Captain Zorikh's Costume Contest ReportThe fans were almost literally hanging from the rafters when the Big Apple National Convention's 2007 edition of Captain Zorikhs Costume Contest began. With more contestants and than ever before, this contest promised to be a wild event right from the beginning, and did not disappoint.The venet began with photo opportunities where the contestants posed for the cameras of the audience. This gave the crowd the opportunity to see the costumed characters pose and interact.The show started with a hilarious performance by the cast of Minimum Wage, the Off-Broadway Burgerboy Acapella musical. This skit reference everything from role-playing games to the SCA to “300.”After that the contest began. Each contestant paraded across the stage, introducing themselves to the audience. After that the audience was instructed to represent their appreciation for each contestant's costume and performance with applause. The compoetitors were then lined up according to their rank in applauyse, and the proizes were handed out.The IFC Prize Package, featuring hats, t-shirts, books, DVD's, and a really nice blanket was awarded to Ash from “Army of Darkness.”The $100 gift certificate to Halloween Adventure Costume Shop went to Master Nova and Demos, a father-son jedi team who performed a clever lightsaber routine. A $25 certificate went to Captain Jack Sparrow.$50 gift certificates to Forbidden Planet and Midtown Comics were awarded to Evil Ernie and the NY Jedi. $25 gift certificates were awarded to Wolverine, the Emperor (who had just received a phone call about the destruction of the Death Star) and the team of James Sunderland and Pyramid Head.Monty Python DVD sets, courtesy Monty Python's Spamalot were awarded to He Who Is From There and a Ghostbuster (with a proton pack that played the Ghostbusters movie theme).For the first time there was more than one child competitor. Ther ewas Lena, an ancient princess, a Spider-Man with a spider-teddy bear, a ninja boy, a young sith, and a “combination character.” Captain Zoriikh found himself embarrassed to not have enough prizes for these competitors. They were all awarded CD samplers of Monty Python's spamalot, and the Combination Character won a hand puppet of the “killer rabbit.”There were three Spidder-Men and a “Custom Catwoman” in a final category, the Catowman being awarded a signed copy of Michael J. Denault's horror novel "The Rellik", and the Spider Men winning IFC DVD's .And I would be remiss if I did not mention my personal favorite, the homeade Spartan from “300,” who won either a CD from Psamalot., or a can of Golden Grail Honey Spam or a Spamalot CD, I forget which.In all, it was a crazy, furious and fast-paced affair, done as onlyu Captain Zorikh and the Big Apple Convention can do it, and a good time was had by all!Pictures of the costume contest can be seen at http://picasaweb.google.com/silvermarker/20071118BigAppleConTill next time...Captain Zorikhhttp://www.captainzorikh.com