How Long for a Cosplay Walk (or "Character Parade")?

Nowadays, I don't discuss the technical intricacies of cosplay much, owing to more frequently discussing cosplay "in character" for event or convention reviews. Yet I still consider myself to have a stake in those technical intricacies, since they're still relevant to the character I cosplay ("send") and how I deal with them. One of these concerns what transpired in the recent convention in the "character parade", which would be a cosplay walk; there, the time to perform was relatively short, in comparison to similar offerings in other events or conventions. That then pertains to the question I posed in the title: how long should such offerings be, particularly for the cosplayers ("characters") who are involved?

This topic is actually frequently brought up by a cosplayer friend of mine who is also as well-respected as I am and even took inspiration of dedication from me. That friend told me that a cosplayer should maximize the time given, which may very well be rather short if it was like the other day and there were very many participants. I wouldn't disagree with that, although it should be kept in mind that the intent of a cosplay walk is to showcase as many cosplayers (characters) as possible and that everyone should keep their performances within a reasonable time limit to keep things going. It may be considered a delicate "balancing act" of sorts between one's ideals and reality - thus, another "Reshiram-Zekrom" matter.

For me personally and my character of choice most of the time (Ash), since he doesn't actually have many characteristic actions and poses, I can work with a shorter performance time limit  (say, 5 to 15 seconds) like the other day and absolutely focus on the most characteristic of those actions and poses - which would most likely be Ash throwing a Poké Ball. Should the performance time limit be longer (one-half to one minute), then I would have to draw upon what often goes on with Ash in a battle, and if it gets even longer... then I may not be talking about a cosplay walk in the first place, as that would reach into actual cosplay performances.

So, given the above, especially in my Pokémon case, it may be that the suggested one-half to one minute for each participant in a cosplay walk may be good for more "intimate" settings with fewer participants, while less than half a minute is better for more general settings with lots of participants. Regardless, any participant should be able to make use of as much time as given, in a way bringing "Kyurem" to bridge reality and ideals.

Any cosplay competition is unique and they present their own sets of challenges, including a cosplay walk or "character parade" as above. For that, the challenge may lie in the time limit given to individual cosplayers or "characters" and how much they can take advantage of that to show off what they can do. As a Pokémon cosplayer, I'm not exempt from this matter, especially as a frequent participant in those competitions. I just have to deal with them according to the time that I'm given and the time I can actually take. It's just another intricacy that I deal with my Pokémon cosplay and others deal with theirs.

One year ago: Non-Trademark Substitutions for Pokémon Names?

Two years ago: Sword and Shield: After One Year

Three years ago: Everyone's Contributions

Four years ago: So Little and So Much

Five years ago: A Pokémon Menu