The Masquerade Contest will be held on Saturday, in the Gateway Center at 8:00 in the evening.  Seating over a thousand people, the Gateway Center is a sure place to get your costume seen!

Archon's "MC for Life" Victor Milán will once again return to the Archon stage!

The Masquerade Registration Desk will be open from the start of the convention up until noon on Saturday.  If you would like to compete in the Masquerade please stop by the Registration Desk to pick up a registration form or register here online.  Masquerade staff will be on hand to answer any questions you may have.

Our contestants for the Masquerade are judged by two separate panels of judges. The first set, the workmanship judges, look at the contestants' skill in design and construction. The second set sit out in front of the stage and look at the overall effect of the costume and how it is presented. For more details on this, see the section on Judging.

Archon uses the four class division system of competition that is standard at WorldCon and CostumeCon. Costumers compete as Junior, Novice, Journeyman, or Master class entries, which prevents those with less experience from going head to head with those with more. For a more detailed explanation of the divisions, see Divisions. Costumers can also choose to enter as an Exhibition, which are not judged. Exhibition entries must still follow the same rules as the other contestants, with a few exceptions. For more information on this, see Exhibition Class.

Winners of the Archon Masquerade go home with custom ribbons and some serious bragging rights. The Best in Show winner(s) will also receive a free membership to the next Archon. Winners' photos are posted on this website (with their permission, of course). For photos of previous year's winners, see Winners

The Archon Masquerade is held at the wonderful Gateway Center in Collinsville, Illinois. They provide us with a large, well-maintained stage and excellent backstage facilities. The staff of the convention center has always been very supportive of the masquerade, and we thank them for their help over the last ten years! For a look at the Gateway Center, see their website at www.gatewaycenter.com For more information on our stage and backstage areas of the masquerade, see Stage & Facilities

Making our contestants look their very best on stage is the goal of our tech crew. With the help of Alobars,Inc., our audio/visual experts, we offer a range of colors and moods from our overhead stage lights. Contestants are encouraged to bring a piece of music to play during their presentations; our custom designed computer sound system can handle tapes, CDs, MP3, or WAV files. For more details on lights and sound, along with tips from our tech crew, see Lights and Sound.