Policies

social contract policies

To support our attendees and ensure a safe happy convention for everyone, we have created the following social contract policies. MidWest has a single warning system for policy violations. If you break a rule, you will be spoken to about it, and your badge will be punched once. A second offense will lead to expulsion.

Age Restrictions:

While MidWest strives to entertain attendees of all ages, the convention is mostly intended for those 13 years and over. We try to keep daytime programming acceptable for all ages, but there are many events that are intended for an older audience. Any that are required age to enter will be in the description and schedule.
Children under the age of 13 must be supervised by a parent or legal guardian at all times. Guardians maintain complete responsibility for, liability for, and control over their children’s actions and what they see at MidWest.

Hotel:

Respect Hotel staff and policies. If the hotel kicks you out for trashing your room or going into restricted/construction areas, you will be banned from the convention.
If you use body paint, please bring your own towels, and do not use the hotel’s. If you ruin hotel linens, you will be charged for it, and the hotel may ban you from staying again. Make sure to seal your body paints so as to not stain the venue and its property.

Illegal Substances:

Any Illegal Substances on the hotel property in any form, if you are found with it you will be expelled from the convention after the proper law enforcement has been notified.
Providing alcohol to minors is never ok, and the police will be involved.

Anti-Harrassement Policy

At MidWest, we believe it is important for everyone to respect each other’s personal space, and be kind and tolerant to one another. We believe that every attendee should feel safe, and has the right to enjoy the convention without fear of harassment.

Therefore, we have a zero-tolerance approach: Intentional Physical, Verbal and Sexual Harassment will result in permanent expulsion from the convention.

Verbal harassment includes derogatory terms, hate speech, and all manners of verbal abuse. Hate speech is legally defined as: speech that is intended to insult, offend, or intimidate a person because of some trait (such as race, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, veteran status or disability). If you feel as if you’ve experienced harassment, please report it to the nearest staff member immediately.

How To Report:

You may report harassment issues to any staff member directly:

Any Staff member you see can be spoken to about a harassment issue.
You will be escorted to a safe place, out of convention traffic.
The staff member will contact a member of our team who is trained to take statements.

You may also report directly to our Operations Desk at any time:

Our operations desk is open the full hours of the convention.
We have persons of all identities available to take reports if requested.

You may report issues at any time either during or after the convention:

You may use the Contact page, and choose the Security department to speak to one of our Security staff who is trained in taking statements.

Notes on Specific Issues:

MidWest cannot legally ban anyone from entering the con premises unless they commit the offense onsite at the convention itself -OR- there is a legal restraining order in place. If you have a restraining order in place, and wish to contact us before the convention regarding a concern, you may use our contact form for our security department.

Staff members (including leadership and MidWest Directors), Vendors, Photographers, and Special Guests are also subject to the Anti-Harassment policy. If it is reported that a Staff member or a Guest has committed harassment, that person in question will be removed from the convention floor immediately, and will remain off the floor until the issue is resolved. A member of MidWest FanFest's Board of Directors will be directly handling situations of this manner.

Code of Conduct for Photographers

All photographers who bring in professional-grade cameras MUST check into Ops to sign the Photography Code of Conduct. In order to maintain a safe environment for our attendees, we require all persons acting as a Photographer (anyone possessing a professional grade camera ie. interchangeable lenses, larger than a point-and-shoot) to agree to the following code of conduct:

Photographers are not to portray themselves as staff members and will not represent themselves as an “official convention photographer”.
Photographers will not photograph or video anyone without their expressed permission.
If a costume is risqué in nature, the photographer is responsible for ensuring that the person being photographed is at least 18 years of age.
All photography equipment must be hand-held in nature. Freestanding equipment is not allowed on the convention floor or on hotel property. This includes but is not limited to: lighting stands, freestanding backdrops, large props and signs. Final approval will be given by Convention Staff.
Photographers and their equipment cannot block or impede traffic on the convention floor.
Drones of any type are not permitted on Hotel property.

This code of conduct can be found at Operations, and photographers who agree will receive a wristband. Photographers who violate the code of conduct may be removed from the convention permanently, and without a refund.

