Hire costumed characters
in Manhattan.
Trained character performers in screen-accurate costumes for retail openings, family days, brand activations, and corporate events with kid-facing components.
NYC corporate character work runs heaviest at Fifth Avenue and Soho retail flagship openings (custom branded mascots and themed performers to anchor the opening crowd), employer-brand family days produced by Manhattan financial and media corporates, and themed performers (period, prohibition-era, noir, sci-fi) for corporate murder mysteries and immersive offsite events at private Tribeca and Meatpacking venues. We staff custom mascots for Javits booth activations, themed performers for Fashion Week brand parties, and IP-safe costumed characters for Citi Field, Yankee Stadium, and Barclays Center family-day brand activations. Most of our NYC character pool is working actors — comfortable on camera and in front of executive audiences. All staff are 100% W-2.
Showcraft serves Manhattan and the surrounding NY area with 100% W-2 talent, full insurance, and senior captains on every event. Manhattan is the busiest single brand market in the country — every category runs here and every category runs hot. We staff Javits Center trade shows (NRF Big Show, NY NOW, ICFF, NYCC), Times Square brand activations and OOH stunts, Fashion Week shows in Chelsea and Hudson Yards, financial-services corporate events from FiDi up through Park Avenue, retail flagship openings in Soho and on Fifth Avenue, and culinary brand activations in the Meatpacking District. Our Manhattan roster is built specifically for the on-camera stakes of this city — working actors, Equity-trained hosts, runway-experienced models, and bilingual brand ambassadors across ES, FR, IT, MN, RU, and Korean. Every staff member is 100% W-2, NY Department of Labor compliant, and briefed on Manhattan-specific operational realities (loading docks, freight elevators, ADA ramps, NYPD permit reality).
- Costumed Characters dispatched anywhere in Manhattan
- 100% W-2 staff, fully compliant
- Comprehensive GL + workers' comp on every event
- COI naming your venue and additional insureds
- Captain on-site for events with 6+ staff
Costumed Characters at Manhattan venues we know.
Other character experiences we offer in Manhattan.
Costumed Characters in nearby cities:
Questions Manhattan buyers ask about costumed characters.
What kind of corporate events use costumed characters in Manhattan?+
Retail grand openings, brand activations with family-day components, trade show booth attractors, sports promotions, company family days, and corporate holiday parties in New York City. Costumed characters pull foot traffic, anchor photo moments, and add a memorable layer to brand-led events in Manhattan.
What's the difference between a Showcraft character and a Characters.io character?+
Same talent roster, different lane. Showcraft handles the corporate side — brand activations, retail openings, trade show floors, and corporate family days in Manhattan. Characters.io handles consumer and private events. The performers are W-2 employees of the same parent company, with the same vetting and training standards.
Are your Manhattan character performers trained?+
Yes — every Showcraft character performer in Manhattan is a working actor with character-performance training (movement, in-character voice work, photo-pose discipline, guest interaction). They're not random people in costume; they're vetted performers backed by Characters.io's 18-year track record.
Are your Manhattan character performers W-2 and insured?+
Yes. Every character performer Showcraft deploys in Manhattan is a W-2 employee with workers' comp and general liability coverage. We issue COIs naming the venue and additional insureds. In California, the payroll structure is fully AB-5 / AB-2257 compliant.
Hire costumed characters in Manhattan today. on demand.
Tell us what you're putting on. Quote in minutes, talent on-site in days. No phone tree.