People have turned out in their thousands for the fourth annual Comic Gong in and around the Wollongong Town Hall, library, art gallery and Civic Plaza.
And what is blowing everyone away is the time and effort hundreds have put in preparing their outfits.
Winner of the Cosplay competition for teenagers was Garbiella Franklin. She enters every year because she loves it.
Ms Franklin, 16, studies drama at Wollongong High School of the Performing Arts and really enjoys getting into character. And she is very good at.
“This is the third time I have entered and the second time I have won,” she said.
“I was a Weeping Angel from Doctor Who the last time I won. I decided to come as Tim Burton’s Mad Hatter this time. I have always really loved the character...and I decided it would be really fun idea for a Cosplay.”
Ms Franklin said she loved dressing in character. She said it was good to win after putting so much effort into her costume.
“It is a really good way to express yourself and you get to meet with other people who are into the same thing as you. It is really good. I am coming back next year but am not sure what I am going to do yet,” she said.
Comic Gong is run by Wollongong City Libraries. Council’s branch libraries and community facilities manger Jan Noble said it was amazing to see how much Comic Gong was growing every year and the way the festival atmosphere was evolving.
“It is fun. People are having a great time.They are all really friendly. Everyone goes up to everybody else to have their photo taken together.”
Mrs Noble said things had come a long way since the first Comic Gong started in Corrimal four years ago to try to tap into youth who might not otherwise visit a library.
“Comics get people involved. And libraries are free and great places for everyone. This is the biggest Comic Gong so far. We have had a lot of support from the community and a lot of support from the university and TAFE. It is just a really good community event. People have really embraced it. And it is surprising how far some have come to be here. We certainly have more people than last year and in 2015 we had 5800.”
Among those in the crowd at Wollongong Town Hall to see the Cosplay competitions for teenagers and adults were entertainer Scott Radburn who said the Comic Gong happening on the same weekend as the CrossFit Games was an amazing combination of people and showcased the city’s real diversity.
Originally published as Thousands come out to cosplay at Comic Gong 2016: photos by the Illawarra Mercury.
