IF you keep a close eye on the pages of Ipswich Local you’ll have every chance of finding a fun free event to go along to every weekend.
We’ve recently had a Garden Spectacular at Silkstone, school holiday events at local shopping centres and the regional areas are busy hosting their annual fairs.
While many got dressed up to attend none will match the outfits of the cosplayers who will be landing at the Animal Welfare Leagues open day on Saturday, October 8 at their rehoming centre on Tiger Street, West Ipswich.
There will be 11 cosplayers attending to mingle with the crowd which will also get to see the animals up close and personal and enjoy food stalls and fun events from 10am to 2pm.
You may be asking exactly who are cosplayers and what do they do?
One of the aims of cosplay is to portray a character like Tim Mason has done with his Boba Sett outfit from Star Wars.
He first got into the cosplay culture seven years ago when his daughter, Ayva, asked him to create a costume for her so she could participate in a cosplay convention with friends in Brisbane.
Now Ayva, who is pictured in her Lady Bug outfit, is a devotee along with her dad.
Cosplayers such as Ayva and Tim achieve their looks through a mixture of costumes, wigs, accessories, and props.
Tim has been working on his Boba Sett outfit for five years to get it “just right”.
The practice of cosplaying has its roots in early 15th century carnivales where people dressed up as objects, concepts, famous historical figures, or popular characters from fiction or stage plays.
Not only are more people getting into cosplay, but cosplay itself is becoming more and more lucrative.
A lot of top-tier cosplayers have made cosplaying their career.
They get paid to dress up, attend concerts, and even promote brands!
For the Mason family its all about having fun and helping charity groups raise funds when they can.