
No Air Soft guns of any kind will be allowed.
No prop guns which could be mistaken for contemporary real-world guns will be allowed. The question is – would the prop gun be reasonably confused with a real gun?
Light sabers and blasters and other futuristic prop gun weapons may be allowed. Simulated or costume prop weapons are allowed as a part of your costume, subject to approval by Neosho Arts Council and compliance with the following:
All costume props and weapons must be inspected at the entrance of the convention.
- All costume props and weapons must conform to state and federal law.
- Projectile costume props and weapons must be rendered inoperable.
- Approved prop and toy firearms must have clearly visible orange cap covering the barrel
- Functional (real) arrows must have their tips removed and be bundled and zip-tied to a quiver.
- Costumes featuring stilts or oversize costumes are discouraged due to crowds and safety issues.
- After your costume props have been checked, they will be tagged by Neosho Arts Council for safety.
- If your prop is not approved to enter the show, we simply ask you to lock it in your vehicle and you may return to the event. (It's not that your prop isn't cool but we are big on safety.)
- You will pay admission fee and then have props checked. Once your prop has been tagged, you are free to enter the show.
- Please be prepared to show your tagged prop to staff at any time when requested.
All inspection of weapons will be by a member of the Neosho Police Department or Newton County Sheriff's Department.
Prohibited Items
- Functional firearms (BB guns, cap guns, paintball guns, and pellet guns)
- No inoperable firearms which could be mistaken for contemporary real-world guns
- No airsoft guns of any kind.
- Functional projectile weapons (including blow guns, crossbows, long bows, silly string, slingshots, water balloons, and water guns)
- Sharpened/metal-bladed weapons (including axes, daggers, hatchets, knives, kunai, shuriken, swords, sword canes, machetes and switch blades)
- Explosives (including firecrackers and fireworks)
- Chemical weapons (including mace and pepper spray)
- Blunt weapons (including brass knuckles, clubs, and nunchaku)
- Hard prop weapons (including props made of metal, fiberglass, and glass) Some props containing some hard components as part of their construction may be allowed in the show.
- Baseball bats and Hockey Sticks (unless made of foam, or light plastic)
- Roller skates, roller blades and skateboards are not allowed in the venue
- No items that play music will be allowed in the show
- Excessive Noise Making Instruments including, but not limited to vuvuzelas, grenade whistles and grenade horns.
Anti-harassment Standards
Neosho Arts Council is dedicated to providing a safe and fun environment for all fans. We ask all in attendance to be respectful of follow event attendees and cosplayers. Anyone harassing an attendee physically or verbally will be asked to leave.