Coming up on Friday May 2nd, 2025 at the Century House is an exciting evening of dining, dancing, cocktails and cosplay! This is a new event in the area and all fandoms are welcome to join – so we chatted with the event’s founder about what to expect. Here’s our Q & A with Bethany Marx “Hill City Cosplay” and owner of HCIQ Princess Parties in Albany, NY 🎉
Q: We’re so excited for the upcoming Beltane Fantasy Ball! For those who don’t know, what can guests expect at the event?
A: The Beltane Fantasy Cosplay Ball is going to be a fun evening for anyone who loves dressing up and hanging out with other nerds. We’ve got two amazing photographers; a cash bar with themed cocktails from Star Wars, to DND, to ACOTAR; a buffet dinner with vegan friendly options; live entertainment; and plenty of dance music, including fantasy music and popular hits.
Q: What inspired you to start this event in the Capital Region?
A: I started this event because I kept seeing advertisements and getting invites to these huge fantasy balls. They look like a ton of fun (and I’m totally jealous of people who get to go), but like many of us, I’ve got bills and commitments, and paying $200 per ticket and traveling to another state just wasn’t practical for me right now. But I’ve been event planning on the Capital Region for more than 9 years, and I thought, we’ve got this great community: why can’t we do this here? We’ve had a great group of people step up to help with planning and spreading the word.
Q: Tell us about you! You’ve owned a magical business for years – how has that experience been for you?
A: I’m actually a theatre professor specializing in costume design in my “normal human” life. I also own a local business that provides princess characters for children’s parties. It’s so much fun and I’ve gotten to experience so many amazing things because of it. Most of my past event planning has been for 3 year olds, though I’ve done a couple of the themed parties and weddings too.
I’ve loved dressing up my whole life–I was that Ren Faire Kid, you know, the one who hot glued their costume together at age 13. And I also did 12 years of folk dancing in my home town in Wisconsin. As an adult, I looked for any excuse to throw or attend themed parties–really just any excuse to wear a costume! I got into cosplay pretty late in life, but the moment I discovered it, I knew I’d found my people.
Q: I see something exciting in the Beltane Ball schedule – PERFORMERS! Can you give us a sneak peek into the fun? Who’s performing?
A: This whole event is essentially being planned by volunteers and our entertainers are donating their time as well. We’ve got Paz Pascua, who’s a local award winning cosplayer, singing during dinner, and then a newish local performance group called the Hilltown Hags who will be giving us a little themed dance entertainment about halfway through the evening. We also have some interactive “side quests” going on throughout the evening.
Q: Is it an event someone could enjoy solo? Or would you recommend bringing a date?
A: You can absolutely come to this solo! In fact, we have some fun activities specifically geared at meeting new people, including our Mystery Dance Partner side quest. We’re also providing everyone with ribbons at the door to identify their comfort level meeting new people.
Q: There has been a lot of hype around the ball in the cosplay community – do you expect a large cosplayer turnout?
A: The event is “lightly themed” around the Beltane Holiday and the oldest legends of Fairies/High Fae, but our event is very inclusive and all fandoms and styles of formal cosplay are welcome. We hope to have a wide representation of genres and styles!
Q: Will you get to enjoy the ball yourself? We hope so!
A: I’ll definitely be there and having a blast and I can’t wait to meet a bunch of new people!
Huge thank you to Hill City Cosplay for taking the time to give us the details – find out more and get tickets at Beltane Fantasy Cosplay Ball!
Professional photographers, menu, dress code & more at the link above 👆 🌸
Saratoga Cosplay Events 
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