The Southwest
Costumers Guild
is a loose and informal
educational society of persons interested in all
facets of historical, cultural, science fiction,
fantasy, and humor costume and cosplay. Members are
often seen on stage and behind the scenes at Science
Fiction Convention masquerades, historical
reenactment events, street fairs and theatre. SWCG
is central Arizona's chapter of the International Costume
Guild.
Our Website is now hosted by Costume.org!
E-mail us at: southwestcostumers@gmail.com.
Index
Newsletter
Costumers Calendar
SWCG Activities
Hints and other
"How To" Articles
Randwulf's
Smartphone Pouch - Free sewing pattern from
SWCG VP Randall
Join the
Southwest Costumers Guild
Recruiting and PR Materials:
"Renaissance Faire"
Foldover Flyer
(Featuring a practical belt pouch pattern)
Quarter-Page Flyer
Bookmark
SWCG
Bylaws
SWCG members receive our
newsletter, "Cactus Needles" by
e-mail.
A few weeks after its initial publication, we
post Cactus Needles to this website for all to
enjoy.
Current Issue -
July 2026
Back
Issues (All the way back to the
Cactus Needles premiere in 1994)
Cactus Needles is released under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No
Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Please
print the newsletter and give it to your friends,
but print the entire newsletter and don't make any
changes or charge any money. Go to www.creativecommons.org
to view the license. Individual articles and
pictures belong to their authors. If you'd like to
reprint an individual article or picture, please
e-mail southwestcostumers@gmail.com
for appropriate permission.
The
Southwest Costumers Guild usually meets one
Saturday afternoon per month at a members' homes or a
public venue like a restaurant or museum
in the
greater
Here are some upcoming
guild meetings and costume-related public
events. Red Text
and an asterisk* indicate an SWCG
activity. Unless otherwise noted, SWCG Meetings
begin at 1:00 PM.
E-mail the Webmaster
if you know an Arizona costumed event
that should be on the calendar.
September 26,
2026, 1PM - SWCG Pancake
Social* at
IHOP, 913 North Dobson Road in
Mesa, AZ. Have lunch, plan
future activities, maybe go
crawl some local Halloween and
craft stores.
September 26-27, 2026 - Monster
Mall at Glendale Civic
Center, 5750 West Glenn Drive.
Spooky, Goth, Alternative
merchants.
October 2-4, 2026 - First Annual North
Inch Renaissance Faire
at Payson Golf Club, 1504 West
Country Club Drive, Payson AZ. https://www.northinchrf.com/
October 2-4, 2026 - UwU Con
anime convention at Mesa
Convention Center. https://uwucon.com/
October 10, 2026 - Flagstaff
CreepyCon at Little
America Hotel. https://flagstaffcreepycon.com/#
October 16, 2026 - Phoenix
Greek Festival at Holy
Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral -
Phoenix AZ, 1973 East Maryland
Avenue, Phoenix.
October 30, 2026 - DTPHX
Hallows' Eve at
Arizona Center, 455 North 3rd
Street, Phoenix and multiple
downtown Phoenix locations. https://dtphx.org/events/hallows-eve-in-dtphx
October 30-November 1, 2026 - Con
Nichiwa at Doubletree
Hilton Hotel Tucson Reid Park. https://www.con-nichiwa.com/
November 13-25, 2026 - TusCon
53 at Doubletree by
Hilton Tucson Airport, 7051 South
Tucson Boulevard, Tucson. Guests
include author Rebeca Roanhorse,
artist Galen Dara and musician Tim
Griffin with toasmaster Linda
Addison. https://tusconscificon.com/
November 13-15, 2026 - Anime
Arizona at Phoenix
Convention Center. https://www.animearizona.com/
December 12, 2026, 10-3 - LibCon
West at the Glendale
Public Library Main Branch, 5959
West Brown Street. This is a free,
all-ages event about embracing
fandom of all kinds! Meet talented
authors and artists, enjoy
cosplay, explore vendor booths,
and dive into crafts and
activities. It's a day filled with
endless entertainment and
boundless creativity! Look for the Southwest Costumers Guild meet and greet
tent.
January 30, 2027, 10-3 - Tempe
FanCon at the Tempe
Public Library, SWC Rural Road and
Southern Avenue, Tempe. Each year
in January, the Tempe Public
Library brings together fans from
all over the valley for a
celebration of all things cosplay,
comics and pop culture for a fun
and memorable experience. Fans can
enjoy this free annual family
event jam-packed with local
artists & authors, costume
contests, games & activities,
photos ops with cosplayers,
prizes, over 80 vendors and
delicious food from local food
trucks. Fans of Marvel, DC, Star
Wars, Anime, and more are invited
to gather for the Tempe FanCon in
costume for a celebration of pop
culture. https://www.tempepubliclibrary.org/event-calendar/tempe-fancon Look for
the Southwest Costumers Guild
meet and greet tent.
January 30, 2027 - PHX Met
Con at Metro District,
9610 North Metro Parkway West,
Phoenix. (Formerly known as
Superhero Saturday) Presented by
the Phoenix Police Sergeants and
Lieutenants Association, this
curated, family-friendly pop
culture and community event brings
together fans, families,
cosplayers, artists, exhibitors,
food trucks, first responders,
local leaders, and community
partners for a day rooted in
creativity, connection, and
impact.
February 6-April 4, 2027 (weekends
plus Presidents Day) - Arizona
Renaissance Festival,
12601 East Highway 60, Gold
Canyon, Arizona. https://arizona.renfestinfo.com/
February 22-28, 2027 - End
of Trail at Ben Avery
Shooting Facility, NWC I-17 and
Carefree Highway, north of Phoenix
AZ. The Single-Action Shooting
Society's annual tournament of
cowboy action shooting. The event
features a "Sutlers Row" with
merchants to help build up your
wild west/victorian/steampunk
costumes. https://endoftrail.org/
Upcoming:
October 20, 2026 – An Evening of Edgar Allen Poe
starring Vincent Price and directed by Kenneth Johnson.
(Available on YouTube.)
November 17, 2026 Dungeon Crawler Carl
by Matt Dinniman
December 15, 2026 – Ringworld
by Larry Niven
Guild Activities
SWCG hosted Costume-Con
30 on May 11-14, 2012 at the Tempe Mission Palms Hotel.
Click the link to see some pictures from the "Sick Pups"
archive.
Meet & Greet table at Tempe FanCon in January 2026.
Our first get-together after the pandemic - a simple diner luncheon.
Randall, Tasha and Paula at Tempe Library ComiCon in 2018
At Steampunk: An Exquisite Adventure in November, 2013.
Randall & Jean at Steampunk Street II in downtown Mesa, April, 2011.
We had a fine turnout for our Barbecue Mixer in April, 2009, with folks from SWCG, Sunacosu,
CASFS, Arizona Ghostbusters and The Rebel Legion. Photo by Mike Contos.
At the Arizona Renaissance Festival, February 2008.
Walking about the Glendale Glitters street fair in December, 2007.
A Duct Tape Mannequin is a
useful tool for patterning custom-fitted garments.
Mucking about in Victorian attire at CopperCon 25. A little image magic by Mike Cassidy shifts us to a more appropriate setting - a table setting.
Updated September 17, 2026 by
Randall Whitlock.
Direct correspondence to:
Randall Whitlock, Webmaster
Southwest Costumers Guild
2320 West Seldon Lane
Phoenix AZ 85021