Category Descriptions

Youth:   Any entrant under 14 years of age. Youth appearing with adults will be judged separately.

Novice:   Anyone who has never competed in a costume contest before or won any major awards such as "best in category" or "best in show" in a contest of 15 or more, and does not sew or design costumes on the professional level.

Craftsman:   Anyone who is a skilled costumer meaning making costumes for money as a full or part-time endeavor, done significant costume work on the stage as in community theater or college productions or is a skilled costumer or seamstress and has not previously entered or won major awards in a contest of 15 or more.

Master:   Anyone who has won more than 3 best in category/show in a costume contest of more than 15 entries. Or, anyone who is a professional costumer who has won awards in a costume contest of more than 15 people.

If you have any questions regarding what category you fit into please contact us by E-Mail or phone. These categories are designed to give everyone a fair chance in the competition. If we do not have enough entrants in each category for a fair competition we will group them according to skill level as best we can.

Awards

Awards and categories will be determined by the judges and the contest co-ordinator but will include Best in Show, Best Workmanship, Best Presentation, and Most Humorous.

Rules and regulations

1. Entry and release forms must be completely filled out and turned back into the registration desk by 3:30pm on Saturday.
2. No indecent exposure! Costumes must adequately cover *those* parts of your body.
3. No bare weapons of any kind are allowed onstage without the express permission of the contest director.
4. The costume contest staff reserves the right to change or not allow any part of a costume or entrant for reasons of safety and/or decency.

If you have any questions or concerns about your costume or presentation, please email Betsy R. Delaney, our Costume Contest Director, or telephone her at 301.617.2798.

And just who is Betsy R. Delaney?   Betsy has been costuming for masquerades since 1985.   She was the chair of Costume-Con Fifteen in Baltimore, MD last year, and has run Arisia's masquerade with Carol Salemi for the last 5 years.   She is the webmistress for Costume-ConNections, the Costume-Con website, located at www.CostumeCon.org, and serves as the Costume-Con Archivist.   If you have any questions about Costume-Con, just ask her!

Gaming

ZonCon will provide a room with tables for anyone interested in engaging in one or more rounds of gaming. We invite and encourage you to play or organize collectible card games involving Babylon 5, X-Files, Star Trek, Magic, Vampire, Xena/Hercules or any other game you may want to play with friends or members you meet at the convention.

Tournaments scheduled as of 8.15.98 are as follows:

*ILLUMINATI: NEW WORLD ORDER* TOURNAMENT -- The Secret Masters maneuver for world domination in the collectible card game of conspiracy and weirdness from **Steve Jackson Games**. Fnord. Each player will need a standard INWO deck (some extra decks will be available to borrow). Experience is desirable but not required; novices interested in learning the game are welcome."

To learn more about INWO check out these sites:

Babylon 5 Card Tournament

Saturday Oct. 3, About 2 PM.

Essentials:

Constructed deck.   Bring decks for 3 different races, in case your first choice is unavailable.   A 20 card side board will be allowed!!!

The tournament will begin after all the major guests have spoken.   You must be a registered ZonCon member to participate.   All those participating in the tournaments will get autographs.

Prizes will be provided by Precedence, and the prizes get better with the more people that participate.   There is no fee for the tournament, but a badge for the convention will be required.

There will be 3 rounds and a final round, consisting of the highest point totaling players from each race.   Also, there will be demos to any new players who wish to learn how to play.

Contact Space Ghost at spacghst@erols.com for more details.