Holiday Cosplay Tampa Bay is going big with 20 nationally known guests that include voice actors, comic creators, and pro-cosplayers. The event, which is at the Tampa Convention Center on December 10-11, spotlights comics, video games, science fiction, fantasy, and anime, as well as world-class cosplay. There also will be more than 50 hours of programming, ranging from cosplay contests and a TikTok Film Festival to back-to-back panels and a “Spider Verse” prom. (Not to mention, the best holiday shopping in the universe and an enormous decorated tree for unique holiday photos.) Additionally, tickets are affordable for families at $30 for a single day and $45 for a weekend pass.
.
Meet Famous Voice Actors at Holiday Cosplay Tampa Bay
The con features 6 big-time voice actors who portray popular characters from anime, cartoons, and video games. Two voice actors — Jason Spisak and Patricial Summersett — were recently added to the roster of talent that includes Sean Chiplock, Colleen O’Shaughnessey, Laila Berzins, and R Bruce Elliott.
Jason Spisak is a voice actor best known for his portrayal of DC characters like Kid Flash in Young Justice, and The Joker in Batman: Hush, and Razer in Green Lantern: The Animated Series. Most recently, he starred in Netflix’s Arcane as Silco.
Patricia Summersett is the voice of Princess Zelda in the video game The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and has provided voice acting and motion capture in the video games like Assassin’s Creed, For Honor, and Rainbow Six: Siege.
Sean Chiplock is a video game and anime voice actor best known for his roles as Diluc in Genshin Impact, Subaru Natsuki in Re:Zero, Guido Mista in Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, and Spider-Man in Marvel’s Avengers.
Colleen O’Shaughnessey is a popular voice actor most well-known for portraying Tails in the Sonic franchise including the live action movies. Additionally, she’s worked on popular media such as Naruto, Fire Emblem, Bleach, and Danny Phantom.
Laila Berzins is the voice of Xiao in Genshin Impact. Her other notable roles include characters in Hades, Amphibia, and Hunter x Hunter.
R Bruce Elliott has played countless memorable characters such as Makarov in Fairy Tail, Pyxis in Attack on Titan, and Richard Moore in Detective Conan.
Meet the Artists of Popular Marvel, DC, and Indie Comics at Holiday Cosplay Tampa Bay
The con features big-name comic artists who have worked on Marvel titles like Spider-Man, Black Panther, Iron Man, The Avengers, X-Men, and Venom; DC titles such as Superman, Batman, The Flash, Green Lantern, and JLA; and indie titles like Star Wars, Mass Effect, and Predator. Sam de la Rosa, Omar Francia, and Tom Nguyen will all be featured, as well as recent addition, Alex Saviuk. And Austin Janowsky has a holiday book perfect for children.
Alex Saviuk is widely-known for his seven-year run on the first volume of Web of Spider-Man, which ran for 129 issues between 1985-1995. And his Spidey-credentials don’t stop there — Saviuk worked on the series Spider-Man Adventures (1994-1996, later retitled The Adventures of Spider-Man), and he was the artist for The Amazing Spider-Man Sunday newspaper comic strip written by Stan Lee (started in 1997). In addition, Saviuk’s notable career began with The Flash, Green Lantern Green Arrow, and Superman.
Sam de la Rosa is well-known for his work on Venom, Carnage, and the Symbiotes. His other Marvel credits include Spider-Man, Black Panther, The Avengers, and X-Men. In addition, his DC work includes Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, and Firestorm. Moreover, he worked on the first comic book of Predator by Dark Horse Comics in 1989.
Omar Francia has worked on iconic titles like Star Wars, Mass Effect, Batman and Doom Patrol. Also, Francia is best known for his work on Star Wars, which includes Star Wars: Legacy, a comic series; and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2, a graphic novel (published by Dark Horse and Marvel). In addition, Francia’s work with Mass Effect includes Mass Effect: Redemption, Mass Effect: Invasion, and Mass Effect: Evolution — all four-issue mini-series published by Dark Horse. Additionally, he recently illustrated the cover of the recent DC animated movie Catwoman: Hunted.
