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 -  September 2025
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.

On view now at Phoenix Art Museum: Greatest Fits Vol. 1: The Art of Archiving Fashion  https://phxart.org/

PhxArt‘s first major investigation into the formation of our renowned fashion collection. With more than 80 garments and accessories, Greatest Fits (Vol. 1): The Art of Archiving Fashion begins the series by tracing the evolution of the Museum’s collection from its founding in 1966 to the present day.

September 30, 2025 - May 3, 2026 - Ray Harryhausen Exhibit at The Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures, 4455 East Camp Lowell Drive, Tucson. Features a distinguished selection of miniature armature models from Clashs of the Titans, Jason and The Argonauts and more of Ray Harryhausen's classic films. https://theminitimemachine.org/

October 5, 2025, 12-2PM - Beneath the Bustle: The Transformative Fashions  of the Victorian Period at Sunnyslope Historical Society, 737 East Hatcher Road, Phoenix, Arizona. Hosted by Trevon Powell (SirDressMaker). Have you ever wondered what’s underneath all of those Victorian Layers? How did the Bustle come about? Weren’t they hot? Well come and get all of your questioned answered. I have been asked to speak at The Sunnyslope Historical Society Museum and I’d love to walk through the various fashion trends of the Victorian Period with you! The fabrics, the foundational garments and the influence behind it all! 
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/beneath-the-bustle-the-transformative-fashions-of-the-victorian-period-tickets-1657779145049?aff=oddtdtcreator&fbclid=IwY2xjawM9VnNleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETEyOUdRZFFYWWNveWtKWDF3AR5RnWa6lht1HaXUdGFptWZwH5ZPXD0ECbH3r2g57FibvmrqamXl36Js7sKF7g_aem_L-ouXpNQiMIA_XRDgIxqVg

October 25, 2025, 5-8 PM - Halloween Comic Fest @ The Library at Glendale Velma Teague Library, 7010 N. 58th Avenue, Glendale, Arizona (middle of the town square).

Spooktacular all-ages Halloween celebration, held in collaboration with Drawn to Comics (5801 W. Glendale Ave.), downtown Glendale's source for comic books, gaming and collectibles. Come for three hours or fifteen minutes – we appreciate any and all support! Last year's event attracted 800 participants! Attendees will be able to choose from an assortment of free comics, meet local comic book artists, shop with cool vendors, pose with cosplayers and enjoy fun games and crafts. Costumes are encouraged for attendees. Activities will take place both inside the Velma Teague Library and at the Drawn to Comics store located across the street. Note: Due to ongoing construction at City Hall, parking near the library may be limited.

November 7-9, 2025 - TusCon 52 at the DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Hotel Tucson Airport, 7051 S. Tucson Boulevard, Tucson, Arizona. Guests of honor include Gail Carriger, Liz Danforth, Jeff & Maya Bonhoff, Linda Addison and Madame Askew.  https://tusconscificon.com/about-tuscon/

November 15, 2025, 10-2:30 - Friends of Faire Gathering at Cuisine & Wine Bistro, 4991 South Alma School Road, Chandler AZ. This event is the traditional and annual get together so all Friends of Faire can blow the cobwebs off of our garb in preparation of the upcoming Renaissance Festival Season! If you are new to this event, garb is highly recommended! https://www.facebook.com/events/1285052256465832/?acontext=%7B%22event_action_history%22%3A[%7B%22mechanism%22%3A%22calendar_tab_event%22%2C%22surface%22%3A%22bookmark_calendar%22%7D]%2C%22ref_notif_type%22%3Anull%7D

December 2025 - Holiday Potluck* at Paula's place in Tempe. Exact date and details coming later.

December 6, 2025 - LibCon West at the Foothills branch of Glendale Public Library, 19055 North 57th Avenue, Glendale. Annual free gathering of SF and Fantasy fans moves to the Foothills Branch, near 59th Avenue and Union Hills Drive this year. https://www.glendaleazlibrary.com/

January 17, 2026, 10-4:30 - Superhero Saturday at 9610 North Metro Parkway West, Phoenix AZ . Superhero Saturday is the signature charitable event for the Phoenix Police Sergeants and Lieutenants Association (PPSLA) to benefit Childhelp and PPSLA Charities sponsored by our friends at QuikTrip! Superhero Saturday is a Comic, Cosplay, and Car Show Festival that is free to attend and open to the public. https://www.superherosaturday.org/

January 31, 2026, 10-3 - Tempe FanCon at Tempe Public Library, Rural Road & Southern Avenue. Comic and cosplay fans grab your capes and superpowers and come to the Tempe Public Library for a celebration of comics and pop culture. Join us for free family fun including costume contests, authors and artists, entertainment, activities for the kids, photo ops with characters, fandom related items for sale, and food trucks. There is no table fee for exhibitors and the event is free and open to the public. The event will be held outdoors in the Library Plaza. Look for a Southwest Costumers Guild meet and greet booth among the exhibitors.

March 19-22, 2026 - Wild Wild West Steampunk Convention at Westward Look Wyndham Grand Resort and Spa, Tucson. https://www.wildwestcon.com/

CASFS Book & Media Social

Your Webmaster also organizes a monthly activity of the Central Arizona Speculative Fiction Society's (CASFS) Book and Media Social.  We get together once a month to talk about a pre-selected book, film or other media experience for a bit. After that, conversation can go anywhere. We meet at 7PM on the third Tuesday of every month at the Denny's restaurant at the northeast corner of 35th Avenue and Bethany Home Road in Phoenix. We run a Zoom meeting in parallel to the in-person one, so you can participate even if you can't get your corpus to Phoenix.

Check out the CASFS Book & Media Social Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/1602983896683877, the AZ Fandom Facebook Group and the CASFS web page at http://casfs.org/book_social.html for directions to the meeting or the Zoom link or e-mail books@casfs.org

Here is the book list for the second half of 2025:

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