Pick costumes with care at Avengers premiere this week

Those planning to suit up before attending the Avengers premiere this week should pick their outfits carefully.

That’s because in recent years, theatres have become more wary of people arriving in costume due to security concerns, said Melody Wood, president of Queen City Cosplay.

“Things like wearing masks or having your face covered is not allowed. So unless the movie theatre invites you out personally, most of the time they tell you to take your cosplay off so they’re aware who’s under there,” Wood said.

“It’s not just movie theatres. It’s anything from the mall to other community events we attend. Security needs to be aware who’s all coming, what costumes, what characters in case there’s somebody out of the ordinary dressed up and they may not know it’s us.”

In an email, Cineplex spokesperson Sarah Van Lange writes that guests are welcome to wear costumes to the movies but a policy has been in place for a few years that prohibits them from wearing masks.

“Costumes that include props and toys will be reviewed on an individual basis, with the goal of ensuring there are no safety issues or tripping hazards. For obvious reasons, we do prohibit our guests from carrying toy weapons of any kind in our theatres,” she wrote.