From my perspective at the tiny corner occupied by the CPJ table, this year’s Chibi Chibi Con, taking place on the Evergreen campus for over 20 years now, was as vibrant as ever. The sheer quantity of people in the campus’ fairly large auditorium was something that filled myself and others with anxiety, but the various people walking around in some of the most intricately made and colorful cosplays I’ve ever seen didn’t seem to mind. The atmosphere at Chibi Chibi Con was an engaging one, featuring a variety of different events for cosplayers to participate in, two being a cosplaying contest and a lip sync battle performed in cosplay.
The cosplay contest consisted of several cosplayers displaying their costumes, playing out the characteristics of the person they are portraying, and details on how they created their cosplay. Cosplays included “Lady Vintage”, whose cosplay was comprised mostly of rhinestones and put together by the cosplayer, “Link”, whose cosplay took over 6 months to create, consisting of much woodworking and hand sewing, a “Five Nights at Freddy’s” cosplay, which consisted of foam and paint, and many other handmade costumes that took several weeks to months to create. When deciding the winners for the contest, which had three different cosplay levels; beginner, intermediate and advanced, the hosts and crowd participated in a short discussion about love, inviting different audience members to join on stage and let the crowd indulge in their love life, some being personal and others pertaining to the character’s love life. It gave off a sense of endearment and togetherness, something I realized resonates deeply within the cosplay community, and it was beautiful to witness.
The lip syncing contest went on later in the day; it consisted of cosplayers selecting their own song to lip sync to and putting on entire performances, filled with lively choreography, props to add flare to their performance, and genuine emotion, drawn from the performer and audience.
My day at Chibi Chibi Con was an eye opening experience. Despite the intimidating crowds, seeing so many people in the same place, expressing their love for their fandoms through cosplays that were painstakingly made by each passionate person, and engaging with others within the same community, was a wonderful thing to be a part of.
