Library hosting monthly gathering of new local cosplay guild

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Strathmore Municipal Library is highlighting a new monthly program which invites hobbyists of all ages to come out and develop a sense of community. 

Now officially running on the last Tuesday of each month, the Cosplay Creators Guild largely invites teens and youth to the program room who are interested in cosplay; however, adults are also welcome. 

“The first official meeting was the last Tuesday in February. We wanted to give it a shot and see how things were going before we did more of a hard launch,” explained Laura Henderson, assistant director of the library. “They have been meeting unofficially … at people’s houses or wherever they could get space, but the facilitator of that had approached me and asked if we could do something a little bit more official.”

The idea for growing the group, Henderson added, was pitched to her as putting an emphasis on story writing, character development, costume and set design.

Literacy-based themes of the program aside, facilitating a growing and regular group of cosplay enthusiasts was becoming increasingly cumbersome attempting to host in people’s homes.

“They had rented the program room in the fall and then approached me following that because they needed more space. It is limiting the number who can attend in someone’s private home,” she said. “With teens and things like that, you want to be careful where you are sending them. Meeting in a home was not necessarily indicative to growing the group. They wanted to use more of a public space.”

Henderson added library programs typically tend to be considered worth exploring if as few as five people can be anticipated to attend a debut event. 

February’s Cosplay Creators Guild meeting attracted 11 people to its first session, with the community anticipated to experience significant growth now that there is a large enough space to host members.

“What I love about it is you don’t have to come and work on a project or even learn about cosplay,” said Henderson. “You can just be interested in it and the world around cosplay, fantasy, science fiction, that sort of thing, if you just want to hang out with people who are interested in the same things.” 

The target demographic is largely for teens, however those of any age may come out. For those who are under the age of 12, it is requested that they be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Though the current schedule is to gather once a month in the program room, Henderson anticipates it growing to twice a month throughout the lifespan of the guild. 

More information about the guild is available through the Strathmore Municipal Library.