Kid Cosplayers! This is your chance to compete and meet other creative people who share an interest in cosplay as an artform and cultural expression.
The Baltimore Comic-Con and The Hard Rock Café Baltimore present the annual 2026 Children’s Cosplay Contest!
Contestants will be judged on your creativity, the level of work you put into the costume, as well as the energy and passion that you put into your cosplay to bring the character to life.
The Children’s Cosplay Contest is being held on Sunday, September 27th, 2026, at 3:30pm.
Acceptance to the cosplay contest does not include access to the convention. All participants must purchase a valid convention registration to access the convention spaces to participate in the contest.
The Kids Cosplay Competition is for all children 17 years and younger. In order to qualify as a child, contestants must still be 17 years of age or younger at time of the competition.
All children age 10 years and under must be accompanied by a parent or guardian with both having a paid registration valid for the day of the competition.
Contestants MUST show their con badge at the time of pre-judging.
Click here to see the complete rules to the Children’s Cosplay Contest
Costumes that can be entered:
Costumes may be either based on an existing or recognizable character from the pop culture realm, including movies, TV, comic books, manga, anime, etc. or an original design with accompanying sketches/mood boards. Costumes can also include derivative designs from artists (i.e., Hannah Alexander Art, Sakizo Illustrator, etc.) so long as reference artwork is provided in the build book for the judges.
No store-bought costumes will be allowed. We kindly ask that any cosplays not made by the contestants participate in the Cosplay Showcase.
Things that costumes cannot have: pyrotechnics, fire, smoke, confetti, glitter, biodegradables (flowers or loose organic material), or anything that may require clean up.
Registration – All qualifying kids can enter online on in person. Pre-Registration will run until noon Sunday, September 27, 2026.
Contestants are encouraged to pre-register for the cosplay competition on our website. Online pre-registration closes on Sunday, September 13, 2026, and emails of acceptance will be sent out by Sunday, September 20, 2026.
Acceptance to the cosplay contest does not include access to the convention. All participants must purchase a valid convention registration to access the convention spaces to participate in the contest. Contestants MUST show their con badge at the time of pre-judging.
Awards –
Each Individual Contestant category will have two winners: 1st Place and Runner Up.
The awards are as follows:
Kids Prizes:
- $100 Grand Prize in Cash for Kids Best in Show
- Ages 5-12:
- $50 Cash for First Place in category
- $25 Cash for Runner-Up in category
- Ages 13-17:
- $50 Cash for First Place in category
- $25 Cash for Runner-Up in category
Each winner will also receive free admittance to the Baltimore Comic-Con in 2027!
Each judge will also have the opportunity to award a competitor who did not place in any category one (1) Judges’ Choice award. It is not mandatory to give an award if the judge does not feel they need to do so.