The Masquerade Handbook

Janet Wilson Anderson is known for the style of the costume she creates, her stage presentations, and her impeccable workmanship. Janet was also essential in the formation of the International Costumers’ Guild (ICG). She brought her Fortune 500 businesswoman’s mentality and expertise to bear on the second chapter of the ICG, Costumer’s Guild West, as well as the overall organization’s beginnings. Janet has also been a big influence on how Costume-Con fashion shows were and are run, always trying to raise their credibility to the level not only of the competition events, but also of the real world fashion shows that she had so much experience with. Janet received the ICG Lifetime Achievement Award in 1994.

Cat Devereaux was active in costume fandom since the early 1980’s. She also created the non-profit Alley Cat Scratch Costumes, one of the largest free informational and costume-supportive websites on the internet. She worked every position in masquerades, and helped organize and run special events backstage, including the Worldcon Hugo Awards. She also did costume design for film, video, and stage. Cat was president of the Costumer’s Guild West, Dean of Costume College, and editor of the International Costumers’ Guild’s Costumer’s Quarterly magazine. She received the ICG Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005. Cat Devereaux passed away in 2020.

Gary Anderson’s costumes were known for great awful puns, long before he entered the fray and got involved in the costuming community. But once in, he never caved, and stayed true to his own sense of humor. His other passion was filk, and he was instrumental in developing modern filk in southern California. He helped to start ConChord, which he worked on and also chaired, and was one of the founding directors and officers of Interfilk, serving as its clerk until his death from cancer in 1998. Gary was married to Janet Wilson Anderson. He received the ICG Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998.

Russell Breighton “Rusty” Dawe is a video game designer, on-line environment designer, programmer, project leader, and manager. In his alternative persona, he is a Reiki master, weatherworker, writer, teacher, and has walked his spiritual path quietly as a solitary practitioner. Rusty was heavily involved in the early years of running the Bay Area Regional Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention (BayCon) in the early 1980’s, doing registration and videography.

Richard Foss is a Los Angeles fan who has worked many Loscons and other conventions. He is a member of LASFS and SCIFI, and chaired Loscon 16 in 1990. Along with his brother Wolf Foss, he was Fan Guest of Honor and Toastmaster at Windycon 19 in 1992. Richard is a journalist, author, culinary historian, and a lecturer. He authored 10 science fiction stories that were published in major markets, including Analog and in anthologies. He has written for newspapers and magazines for over thirty years, and has written two food-related books. He is the Executive Director of COLLAGE: A Place for Art and Culture, a non-profit educational and arts organization.

Craig Jones has worked as an audio/visual technician for several decades. His theater production credits include Sound Designer, Stage Manager, Audio Technician, and Lighting Technician, and he has been in charge of the audio/visual division of several conventions. In addition, Craig has produced two documentary multi-media shows, has been the editor of two newsletters, and is a published author of non-fiction articles. He has a special interest in the production of costume contests, particularly in the area of sound.