Cosplay Video Shows the Best Part of AlienCon Is the Costume Contest

AlienCon, a sprawling conference for all-things extraterrestrial, features three days of panels, autographs, and sci-fi celebrities, but the best part of the Ancient Aliens event may just be the costume contest.

A Saturday night party in the Baltimore Convention Center’s Main Hall — which had hosted thousands of alien believers for a panel earlier that day — gave attendees a chance to unwind while also showing off their best cosplay. That meant plenty of aliens (some generic, some extremely specific), along with a few astronauts and plenty of Star Trek jumpsuits.

Attendees mingled awkwardly and danced as the occasional Ancient Aliens celebrity drifted in to chat with fans. At one point, I spotted Emery Smith, an alien whistleblower who claims to have dissected thousands of extraterrestrials for corporations. Now he speaks at events like this and sells supplements online.

There were several bars, a DJ, and even a photo booth, but the main attraction was the costumes And as a group of contestants made their way to the front of the room the crowd rush the stage.

Mixed in among the aliens, fans cheered for some Agent Dana Scully cosplay (X-Files) and a very convincing Commander William Riker (Star Trek). The winners had already been decided by a group of expert judges, but each contestant strutted across the stage, quickly posing, or twirling, or doing their best impression of an invading alien.

Beyond bragging rights, the contests stood to win a Doctor Who barbie (sure, why not?) and some ancient alien pins. The top prize, for some inexplicable reason, was a $100 gift certificate to Hot Topic.

Why Hot Topic? Maybe aliens are the ones keeping that relic of the early 2000s in business. After two days of panels, interviews, and discussions, I still don’t know, but thankfully there’s still one more day of AlienCon left for me to find out.