*RayeRaye's Corner* 

Yorkshire Cosplay Con 7 (The Magnaificent 7 Convention) was the first YCC event I have attended, held at the Magna centre in Yorkshire (Rotherham), it was a mixture of avid cosplayers, comic book lovers, sci-fi fans, gamers and attracted many other people who had similar interests.

The venue layout was pretty simple, we arrived early on with easy parking and after you walk into the centre there is a big hallway with toilets (big enough for changing in) and seating, so its purely used for food so similar to a canteen area, it was also used as the main area for queuing. Once inside we were confronted with loads of lego displays, which meant I took many photos and marvelled at the patience to create those scenes, like Ghostbusters! Near this starting area was also a small gaming section, split into separate rooms and also places for art and trinkets. Further into the venue and around some corridors, also with toilets, we found the main hall which was the heart of the event.

The trades people were some of the friendliest I have come across which gave it a really nice feel – straight away I made my main purchase of the Legend of Zelda Manga set which I got from the Sheffield Space Centre stall – they were lovely guys! Apart from the main stage area where taiko drummers appeared, there were a few good photo opportunities too, such as a Tardis, Dalek and a Simpsons sofa!

We didn’t use the food area within the main hall where the stalls were and instead used the canteen area. The food and drink was reasonably priced (there was also cider!) and it was nice to watch passers by and all the brilliant cosplayers! My top tip for this event is to book early and arrive early!

The queue appeared to be the main issue with people and as it’s a small venue with limited staff, you can imagine waiting a long time to get in if you don’t arrive early enough. I would also recommend cosplayers to consider the size of the venue when choosing an outfit as it was at times hard to move about between people and the stalls.

In short, it was a good event to visit, although we got round it very quickly by getting there early, but that just meant getting home at a reasonable time too! Win win! http://www.yorkshirecosplaycon.co.uk