Join online and receive instant online access. Individual memberships cost $40 and group memberships (for people travelling together) cost $100.

All heroes are required to have a membership for safety and security reasons. Heroes may be required to show their identification to hosts upon arrival. Please be aware that sharing account information may be cause for immediate membership revocations.

Once you’ve become a member, check out the Be a Hero page, look at the Find a Host page, contact the hosts you want to visit to make plans, and go volunteer! Membership is valid for one year from the day it is purchased.

❖ Full access to the directory of CHI host events internationally

❖ Advanced search features and the ability to contact hosts

❖ Reviews of hosts made by other heroes

❖ An online profile telling hosts all about your skills and enthusiasm for helping

❖ Access to the forums, where you can contact hosts and other heroes, post questions, and gain valuable information about cosplaying in the community.

❖ Show up when expected. Hosts count on your arrival and probably turn away other heroes in order to hold your spot. Please let hosts know as far in advance as possible if your plans have changed. If you are a ‘no-show’, hosts may leave a ‘no-show’ comment on your profile page and in the forums, which could negatively affect your ability to find future hosts.

❖ Fit into the lifestyles of hosts

❖ Help out for the agreed upon time per day

❖ Assist with living chores (such as cooking and washing up)

❖ Don’t create more work for your host

❖ Be respectful and responsible

❖ If asked to leave early, it is your responsibility to do so. Likewise, you may choose to leave early if the situation is not working out. Please let your host know if, and why, you are leaving

You must be 18 years of age or older to have your own account and attend events solo. Anyone under the age of 18 must travel with a parent or legal guardian (judge appointed) who is 18 years of age or older. There is no upper age limit for cosplaying at events and many hosts welcome the maturity older heroes bring.

No. Bring a willingness to learn, educate, laugh and try your best, and hosts are prepared to teach you about their artistic and crafty participating methods and projects.

No. If you are traveling as a foreign national, please be aware that CHI cannot help you obtain a visa. It may benefit you to secure your visa first, and then join CHI. Most heroes enter countries using a tourist visa; however, it is your responsibility to determine the correct visa for your visit. Please keep in mind that Cosplay Heroes is NOT paid work or volunteering.

Cosplay Heroes is an educational and cultural experience, and CHI members are guests of their hosts. The United States has extremely strict labor and immigration laws that prohibit foreign nationals from “working” or “volunteering” in the country without a work visa.

Most international heroes communicate their intentions to visit to immigration officials and enter without any problems. However, if you say that you are coming to “volunteer or work at an event” and you don’t have a work visa, immigration probably WILL NOT LET YOU ENTER THE COUNTRY. Additionally, please note that when entering the country, you cannot enter as a “hero,” as the meaning of this may be misunderstood by immigration officials. If you say you are “a CHI host” when you enter, you will most likely be turned away and not allowed to enter the country. Please take this into consideration and plan your visit accordingly. If you are traveling from another country, please be aware of this important distinction: as a hero, you are a TOURIST, NOT a WORKER or VOLUNTEER.

Please understand the laws and clearly communicate your intentions when you enter any country. CHI is not responsible for any problems you may experience with immigration.

❖ A great attitude, flexibility, and a sense of adventure

❖ Travel or medical insurance (encouraged)

❖ Transportation to and from the host event, unless otherwise arranged with a host

❖ Travel funds to and from the host, and extra spending money

❖ Appropriate attire – boots, costumes, accessories, clothes, sun and rain protection, hat, etc. Ask your host about any other suggestions.

❖ Identification such as passport or license

❖ Ask hosts about any specific items you may need for your visit with them

Sometimes! A lot of the hosts welcome children, especially if they event allowed children. To find kid friendly hosts, go to the Find A Host page, then click on the option “Hero with Children”.

Always check with the host first, and if you have young children who need a lot of your attention, please discuss this with your host. vents can be dangerous places, and

accommodation can be limited. Parents should be willing to take total responsibility for the safety of their children, as anyone under the age of 18 is not covered by CHI’s Accident Policy.

We recommend you plan your CHI travels as much in advance as possible. Many hosts prefer to book months, or at least weeks, in advance. When you book early it is important to keep in regular contact with your host(s) to ensure there have been no change in plans, for either you or them, and to continue to confirm your expected arrival date.

Some hosts are able and willing to take heroes on short notice though, so don’t be afraid to inquire at last minute. You can search for last minute opportunities either in the online forums or by filtering the Find a Host page for hosts that have their current availability set to ‘Immediate Availability’.