Dress Code & Weapons Policy

Final approval of all costumes, props and weapons is up to MidWest Operations Staff

Dress Code:

Shoes are required on the convention floor.
Upper Body Coverage: Everyone must have 60% of both sides of their chest covered, regardless of gender. Pasties are not enough coverage.
Tops must be secured, and not fly open if you are walking or moving. Vests or capes that do not have 60% front upper body coverage are not acceptable.
Bare Abdomens and bare backs are allowed.
Bottom coverage: As with tops, at least 60% of your behind must be covered by your clothing. If you have to pull down your costume to maintain the coverage requirements, you’re not wearing enough. No thongs.
Mesh, and See-through Clothing: You must still wear the minimum requirement of opaque coverage underneath all transparent clothing. No lingerie costumes.
Anatomically correct and sexually explicit images on clothing are not allowed. (No ahegao or sexually exploit graphic shirts, hoodies, and other clothing.)
Dance Belts: All persons wearing tight fitting costumes are required to wear a dance belt. We should not be able to see your anatomy.
Body Paint: Painting your skin to appear as a different real-life race is absolutely NOT allowed. You will be asked to leave to remove it and given a warning. If you return to the event with any Blackface, Yellowface, or Brownface you will be banned from the event. Fantastical skin colors are permitted.

Props:

Large Costume pieces: Attached costume elements should not extend more than 1 foot from the body at your feet, arms or torso. Please be mindful of the people around you, and use common sense when moving around with large costumes.
Wings should extend no more than 2.5 feet away from the body. If your wings are retractable, please keep them collapsed until you are in an open area.
No Signs are allowed, even if it relates to your character.
Metal Props are not allowed, including metal bats, pipes, oversized tools, shovels, stop signs, etc. Handcuffs, leashes, and chains over 6 inches long are strictly prohibited.

Weapons Policy:

To maintain the safety of all attendees, the following Weapons rules will be enforced throughout the convention. Please read all of the policies below before bringing a weapon to the convention.

All prop weapons must be taken to the Prop Check Desk to be peace bonded as soon as you arrive at MidWest FanFest. This is next to the Ticket Booths.
We reserve the right to refuse any weapon on the convention floor for any reason. The Ops department has the final say.
If you are caught fighting or brandishing any prop in a threatening manner (even if you’re joking around), your badge will be punched, and you will be asked to take your prop off the convention floor.

Real Guns: No firearms are allowed at MidWest or the Box. Police will be notified if firearms are brought onto the premises, and you will be banned from the convention permanently. No exceptions, even if you have a concealed carry license.

Ammunition: No real or realistic-looking ammunition or incendiary devices are allowed.

Prop Guns, (realistic shape): Absolutely no metal prop guns of any kind. All prop guns must have orange tips. The body of all prop guns must be painted a light, non-realistic color. Colors not allowed are: black, grey, silver, gold, brown, metallic, and any color of camouflage. Metallic accent colors are allowed if it is less than 10% of the total body of the prop gun. We should be able to tell your prop gun isn’t real from a 50-foot distance.

Airsoft and Paintball Guns: Cannot have working parts, and must be painted a light unrealistic gun color.

Prop Guns, (non-unrealistic) If the weapon is non-realistic in appearance, any shade of body color is acceptable.

Metal Swords, Knives and Throwing Weapons: No metal swords, blades or throwing weapons are allowed, including shuriken and boomerangs, or items that look like them. Pocket knives are allowed if the blades are 4 inches or less.

Weapons Purchased in the Dealers Room: If you purchase a realistic weapon from a dealer, you must put it in your car or room immediately and keep it in its original packaging.

Wooden swords, bats, prop canes, staffs, etc.: Are allowed, but must be peace-bonded.

Bows and Arrows: Bows and arrows are allowed, however: no tips on the arrows, and all bows must remain unstrung for the entirety of the convention. You may hold the arrow in place for pictures with the bow unstrung.

Whips: Are allowed, and must be kept coiled up on the hip.

Mostly non-metal prop weapons: Weapons and props with a metal handle, or hilt are allowed. (ex: a Lightsaber or wooden sword)