Last weekend, it was time for Animecon Classic 2022 at the Theaterhotel in Almelo. I was there for the entire weekend, but I tried to take it easy for a bit. So I spent my Friday driving to the hotel, unpacking, exploring and running some errands for the convention staff. That was pretty fun to do, imo. 🙂 I also took some time to watch the cosplay group competition. It was sadly a small competition, but I did see some good ideas on stage and it was inspiring to watch. Maybe one day, I can join a group competition as well. But only time will tell.
On Saturday, I wore a simple costume, a certain Nurse Joy version that no one recognises. But man, I was comfortable! I might re-do the costume or parts of it to make it more to my tastes. I went to the dealer room, did goldfish scooping with a friend and attended a lecture. Then I watched the C4 competition and I really enjoyed it! It was the most enjoyable cosplay show I have attended in a while. The passion of all participants was just incredible!
Sunday was competition time for me! And I had to check out of the hotel early, move my car and get my stuff backstage. The morning was a bit stressful because of that, but it all turned out allright. 🙂 For those interested, I will go into more detail about this competition day here in this post:
-First thing of the day was rehearsals. Which started at 9:00. So you had to be there, but not yet in full costume. Rehearsals are just a one run of your skit, so tech can get their lights etc. right.
-Then it is time to get dressed. Here, I picked a room backstage to get changed and had my helpers help me getting changed. (The costume I picked was quite a hassle to get into and impossible to do so alone.) The dressing rooms have big mirrors, some power outlets and this one had a sink too, so I was able to do all the things I needed.
-After I got changed, I asked if I could move upstairs and have a seat there, near the judging room. Since I had to walk some stairs in foam armor parts, I wanted to take my time. (Stairs suck.)
-Then it was judging time! I showed the judges my cosplay and told them to just fire away with questions, as I am aware that the costume I was wearing, was too detailed to just “simply” talk about. I answered their questions and I told them what I am intending to change.
-Immediately after judging, Animecon had arranged for a photoshoot for each individual cosplayer. I had a lot of fun during the shoot and the previews looked lovely!
-And showtime! We all gathered backstage in order of appearance, so it is easier for everyone to be called on stage in time. Around this time, I tend to zone out, so I don’t see everything happening. When I hear my name, I just go to the stage, do the thing I rehearsed and get off stage.
-After the show, I went back to the changing room, swapped out some costume parts to be able to see and walk over the convention and do some quick repairs. I went to get some boba tea with a few other participants and we got some pictures taken at the photobooth.
-I decided to change out of cosplay, so I would have a relatively easy time leaving the convention after the ending ceremony. I grabbed a bite with a friend, we started packing the car again and waited for the ending ceremony.
-The last thing of the competition day was the ending ceremony. It was when the winners were announced too. But since I had to work early the next day, I didn’t stay around for a long time after the ceremony.
All in all, the day flew past and I am very happy with how it went. It held multiple personal wins for me and that is all I can ask for. It was a good weekend to end a chapter with, so now it is time to focus on my house before I get started on new projects.