Tom Nguyen is a comic inker who started working for DC Comics and Marvel Comics at 19-years-old. He has worked on major titles such as Batman, Green Lantern, JLA, and Superman: The Man of Steel. In addition, Nguyen is an illustrator for television specializing in pitch illustrations, storyboards, concept art, and onscreen artwork (most notably for CBS’s Big Brother, TBS’s Wipeout, and Nickelodeon’s All That, among others.)
Austin Janowsky has worked for Marvel Comics, Image Comics, Scout Comics, and others. Recently, he’s created an all-age holiday comic series called “Stanley The Snowman ” which is published by Scout Comics’ all age line SCOOT!
Meet 8 of the Nation’s Top Pro-Cosplayers at Holiday Cosplay Tampa Bay
With the word ‘cosplay’ in its title, Holiday Cosplay Tampa Bay set high expectations for its roster of cosplay guests. As expected, the event doesn’t disappoint, featuring a dream team of 8 of the biggest names in cosplay: Evil Ted, Tock Custom, Casey Renee Cosplay, Ginoza Costuming, PlexiCosplay, Avera Cosplay, Tiara Bree Cosplay, and Gremmcos. And all are hosting panels that are better described as master-class instruction.
The award-winning pro-cosplayer roster includes nationally-recognized specialists in prop construction, armor crafting, painting, makeup, sewing, and wig-work, as well as unique costume elements like large wings and light effects. These guests will be offering master-class panels on a wide-range of topics. Here’s the lineup:
Evil Ted is a legendary propmaker and costumer whose more than 30 year career includes work on major films and television shows like The Fifth Element, Guyver, Hunger Games, Titanic, Xena Warrior Princess, Criminal Minds, and more. However, to the cosplay and comic convention community, he is better known for being a master-class teacher who shares the tips and tricks he’s learned over the years with the everyday builder and cosplayer.
Christopher Tock is a Dallas-based cosplayer who is a sewing specialist with impeccable needlework. Also known as Tock Custom, his easy-to-follow tutorials on You Tube are popular among seamsters who want to take their cosplays to the next level. He can often be found streaming at his workshop on Twitch.
Casey Renee is an award-winning pro-cosplayer who is an expert at historical, time-period-accurate sewing techniques like corsetry, smocking, and other intricately detailed costume construction. Also, she is author of the book ‘Cosplay Foundations,’ which is a guide to constructing body suits, corsets, hoop skirts, and petticoats.
Brittani Ginoza of Ginoza Costuming is a Columbus, Ohio-based pro-cosplayer who is widely known for her astonishing painting and intricate prop and costume construction. She specializes in highly detailed painting that recreates textures. Additionally, her use of bold colors and complex shapes always makes for eye-catching cosplays. The award-winning cosplayer has twice represented the U.S. in international cosplay competitions and, most recently, won Best-In-Show at Twitchcon 2022.
PlexiCosplay is a Maryland-based pro cosplayer who specializes in EVA foam, SFX, and armor painting as well as unique elements like wings and lights. Her cosplay journey began in 2017 with winning 1st Place Amateur at Baltimore Comic Con, and followed with a string of first place awards that included 1st Place Armor at NYCC Eastern Regional Championships 2019, and 1st Place SFX at Twitchcon 2020.
Avera Cosplay is a Fort Myers, Florida-based pro-cosplayer who has earned top awards from the largest conventions in the nation like Megacon Orlando and Dragon Con in Atlanta. Also, she has garnered major awards from large Florida conventions like Tampa Bay Comic Convention and Florida Supercon.
Tiarabreecosplay is a pro-cosplayer originally from Jacksonville, Florida who is known for her makeup, body paint, and cosplay modelling. She has cosplayed characters from comics, anime, video games, and Disney movies. Alongside cosplaying, she is also an actor and she always brings the performance to each costume she creates!
