Costume Contest

Oyez! Don your most wondrous garb, dress to the medieval nines, and join us for the Thunder Bay Medieval Faire costume contest! The contest will run both days on Saturday October 10th and Sunday October 11th.

Three categories are available to match your level of expertise: Children, Apprentice/Amateur, and Master! Take the stage and parade before a panel of four professional costumers to have a chance at winning one of the three prizes in each category!

Registration for the contest is through our ticketing platform. When you purchase your day or weekend pass, you have the option of adding on your spot for your chosen category before the check-out.

Please read on below to learn more about the contest, including what you need to know to participate! Participation in the contest is conditional upon full compliance with this policy. 

1. Theme

Participants can present: 

  • Historical costumes inspired from the early Medieval to the late Renaissance era (500 AD – 1600 AD)
  • Fantasy costumes, including cosplay, from the medieval-fantasy universe and renfaire folklore: fairies, magical creatures, nature and mythology inspired costumes, characters from cottagecore/fantasy/medieval video games, etc.

If you have any doubts your costume is matching the theme, please contact tbaymedievalfaire@gmail.com.

All costumes must be family friendly.

2. Categories and Registration Process

For all categories, participants must purchase a day or weekend pass to the Medieval Faire and purchase a “Costume Contest”  add-on to access the contest. Participants can decide to participate in the contest either on the Saturday or the Sunday, but not both. 
The category is chosen when buying the tickets. Please ensure you have read the entire policy and selected the right category before finalizing the purchase.

Children’s category:
Participants must be under 15 years of age and with an accompanying adult. Costumes can be entirely handmade, partially handmade, or purchased. On stage, they can be accompanied by a non-participating adult. 15 spots/day available.

Adult Amateur category:
Participants must be over 15yo of age. Costumes can be entirely handmade, partially handmade, or purchased. 15 spots/day available. 

Adult Master category: 
Participants must be over 15yo of age. 10 spots/day available.
Costumes must have at least 70% of componants hand made by the participant (accessories included). A pre-judging will happen before noon, where each participant will meet for 5-10 minutes with the judges panel to present their costume. Some form of documentation or explanation (WIP pictures, details on the construction process, description of the costume/character) will be required for the pre-judging portion of the contest. A few days after registration, an email will be sent with examples on what to submit for the pre-judging process, and closer to the contest day, another email will be sent with a precise time for the pre-judging.

3. Catwalk

Before the beginning of the contest, a catwalk time will be offered to any interested attendee to show off their costume. The catwalk does not require registration. Access to the catwalk will be limited in time, and access to the stage will take place on a first-come, first served basis. The catwalk period will end when the costume contest begins.
Details on the exact time will be accessible onsite the day of the event. Participants will be asked to provide information to our MC about your costume, so it can be shown off while you display your hard work!

4. Contest Conduct

Participants from all categories are responsible to arrive at the stage area at least 10 minutes before the beginning of the presentation time for each category, to check in with the volunteer in charge of the contest (see on site map for location). Exact time of the event will be communicated through official programming communication from the Medieval Faire, either through social media, email, or onsite the day of the Faire. At the check in station, you will be asked to provide a name, and a quick description for our MC to read while you walk onstage. A passage number will be assigned and must be respected. Due to the need for keeping all proceeding performances on time, late arrivals will not be accepted.

Participants from the Master category must be on site in the morning for the pre-judging process. Exact time will be communicated through email closer to the event. 

The results will be communicated later after the judges end the deliberation phase. During that time, the participants are encouraged to stay on the grounds and enjoy the festivities in order to be there for the award ceremony and receive their prize. An announcement will be made for all participants to return to the judging area.

5. Judges Panel and Criteria

The judging panel will consist of four professionals from the costuming, theater, and cosplay field.  

The judges will score each entry on the following criteria: 

  • Overall costume quality: first impression, visual impact, silhouette from a distance, originality.
  • Attention to details: quality and quantity of embellishments, accessories, hairstyling, etc.
  • Craftmanship: Quality of construction, variety of materials and techniques used.
  • Movement and wearability: Costume flow when moving, practicality and durability.
  • Stage Presence: confidence, poise, and presentation while on stage. 

Each criterion is scored out of 5 points. The top three contestants in each category will receive a prize. Prizes will be announced leading into the event – we hope you are looking forward to it! 

People’s Choice Award: 
Visitors will be invited to vote for their favorite registered contestant, to submit at the contest table. The people’s choice contestants will be any of the remaining contestants who did not score in the top three spots in each category.

Thank you for your interest, creativity, and dedication to bringing this event to life! We hope to see you there.