MetroCon 2022: Our New Cosplay Music Video!

Outside of Dragon Con, which is in a class all its own, MetroCon is my favorite convention. It's smaller, younger, funner (YEAH I SAID IT), and has a huge open dance area on the bottom concourse bopping all con long with a mix of popular dance and Disney tunes. I'm too self-conscious to join in myself, but I could watch OTHER people dance forever, so this area is pure joy.

TWO HOPS TWO HOPS

So armed with our brand new camera and gimble, John and I set out to capture as much of the spirit of MetroCon as we could, which of course means MAXIMUM DANCING.

My new favorite thing is watching cosplayers break character when I ask, "And how do you feel about... dancing?" while doing my most awkward butt waggle. Over the course of two afternoons' filming we only had a single cosplayer NOPE out of frame (while her partner stayed to boogie). The vast majority lit up with big grins and busted moves. I was continually surprised and delighted; even the shy ones usually matched my awkward energy and gave us a little hip sway with a big laugh.

Keep scrolling; the video will be at the end. I have a few pics and stories to share first. :)

Metro is an anime con, but it reps plenty of other fandoms like Avatar, Critical Role, and Disney shows like Gravity Falls or Owl House. (Special shout-out to this Ember Island Player "Toph" on the left, ha.)

Also worthy of shout-outs: these furries. Imagine wearing a full fursuit in Florida... in JULY. 

My favorites are the neon rainbow one in the middle, and the adorable Saint Bernard on the floor.

Metro also has the best vendor room:

Soooo much Kawaii pastel eye candy: art, jewelry, clothing, and, of course... lounging John DeLancie pillows from Star Trek:

I have no explanation, but really, is one needed?

My other favorite merch find was the "Adopt A Worm" booth:

The "worms" are furry tubes with googly eyes, and you could buy a variety of accessories and costumes for them ala Build A Bear. The three up top are dressed as a clown, princess, and cowboy. (Really enjoying the red nose on the clown and mustache on the cowboy, ha.)

There was also a worm nursery, with the "babies" wrapped like sausage rolls in lil blankets:

This whole concept was so completely random and silly I was instantly entranced - but alas, I didn't adopt a worm. Kinda regretting that now that I see they had tiny eyeglasses for $2. GAH.

Ahem, right, back to the video you haven't seen yet.

You're going to see a phenomenal Madam Razz from She-Rah, who was wandering around in character.

This is Madam Razz.

The music was so loud we couldn't use her audio, unfortunately, but she was talking to herself and going up to people asking questions and it was so freaking cute. When she saw how delighted I was she circled back and gave me this pie tin:

 

I figured it was her cosplay card  - which is genius - so I didn't scan the QR code until I got home the next day. Y'all. It doesn't lead to a cosplay account... IT LEADS TO A .PDF RECIPE FOR RAZZ-BERRY PIE.

Ahhh-mazing. And another reason I love MetroCon. The whole vibe here is so much more relaxed and social than our average con. In fact you'll see more groups sitting on the floor chatting together than big lines for autographs.

Ok, one last story, then we'll get to the video.

So I didn't ask *everyone* to dance; I'd wait to get the right vibe, and some characters are kinda intimidating. For those we'd just grab the in-character beauty/drama shots and go. But for one of these - a tall warrior dude in a fur cape - John surprised me by yelling out playfully, "Now, DANCE!"

The guy looked at John, eyes narrowed. "You want me to dance?" 

I was already cringing away, but John didn't back down. "Yeah!"

And y'all. Y'ALL. This badass Viking broke out the ballet arms and explored the studio space. Heads turned, we were straight howling, and he danced all about, face completely deadpan. After that he did some dramatic hair flips, a hood toss... the works.

Just goes to show, you never know what you'll get when you ask cosplayers to dance.

Now your reward for making it through this post: our MetroCon 2022 video! Watch for warrior dude, Madam Razz, and an especially perfect Crowley & Aziraphale from Good Omens, dancing in character:



I loooove how crisp this new camera is for close-ups, y'all. Dang. Watch this on a big screen if you can!

I hope this brings a little more light and life to your day! Oh, and I forgot to mention: Metro required either vaccination cards or a recent negative Covid test to enter, which also helped put us more at ease. Kinda wild that smaller cons are being more strict than the giants like MegaCon, but I'll take it.

We have one or two more conventions this summer, so let me know if you miss my dramatic flash portraits, or if you prefer these videos, or a mix of both. Just gauging if I should dig out the flash rig next time.

Last thing before you go: June's Squeegineer winners are Destiny K. & Angela O.! Congrats, you two, and please check your inboxes for a message from John to choose your prizes.

Everyone else: you still have 2 days to enter for July's give-away, so go, go, go!

If you're new here, the Squeegineer Give-Away is my way of saying thanks for being here. You can enter for free each month by e-mail, or by giving any amount to help support the blog through Paypal. Prizes are a wide variety of geekery - most unearthed from my office closet - like a cold cast resin Jareth pendant from Labyrinth:

(Hand sculpted and cast by the phenomenal Kristi O.)

Or this original Soul Eater painting by Bianca Roman-Stumpff:

There's lots more on the prize boards to choose from, and I add new items every couple months. You can see it all - plus all the give-away details - here on the Squeegineers page.

Love y'all! 'Til next time!