Gremmcos is an Orlando-based cosplayer who portrays characters from anime and video games. He is most recognized for wig styling and makeup artistry. At only 19 years old, this talented cosplayer is an inspiration to others across both Instagram and TikTok.
More than 50 Hours of Programming and a Movie Viewing Room to Relax
The event features a wide range of programming from contests and panels to idol groups and a Spider Verse prom. The genre-spanning entertainment line-up has more than 50 hours of offerings hosted by experts and fellow fans. Also, there will be specialty rooms including a video gaming room, tabletop gaming room, even a movie viewing room to relax and watch nonstop holiday films.
Contests
There will be $2,000 in cash prizes for the contests! There are two cosplay contests (‘Craftsmanship’ on Saturday, and ‘Runway’ on Sunday). The one-of-a-kind TikTok film festival celebrates the platform’s artform. In addition, the lip sync competition will get your blood pumping, hips moving, and hands clapping. Meanwhile, the fan art contest will showcase the best fan artists.
Panels, Idol Groups, a SpiderVerse Prom, and a Holiday Movie Viewing Room
Pro-cosplayers will offer master-class instruction, celebrity guests will appear for Q&As, and fellow fans will host panels only geeks and nerds can appreciate. In addition, Winter Wonder Fest Idol Festival is headlined by RESO, a Florida-based group that will give fans the chance to watch dynamic performances up close as well as meet real idols. Also, if your Spidey-sense is tingling, it’s the SpiderVerse Prom all weekend that features music, games, and prizes, hosted by Spider Verse of FL (fans are encouraged to attend as their favorite SpiderVerse characters). Also, since you may need a place to relax after all of this entertainment, there’s a movie viewing room with nonstop holiday films.
Click here to see the full Holiday Cosplay Tampa Bay Schedule!
Best Holiday Shopping in the Universe and Curated Spaces for Unique Holiday Photos
Making the event even more spectacular is the holiday shopping! Comic, anime, science-fiction, fantasy, and video game fans no longer need to purchase their holiday gifts at a local mall or online for outrageous shipping fees. Holiday Cosplay Tampa Bay will host nearly 200 genre-specific vendors that will create the best holiday shopping in the universe for geeks and nerds! Action figures, art prints, cosplay accessories, light sabers, and more will all be available throughout the weekend.
Holiday photos
There will be several nerdy spaces for fans and cosplayers to snap unique holiday photos. As the main photo opportunity, the event has curated a photo space that will feature an giant decorated tree.
The new event will even feature the most famous guest in the world! Santa Claus will be at Holiday Cosplay Tampa Bay on December 10-11! Mr. Claus is a huge fan of cosplay and is excited to get photos with all the children in their fun outfits. All children are welcome to deliver letters and wish lists to Santa himself at the convention.
Holiday Cosplay Tampa Bay Organizer
The event is brought to you by the organizers of St. Pete Comic Con and Anime St. Pete, which as first-year cons drew large crowds of 3,500 and 3,700, respectively. Holiday Cosplay is expected to have more than 5,000 attendees. Additionally, the organizer, who loves to bring great conventions to the St. Petersburg area, recently announced Sunshine City Scare, a new horror con in St. Petersburg on May 13-14, 2023.
Event sponsors
Holiday Cosplay Tampa Bay sponsors include Gallery Panda, Level 10 Certification, Florida Comic Cons, Florida Cosplay Digital Magazine, I Love the Burg, That’s So Tampa, Creative Loafing, Jamie’s Pup Grooming, and Comic-Cons.xyz.
Tickets
If you’re interested in attending Holiday Cosplay Tampa Bay, tickets are only $30 for a single day, $45 for a weekend pass, and children nine and under get in for free. Tickets are available for purchase on the Holiday Cosplay Tampa Bay website now.
Additionally, if you’re from out of town, discounted rooms are still available at The Embassy Suites, the hotel connected to the Tampa Convention Center, which includes parking discounts as well. The hotel discounts are only available until November 10th, so act fast!
