Dress to impress at Yuma’s 9th Annual YumaCon!
Bring out your inner geek at YumaCon's two-day event that will take place on October 7th and 8th 2023
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - YumaCon 2023 will run 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, October 7th and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, October 8th at the Yuma Civic Center.
YumaCon After Dark, featuring a cosplay masquerade and nerd trivia, starts at 7 p.m. Oct. 7 at Red Moon Ale House. Sign up for the masquerade at the Red Moon booth, located near the Drone Lab.
Lillian Jacobs, technical production supervisor with the Yuma Art Center and Historic Yuma Theater explains how can people join in on the fun and participate.
"The box office will be open at 10 a.m. on both Saturday and Sunday if you want to get your tickets in person. If you have a child six and under, they get to come in for free and then beyond that, if you're going to come for just one of the Saturdays or the Sundays, each day is $20," explains Jacobs. "But you have some good savings if you want to do the whole weekend. It's $30 for the whole weekend."
Come dressed to impress in cosplay as your favorite character with many other fans, as there will be a contest with celebrity cosplay judges.
"You will be so surprised beyond what you can imagine. But some of the really cool costumes I've seen are when they're animated characters and they're able to recreate that on their person with makeup," says Jacobs.
There are two cosplay contests, one for adults 13 and over and one for 12 and under.
"So if you're 13 and over, we're actually partnering with Red Moon Alehouse this year. This is a change from previous years and they're hosting Con After Dark for us. So what that's going to feature is at 7 p.m. we're going to have the cosplay masquerade contest," describes Jacobs. "If you're 12 and under, you still have an opportunity as well. This is another thing that we're doing a little different this year, but on Sunday at 12 p.m., we're going to be hosting our Youth Masquerade Contest and that's going to be at the red carpet photo op in the lobby."
Both the youth and adult cosplay contest have five different categories you can compete in.
- Best make-up
- Best prop
- Best Individual
- Best group
- Overall crowd favorite
If you do need assistance with anything at the event, all of the staff will be wearing a ghostbusters jumpsuit. So if you see someone wearing that, don't hesitate to ask for help.
One of the celebrity judges is ThermoCosplay who has joined YumaCon in the past.
You can also expect to see some new special attractions.
"This year we have a drone set up with our open drone lab, so you have a chance to go work with a couple of certified pilots that can work with our guests to play around with some of the drones," says Jacobs.
Another exciting attraction is the debut of a 32 ft long building block table.
"So you can build, play with Legos, create something amazing, and we want to see it," says Jacobs.
There'll also be a beer garden for folks 21 and up and there is a little twist.
"So we're going to have signature cocktails. So I know like there's like an Amazing Hulk and they just are gorgeous drinks, too. And then we're also bringing over a few from Red Moon's menu," says Jacobs.
Food will also be available for purchase.
Some rules to know before attending:
- No functional props or weapons, or props made out of metal, are allowed at YumaCon.
- All props must be inspected and tagged at security upon entrance to the convention.
- All costume props must conform to state and federal law.
- Projectile costume props and costume weapons must be rendered inoperable.
- No outside food or beverages are allowed at the event. There will be food vendors with food and beverages available for purchase.
Celebrate the arts and see why YumaCon is the place where comics, anime, and pop culture collide!
Click here to grab your tickets now.
Registration for the Super Smash Bros Tournament is available in the checkout screen as an add-on; there will be tournaments for amateur and advanced levels on both days of YumaCon.
