You must be 18 years of age or older/(If you are 17 and under you must have a parent attend all events with you).
Be well kept and maintain proper hygiene.
Must have Facebook as Facebook  is the primary method of communication within the team.
You must reside in Michigan.
Have reliable means of transportation.
You must be able to attend at least 4 official events per year and be involved with the event details.
No obscene behavior or gestures. Profanity will not be tolerated at events, especially around children.

You are asked to be social and focus on maintaining a friendly attitude. This is a heavily enforced requirement for our group. It’s a given that people will ask for your time. We ask that you make yourself approachable to people. Respond and interact with them kindly or deliver yourself in character or quote.

Never respond to a negative comment or situation. We don’t have tolerance for bad attitudes. Not only will you look bad, but so will the other members of the group. The reputation of our group is important to us and we ask that you help us maintain it. You can look the part, but you also need to be able to act the part.

We want to maintain the PG-13 essence of the films but also want to be respectful to those around us. While around younger crowds, refrain from using the more adult quotes from the films. Be mindful of your surroundings at all times and make sure the atmosphere or situation permits such quotes.

Are you willing and able to wear your gear on a hot day in a parade? Be able to stand at a booth and answer questions all day? It’s a tough job but somebody’s got to do it.

You will be required to commit to a minimum of 2 official events per year in order to maintain your membership to the group (This rule does not apply to anyone in rookie status). You need to have a reliable means of transportation and arrive on time. You need to be upfront about whether or not you’re able to fully commit to an event. While we do this for fun, we understand that life happens and unforeseen circumstances can take place.

In such cases, you need to be able to communicate to the rest of the group what your situation is. If you are unable to make it to an event, you need to let the rest of the group know so we can notify the other parties involved. Communication is the foundation of The Newaygo Ghostbusters’ operations. You need to be open, honest and trustworthy. Our desire is to be able to handle any situation with a high level of professionalism.

For any reason that you have to take a step back and take care of personal matters, we ask that you temporarily resign your position and refrain from getting involved in group matters until you are able to commit to the group once again.

Any and all prospective engagements must be presented to the group before going forward. Never commit to an event or speak on behalf of the group on your own. All potential functions and commitments will be delegated within the group. All members must be made aware of each event and their participation discussed before a final decision can be made.

If you’re still interested in joining now that the core rules have been outlined and defined, then please read on.

The group strives for a certain level of accuracy on the props and costumes. While 100% true accuracy is commendable, we do not require it. However, there are limits on what we are willing to let by. We will allow the use of costumes or characters & equipment that exist in officially published Ghostbusters lore, e.g., movies, cartoons, comics, books, video games, card/board games and various toy lines only. Anything that is considered non-canon, outside of the official lore or left to interpretation is not accepted.

Our costume guidelines will differ by the particular type of costume you choose to wear. Here are some of the basics that we will allow.

We allow anyone to join the group that wants to dress up as a Ghostbuster, provided they can meet our requirements. We allow any costume from any of the various published Ghostbusters materials. However, the costume must be easily identifiable to the source outfit you’re cosplaying as.

GENERAL:

You must have a flight suit that is either an accurate CWU-27/P or similar to military specifications in either khaki or dark blue/grey, Dickies work uniforms are also acceptable with prior approval. We simply do not allow store bought Halloween costumes.
You must have the proper patches sewn onto your uniform. This refers to your name badge and the proper no-ghost logo on your right shoulder.
You must have at least one piece of equipment e.g., PKE Meter, Ghost Trap, Ecto-Goggles, etc these may be purchased from spirit Halloween, etsy, eBay or a prop maker or made yourself. A proton pack or slime blower is not an immediate requirement but you will be strongly encouraged to eventually have one.

(These general rules only apply if cosplay is based on the films. Alternate flight suits can be worn if based on related characters from other published media.)

The proton pack is the most iconic piece of gear in a Ghostbuster’s arsenal. At Newaygo, we want to ensure that our packs accurately replicate the iconic look of the source material. For our members who wear a pack at events, we do not require that your pack be made any particular way, although we do expect packs to be believable in look, size and shape. A pack might be made out of plastic, foam, fiberglass, resin or even junk parts, as long as it closely replicates the source prop. (We do allow spirit Halloween packs but, you are encouraged to upgrade them. This is not a requirement though.)

While some of our members strive for 100% accuracy, it’s not a requirement within the group. This also pertains to slime blowers and any other props that exist in the video games or comics.

If your desire is to dress as a supporting character from one of the films, we would like that you somewhat fit the physical appearance of that character. Your appearance doesn’t need to be striking or uncanny, but it should be able to resemble the character. Unfortunately not everyone is meant to be Gozer, Vinz Clortho, Vigo or Walter Peck. These will be addressed case by case.

If you plan on being one of the many ghosts, it should really look the part. For example, Slimer needs to be more than just a Halloween mask and a green t-shirt.Please contact us if you have any questions or need more information.

You will need to go through our rookie program before you can become an official member. This is where we get to know you, assess your type of involvement and rate your interactions with people. Basically, we’re making sure that you’ll be a great addition to our group.

After you apply, you are deemed as an applicant and not yet officially in our rookie program. First, we will extend an invitation for you to join us on an event as a guest. Once we feel you are eligible, we will announce to you and the group that you have entered our rookie program. During this trial period, we will invite you out to further events where you can get involved at your own leisure. Simply come out and meet us all, show off your stuff and have a good time. The rookie program doesn’t run for any particular length of time. It is an open ended program that can be terminated at any time by either party. We will extend membership to you when we feel the time is right.

You will receive a welcoming kit once you officially become a member. You will receive an embroidered patch of our logo. These patches are exclusive to members of the group only and should not be given or sold to anyone outside of the group. Alongside, the patches you will get business cards, access to the group private Facebook page and messenger group.

Depending on your capabilities and talents, you might also be appointed to a particular position or skill. Some of our members are great at handling event planning while others use their talents for design or delegation.

Whew! If you’ve read this far, you are now familiar with the guidelines and details of our group. It may seem like a lot of guidelines to follow, but it’s mostly just common sense.

Finally, we want to explain why we do all of this in the first place. This all came together due to our love of the Ghostbusters films, cartoons and comic books. We are a small, laid back group of like minded individuals that do this for fun. We all share a common interest. It’s not for personal or monetary gain and it never will be. Our services are free, out of pocket or for charitable contributions. If this concept is hard for you to grasp, you should consider looking to join a different cosplay group.

If you are still interest in joining our organization, then please fill out the form below. We will contact you shortly afterwards and consider your application. Thank you!