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Sylvan Lake Library holds first cosplay contest for teens

The Sylvan Lake Municipal Library recently held its first-ever cosplay contest event

Members of the Anime Club at the Sylvan Lake Library have developed the library's first-ever cosplay contest. 

Head library programmer Corrie Brown said the teens in the club had the best ideas for the event. 

"They came up with the idea. the categories and brainstormed ideas for contests that could be done in the future for different age groups." 

One of the ideas that came up during the brainstorming was an adult cosplay contest where the Anime Club members would judge the costumes, she added. 

"We're looking to see if we can incorporate that into our summer activities, or debut it in the fall."

For the event there was also no strict theme in place, Brown said. 

"Participants were welcome to draw from any of their favourite anime or manga or come up with something completely unique, which was the case for our dino-inspired cosplay." 

While the library has run costume contests before with other programs the cosplay contests done recently were the first anime/manga-specific contests. 

"We ran cosplay contests back-to-back this month so that all of the Anime Club members who wanted to participate would have the opportunity to bring their outfits," Brown said.  

"If enough of the club wants to participate in another event, we will do one at our last meeting before we break for the summer on June 19." 

Over the two weeks of the contest seven teens participated as cosplayers and eight participated as judges, Brown said. 

"The participants all received a certificate for a free Library card, and the winners and runners-up received additional prizes of manga and manga/anime-themed bookmarks."

The event was a fun time for all involved, she added. 

"They are all excited to participate again in a future event." 

The Anime Club is a drop-in after-school program that is open to all school-aged children to attend. 

"Anyone interested in participating can just stop by any Wednesday from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. to check it out." 



Sarah Baker

About the Author: Sarah Baker

I joined Black Press in March 2023 and am looking forward to sharing stories about the local communities.
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