Cosplay is such an incredibly important part of our festival and we love seeing folks turn out in style to showcase their latest creations. We love all of you for your efforts, dedication, and passion in bringing your favorite characters to life!
We strive to bring you the best experience in whichever contest you chose to enter. This comes with an important caveat though; We also expect you to read up in advance on the contest you are entering so you are aware of the contest rules, format, entry deadlines, contest times, and any specific entry requirements. This point alone will allow us to have a fantastic time together!
The cosplay events at our festival are carefully planned, administered, and implemented by our dedicated Cosplay Team. Please take note of our team so you know who to find if you have any questions!
So you want to enter a cosplay contest, eh?
The very first thing you should do is to decide on which contests you would like to enter and determine if your cosplay would qualify for entry. Read up on the contest’s rules and requirements. If you have any questions at all please, please, please email us.
Here are a few tips to help your experience be as smooth as possible:
Otafest offers four cosplay contests of varying time commitments and skill levels. We hope to provide something for every cosplayer no matter where they are in their cosplay career.
We’ve listened to your feedback and noticed that cosplayers really want simple contests that are fun and don’t take all day.
We’ve spent a long time researching and developing the new multiple-contest approach, and we find that people can enjoy the entire Otafest experience more if they aren’t caught up for long periods of time just for one event.
You can enter any and all of them as long as you meet their requirements!
We appoint judges for each contest. As organizers we have no say in who wins unless the judges’ decision is against the contest rules. The one exception is the Stars of Cosplay contest in which your fellow attendees vote for their favorites.
Our festival is growing and so are our cosplayers’ time demands and skill levels. We want to provide a wide range of events with reasonable time commitments for our attendees.
When you see a cosplay contest in the schedule, that means the show starts at that time. This means that we need time beforehand to get you and everyone else ready to begin the performance on time!
If you don’t turn up early then we can’t set up on time and the contest is delayed. Since there are events following our contests in the same room we’re forced to start at the scheduled time. Unfortunately this means if contestants are late we will start without them. We don’t like turning people away so please don’t put us in that position. Pay attention to our instructions and arrive at the time given for set up.
May 21-22, 2022
Calgary Telus Convention Centre
120 9 Ave SE
Calgary, AB T2G 0P3
info@otafest.com
Most photos on this website are courtesy of
Elyse Bouvier, Brenrich Carandang, Plutopia Productions, Ryan Logan, Dani Sato, Chi Tang