Overview
First off, if you’re starting here and you’ve never looked at the back-end documentation that explains Costume-Con’s structure and operation, go visit these two important documents: How to Bid for a Costume-Con [https://www.costume-con.org/constitution/how-to-bid-for-a-costume-con-conference/] and The Costume-Con ConStitution [https://www.costume-con.org/constitution/costume-con-constitution/]. These two spaces contain a HUGE amount of information. Eventually, that content may move from the Archive site to this one, but for now, we’re leaving the links alone.
Secondly, let’s talk about Costume-Con history for a bit.
You may have read the Genesis of Costume-Con, which explains how we got our start. On September 30, 2003, Betsy Marks complied and published a draft of the following outline introduction. This introduction explained the brief history of Costume-Con as it related to the International Costumers’ Guild, Inc. (ICG). For clarification, this information is provided with some slight adjustments as an institutional memory dump. Even after 40 years of history, it’s still important to understand how we got where we are. Understanding this background history will help clarify the relationship between Costume-Cons and ICG Chapters.
Costume-Con and the ICG
Costume-Con is (and always has been) an event independent of, but coexisting with, the International Costumers’ Guild, Inc. (ICG). In fact, Costume-Con started several years prior to the ICG, the latter of which was conceived upstairs in Marty and Bobby Gear’s home in Columbia, MD at the Dead Dog Party at their house after we all cleared out from Costume-Con 3, the first East Coast Costume-Con. It is true that for most of the first decade, Costume-Cons were hosted by ICG chapters. Costume-Con books were kept separately from chapter books most of the time, though not always. In the mists of time, this distinction was lost.
An aside: The confusion of bookkeeping between the ICG, Greater Columbia Fantasy Costumers’ Guild, Inc. (GCFCG), and CC is what eventually led to the division of the ICG from the , which hosted Costume-Con 3, Costume-Con 9, and Costume-Con 15, which is where we figured out there was a problem with the way we managed Costume-Cons.
(The Genesis of the ICG is an interesting subject but not to be found here. An Oral History project that will discuss that genesis is in the works for future publication elsewhere.)
Costume-Con 10 was the first CC to receive more than one bid by more than one committee. Forgetting the independence of Costume-Con from the ICG, the ICG’s Board and officers determined that guidance on site selection and establishment of procedures for managing committees was necessary. Procedures were subsequently incorporated into the ICG’s Standing Rules, where they remained until Costume-Con Fifteen. In May 1997, a series of problems and issues with one of the existing committees was discovered. By the end of August 1997 (coinciding with the 55th WorldCon (Worldcon), also known as LoneStarCon 2), further investigation, including conversations with the Costume-Con Service Mark Holders*, made it clear that the conference needed its own set of governing documents and that the erroneous rules established in the ICG’s Standing Rules were not appropriate.
The Costume-Con ConStitution is Born
In April 1998, Karen Schnaubelt provided a draft for what is now the Costume-Con ConStitution, based on the Westercon Constitution, to a group of readers for comment and improvement. This committee was comprised of the following individuals: Karen Dick, Kevin Standlee, Betsy R. Marks, Joy Day, Byron Connell, Ken Warren, Pierre E. Pettinger, Jr., Susan de Guardiola, Alys Hay, John Trimble, Bjo Trimble and Lora Boehm. The committee worked for approximately five months to draft and correct the document, which was released to the public in late September 1998. It took until April 2003 to extract the last of those Costume-Con rules and procedures from the ICG’s Standing Rules.
Since its original release, the ConStitution has been adjusted repeatedly to ensure that it covers all potential issues raised during the course of a Costume-Con committee’s activities. All Costume-Con committees agree to abide by and uphold the ConStitution as part of their agreement for using the name Costume-Con and are also responsible for enforcing the provisions of the ConStitution. The current version, Version 3.0, was last modified and published on Tuesday, March 17, 2020.
What does this Guide do?
Does the ConStitution cover all the details? Nope. On purpose. We determined that the structure should provide a framework, not a requirement for how to do the work.
Does this Guide cover all the details? Nope. This is an attempt at giving concoms guidance for what our long-term members have come to expect from Costume-Cons each year. Costume-Con has a value because people recognize the name. Making unique choices and doing things in a unique way are goals for each concom. There is a minimum requirement for running a Costume-Con that meets expectations. You might be reading this as someone who is considering bidding for a CC, or as a seated Con committee member, or because you want to know how these things tick.
This Guide should give you a sense for what you’ll need to plan for, pitfalls, things to celebrate about your event that makes it unique (location, hotel, competitions, sponsors, etc.). We hope that you will come away from your next CC feeling that you didn’t have to reinvent a wheel or make choices that led to confusion about why you chose your way to present your activities.
If you have suggestions, please phrase them in a positive way. What can a concom do better to improve an activity. Are there things people should know that they haven’t considered? It’s super important to provide CONSTRUCTIVE criticism.
Amending the ConStitution
If your change recommendations really ought to apply to ALL Costume-Cons, you can suggest amendments to the ConStitution. In fact, if you’re improving the process, we ENCOURAGE you to suggest changes. Send the amendment request to ccinfo@Costume-Con.org and we can substitute the existing text for the adjustment, subject to Service Mark Holder approval.
*At the time, Kelly Turner still had an active, though secondary, role as one of the Costume-Con Service Mark Holders. Subsequent to Kelly’s death, Karen Schnaubelt became the sole Costume-Con Service Mark Holder.