Castle Cosplay Night XVI- Villain Vogue August 1 2026
Schedule
Sat, 01 Aug, 2026 at 09:00 pm to Sun, 02 Aug, 2026 at 03:00 am
UTC-04:00Location
The Castle | Tampa, FL
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***PLEASE READ THIS SECTION FOR ANSWERS TO THE MOST COMMON FAQs***Come one, come all! Join Escape the Vault for the next installment of Castle Cosplay Night! Creative Loafing’s Best of the Bay Best Cosplayer 2019, 2020, and 2024 (and third place in 2023 and second place in 2025) Jack Rozsa will be joined by guest judges Phantombytes and Crabbyfins, with immersive performance and gogo, with special guest Alistair Graves. Be you adventurer, princess, hero, villain, or none of the above, we cordially invite you to our cosplay adventure! We're going to celebrate the characters we most love to hate- come explore Maleficent’s Forbidden Mountain, Gotham City, and Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza!
18+ admitted with valid government-issued ID, 21+ to drink. Dj Tom Gold in the Ballroom, DJ Sean on the patio.
$20 cover. $50 VIP gets you an exclusive hour and a half in the dungeon (9-10:30) before the rest of the club opens.
Costume Contest Awards (NO entry fee!):
*Best in Show: All three judges must agree on this category. Winner gets $200 cash!
*Best Duo/Group: Again, all judges must agree on this category. Group gets $200 cash!
*Best Screen Accuracy: all three judges must agree. Winner gets $100 cash!
*Best Prop, Special FX, Wig, or Armor- all three judges must agree. Winner gets $100 cash!
*Judge’s Choices (one per judge) Each judge will choose their own winner independently of the other two.
*Most Creative: this award is targeted at things like original characters, creative mashups, interesting takes on an existing character, or the use of creative materials. All three judges must agree on this.
*Honorable Mentions (number will vary)
*Cast Choice- chosen by special guests and gogos
$20 cover. $50 VIP.
Costumes must be street legal, and weapons must be conform to state/federal laws- orange tips, no projectiles, no real blades or bats.
Hate symbols of any kind, even historical or pop culture (I’m looking at you, Fraternal Order of the Raven!) are not permitted.
All military/service/law enforcement costumes must be distinguishable from official uniforms. Not sure? Don’t wear it.
Shoes are required. Open-toed shoes are allowed but not recommended. Skates are not allowed. Sorry, Harleys!
Please be respectful of other patrons, in or out of cosplay. Cosplay is not consent.
The Castle has ZERO tolerance of drug use or underage drinking. Just don’t do it. You MUST have valid ID. No photos on phones, W**d cards, concealed weapons permits, school IDs, birth certificates, social media pages, etc.
PLEEEEEEASE tip the venue staff. They work extra hard on nights like these to make us all have fun and feel welcome.
For those of you just looking for a good time with like-minded people, costumes aren’t required. ;)
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Where is it happening?
The Castle, 2004 N 16th St,Tampa, Florida, United StatesEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
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