In 1990 a bunch of guys got together and decided to enter a Michigan SF-Fantasy con costume contest. Since they were very poor, they did not think their chances of winning in any competition were too great, especially since the aid of local costuming Guilds then in existence came at a price, and the cost of creating a reasonably authentic costume for the appropriate class of competition was expensive and time-consuming. In the words of one of our Charter Members (Paul ‘Bart’ Stevens), “The Riders tried to make contact with kindred spirits. There were none. Other guilds offered helpful costuming tips, but for a price.”
The three blossoming “National Garbsmen” then came to a decision - they’d form their own guild, with a Path of their own. Membership would be cheap, information would flow freely, and the guild would endeavor to take the hobby of Masquerade Costuming to a strange new level of fun and excitement, unconstrained by the weight of the mighty buck. A pact was entered into, and the cutting and gluing began.
On their first showing at CONFUSION of 1990, a trio of Jousting Ostrich Riders, in the tradition of the video game, exploded on the scene of Michigan Fan costuming as an original humor ensemble that stole the show before it even opened.
A string of victories as well as an exciting escalation of the Costuming Wars ensued, each entry constructed with objects ranging from Glad Tall Kitchen Garbage Bags to Radio Shack Stress-beater desk toys to hula-hoops to mountains of paper mache, all to keep up with more and more enthusiastic competition.
When the glitter settled, the Piñata Riders troupe had won three Ensemble Awards, two Best of Show individual entries, and a host of Humor related prizes at Michigan’s seasonal Cons - ConFusion, ConTraption, and ConClave.
The Piñata Riders’ fame reached a comfortable plateau with January 1992’s Best of Show award, for an entry named TERMINATOR III, a nine-foot tall, blue robot constructed from cardboard tubes, flower pots, and polystyrene foam board. Many glue guns died bringing it to the stage, but it got there, and promptly terminated the competition.
The Guild managed to publish and distribute a flyer, entitled The Propaganda Rag, for an initial run of two years, with three editions each of two volumes dedicated to spreading word of the Absurd Path. The Rag preached fun, economy, and recycling, as well as dropping a name here and there to get people turned on to the world of Fan-costuming. In the course of our adventures we accumulated a few of the necessary things a Guild should have, and here’s a short list:
STANDARD TOOL: YARDSTICK.Very cheap, and when you run out of money, you can use it inside your costume.
MASCOT: FLEPPLE.(Origin - Joe BART Horner) A fictitious animal with three eyes, one horn, and one foot, which normal folk know as a gremlin. Hides costuming supplies, and makes a satisfying SPLAT noise when stomped.
FORMULA FOR A WINNING COSTUME- a handful of tips which make for a well thought-out as well as fun time at any masquerade.
GROUPIES- say no more. Piñata Riders are thronged by the opposite sex. Both of them.