Cosplay Picnics

Cosplay Picnics are great events to attend. I don't put them in the Convention List simply for the fact that they can be pretty hard to keep track of. They aren't really conventions in themselves but they are events or gatherings that can be a fun thing anyone can really get started.

I've been to one in Edmonton a couple of years ago and it was a lot of fun. The one I went to was potluck in style and most people showed up in costume. There wasn't anything overly planned other than bringing food and dressing up. Most other things just kind of happened.

I took photos from the one I went to in 2008 and if you're interested in checking out the photos from that you can find them here and the rest of them here.

Since then however I've read where some have people set up blankets and add in a mini artist alley and some games get added. It tends to vary at each event.
Edmonton had one again this year July 3rd. I found the event on FaceBook. According to the event listing there were 75 confirmed going and another 100 who put themselves down as a 'maybe'.
I don't know how the event turned out itself for the number of people who came out (how many people who say they'll come on FB and how many actually show up is always debateable) but I'm not surprised by the large amount of people (confirming themselves) for this event. Edmonton has a fair sized cosplay community.

If attending a Cosplay Picnic is something your interested in then I'd recommend just doing a quick search on FaceBook, either by events or groups as some groups manage a couple of the events.

If you aren't able to find one in your area then look at planning one. Maybe join in on one of the groups to see what kinds of things they do and start up your own event. All you really need to do is advertise a little and plan for the space, and what you want to do.

I reccommend definitely checking with other groups to hear what problems they might have had to work around, and advertise on their walls as well. If you have a convention that happens in your area as well go to their forums and advertise the event there. Maybe even contact the convention and see if it would be something they would be interested in helping with as a possible pre registration event.

Cosplay Picnics really add in a lot of freedom as you can make them just small events for you or your friends or make them bigger events where you gather together other cosplayers. Either way they can certainly help fill in the gaps if you're waiting for a convention to come up and want something fun to do.