We understand that when you are travelling, your plans may change. We ask is that if you make arrangements with a community event host and if they change for any reason, please be courteous and let them know with as much advance notice as possible. Hosts count on your arrival and probably turn away other heroes in order to hold your spot.

Please let hosts know as far in advance as possible if your plans have changed. If you are a ‘no-show’, hosts may leave a negative review on your profile page which could negatively affect your ability to find future hosts.

Yes! Being a hero is an educational and cultural experience, and can be a great way to fulfil internship requirements. When researching host events and CHI opportunities, be sure to ask a host about their willingness to participate in your internship program and make clear any requirements you will need to complete it. Hosts must agree before the visit begins and you must also record the proposed internship with CHI, so that it is on file and can be verified with your educational institution. Please contact us once an internship for credit arrangement has been made.

Each hero can contact a maximum of 10 new hosts per day. In the past, hosts received a lot of impersonal “copy-paste” requests. This limit is in place to encourage heroes to carefully select their hosts beforehand and to send them complete and personalized messages. Please note this limit is only for sending new visit requests. There is no daily limit to responding to existing message threads.

We welcome anyone interested in cosplay in the community to participate in the CHI network. CHI offers a limited number of scholarships to participants who complete the application found here. CHI reviews and awards applications on a monthly basis, and scholarships awarded cover the cost of a CHI membership subscription. If you would like to donate to the scholarship fund, please click here.

Steps for becoming a CHI host:

❖ Sign up as a host

❖ Login and complete your profile

❖ Upload photos

❖ Once your profile is complete, request approval by coordinator ❖ Attend the new host orientation ❖ Start connecting with heroes!

To find out more, check out the Be a Host page!

❖ Full access to the directory of heroes.

❖ Advanced search features and the ability to contact heroes directly.

❖ Reviews of heroes made by other hosts.

❖ An online profile including photos and a description of your opportunities

❖ Access to the forums, where you can contact heroes and other hosts, post questions, and gain valuable information about the CHI community.

CHI Hosting Guidelines All hosts should:

1. Practice handmade arts and crafts creation methods

2. Provide an educational experience and share knowledge with heroes

3. Provide adequate incentives for heroes

4. Provide suitable and sanitary event environment

5. Ask Heroes to help for no more than half a day (between 1-4 hours), 5-20 hours per week.

6. Keep their profiles up-to-date with accurate and detailed information about hero activities, schedule, expectations, accommodations, meals, time-off, activities, photos, rules and requirements.

❖ Provide a safe and welcoming environment for heroes

❖ Be practicing, teaching, promoting handmade arts and crafts

❖ Provide fair and quality incentives for hero participation

❖ Recognize that heroes are not laborers

❖ Have a strong interest in sharing your knowledge and community life with heroes

You are welcome to wait for Heroes to contact you but you can also reach out Heroes yourself. To look for heroes, browse the Find a Hero page and contact anyone that interests you.

There are two ways to bump your profile higher on the Find a Host page:

1. Update your profile.

2. Change your availability status to “Immediate Availability”. This status automatically switches to open now after 2 weeks.

All search results are sorted first by “Immediate Availability“, then with the most recently updated profiles following. So you can bump yourself to the top of the list by editing and saving your profile often.

No. Heroes are responsible for arranging their own travel requirements. If traveling from another country, this means securing their own visas and travel documents. Hosts are not required to assist a hero with any documentation for their visa applications, and heroes are encouraged to secure their visas before joining as a member of CHI. If you are asked about providing a letter or other documentation, please direct heroes to the visa information.

Login to your online account and do a search for the Hero on the Find a Hero page. If their name is not seen in the list try searching with a different criterion (e.g., try last name only). Once you find the Hero’s profile, verify that they have an up-to-date subscription that has not expired. Click on their profile and look at the bottom of the profile for subscription information.

To keep your information private, please do NOT include in your profile description your name, farm name, email address or website. You are given a warning when this type of information is found in your description, but you are still able to save it. For guests viewing your profile we try to block (mask) any personal information found, but this is not always possible and it is best to not include it. There are individual fields on your profile to securely enter your name, website, social media links, videos and more that are blocked for non-members. Please note we reserve the right to remove personal contact information from profile descriptions.

Yes! Hosts with or without incentives can select the ‘One-Time Only’ local event option under ‘Incentives’. This is a great option for new community events without infrastructure, urban or virtual communities, or any host that is interested in connecting with heroes that already participate and engage in the area. Local event hosts should expect to offer some form of incentive for heroes visiting from afar. Virtual CHI community events are a great way to build sustaining relationships with heroes who can regularly visit to your event or project.

Got more questions? Contact Us