DucKon 21
'Finally Legal'

June 1-3, 2012
Pheasant Run Resort, St. Charles Illinois 60174

The DucKon Masquerade is back for its third consecutive year, and we look forward to seeing what new and wonderful costumes will be entered this year!

We are delighed to have Ken Beach back as our official Masquerade Photographer. You can see more of his work at http://www.kabeach.com/ Once again, he will be generously making all photographs, including the Masquerade and any hall costume portraits, available again this year at NO COST to you.

If you're interested in entering the Masquerade, learning more about judging, want to volunteer, or just want more information, please contact the Masquerade Director, Katherine Finegan, at masquerade@duckon.org

DucKon Masquerade Photos

More DucKon Masquerade Photos

DucKon 2011's Masquerade is based on the International Costumer's Guild guidelines.

1. Entrants will compete in the standard class divisions of Master (professional costumer, previous Master class major award winners, open to anyone), Journeyman (consistent winners at Novice, not yet ready for Master), and Novice (new to costuming or Masquerades). If sufficient entries are not received, the Masquerade Director reserves the right to combine and/or eliminate classes. Youth presenters (under age 16) who have made their own costumes may compete in a separate Youth division, depending on entries. If you have questions about which division you should enter, please contact the Masquerade Director. The Masquerade Director reserves the right to re-class any entrant.
2. Any costume that has won a major award at another Masquerade may be entered with the approval of the Masquerade Director. Reasons for re-run approval include major changes to the costume, moving up a level, adding a group around a previously individual presentation, etc. Prior-award-winning costumes may also be run as "exhibition" (non-judged) entries, as space and time allows. If in doubt, ask!
3. Specific awards, including of Best-in-Show and Best-in-Division, will be awarded at the judges' discretion. Judges may choose to recognize other areas of excellence such as Props, Accessories, Historical, Anime, Re-Creation, Original Design, Workmanship, Humorous, etc. as competition warrants.
4. Any audio and/or intro scripts for presentation must be submitted to the Masquerade staff by the time Masquerade Registration closes on Saturday. Audio will be screened to be certain it is proper length and family-friendly. Entrants will NOT have microphones, nor will their voices be able to be heard from on-stage. Any dialogue, music, etc, MUST be prepared and recorded in advance. Intro scripts for the M.C. to read must be legibly printed or typed and should not be excessively long.
5. Individual presenters will be allowed 60 seconds on-stage time. If a group is presenting, 30 additional seconds may be allotted per additional person in the group, up to a max of 4 minutes per presentation.
6. Weapon use must conform to DucKon rules and standards, hotel policies, and any legal requirements. Weapons of any sort must be approved by Masquerade Staff BEFORE the Masquerade.
7. No flame, fire, flash pots, flash paper, fireworks, or other incendiary devices will be permitted.
8. No "messy" props (water, slime, excessive confetti). If it will get in the way of the people after you, make the stage unsafe, or be difficult to clean up, LEAVE IT OUT.
9. Contestants who wish to have their costumes judged for workmanship will be allotted time with the workmanship judges during the afternoon and early evening preceding the Masquerade. Separate workmanship awards are at the judges' discretion.
10. If you are re-creating a costume from a particular source, please feel free to bring source material to show to the judges during your workmanship judging time. If your documentation is extensive, a single page summary is appreciated.
11. The Masquerade Director and Masquerade Staff reserve the right to disqualify any entrant for any reason, and the Masquerade Director is the only person who can grant any exceptions to these rules as written.
12. REMEMBER: Surprise the Audience, Surprise the Judges, DO NOT surprise the Masquerade Director or Staff. Any "spoilers" will be kept confidential, but we NEED to know.