On the brisk Halloween afternoon, iconic characters from anime, movies and comics filled the Student Union Ballroom. With a supportive audience cheering for each contestant, the MTSU Cosplay Club’s Costume Contest invited students to showcase their creativity.
A runway stage was set up with plenty of seats for spectators and participants. With a simple Google Form, any costumed individual could take part in the event. One student, attendee Ray Wehby, spoke of the uplifting community that the contest created.
“It feels like such a welcoming community of people who all have this kind of niche interest and are just happy to show off their craft to anyone who is willing to appreciate it,” Wehby said.
Cosplayers who partook in the event fully inhabited their characters, donning makeup, face paint and wigs. Many of the costumes were fully hand-made, showcasing immense creativity and ingenuity. Madison Cooper, who dressed as Nightcrawler from the X-Men comic series, spoke about how she made her costume.
“It took me a couple of weeks to put together,” Cooper said. “It’s made out of Chick-fil-A fry boxes, hot glue, a couple of safety pins and a prayer.”
For the competition, contestants were told to line up in small groups. At the base of the stage, they would tell the host, Cosplay Club president Alan Camorlinga, their first name and the character they were dressed up as. They would then go on stage and hit various poses as viewers clapped and took pictures.
The list of characters represented was staggering. Comic Book heroes like Batman and Wolverine were seen. Video game characters like Bonnie from Five Nights at Freddy’s lunged across the stage. Other iconic personalities included Marty McFly, Elastigirl and Dr. Doom.
After all the contestants had walked across the stage, attendees and participants were invited to vote on their favorite cosplayer within several categories. These categories represented the scariest, funniest, cutest, best duo and most creative contestants. After these were announced, general first, second and third place prizes were given out.
The winner of the contest was Mollie Gardener, who dressed as a gender-bent Riddle Rosehearts from the video game Twisted Wonderland. Her cosplay was covered in details, featuring various patterns and a collar made out of playing cards. For Gardener, cosplay was more than just a costume; she spoke of the acting aspect and how that empowered her.
“Cosplay is also a form of acting for me because I get to act like a character I love, that I’ve researched and done all these things for,” Gardener said. “It just allows me to present to the world what I’ve done.”
Despite this being the Cosplay Club’s first Halloween costume contest, the event ran very smoothly. Event Coordinator Selah Keegin mentioned her happiness with the contest, despite the short planning time.
“We had a lot of help. It wasn’t my idea, but we still had a lot of fun putting it together. It was kind of last-minute, but we had a good turnout.” Keegin said. “We were proud.”
With the success of the event. Keegin expressed interest in repeating the event next year and incorporating the club in more on-campus events.
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