Mann at the Fair: Dressing up for annual occasion

PALMER — All sorts of people come through the Alaska State Fair gates each year. It has a way of drawing out colorful characters that enjoy dressing up, many of them eager to walk around in their costumes or special outfits, taking pictures with people and entering contests like the annual ASF Cosplay Contest at the Borealis Plaza Tent.

“I think that people appreciate costumes more at the fair,” Tom Cosmah, the 2018 Cosplay champion said with his blue, first-place ribbon pinned to his handmade costume modeled after Groot, arguably Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy’s” most popular characters.

Dozens of people entered the cosplay contest this year, with many more who either missed it or just wanted to dress up for its own sake. There were three judges who determined the top three winners: Olivia Larson, the Fur Rendezvous Princess; Hannah Noble, ASF Cultural Ambassador; and Tala Ianu, the 2018 ASF Queen.

People, especially families with young children seem to be magnetically drawn to just about every flashy character they see while walking around. Several kids on different occasions seemed to get sucked into a tractor beam of sorts when they would see one of their favorite characters, in the flesh walking amongst the mere mortals.

“It’s almost like a ride for them, but for free,” Cosmah said.

The parents love it, the kids of love it, and the people behind the masks, cloaks, wigs and furry coats seem to be savoring their time here. For many of creative costume makers in Mat-Su Valley, the state fair is like the Super Bowl or Project Runway of the year for them, one of the best times to mingle with massive amounts of bystanders eager for a photo opportunity and like-minded costumers to share tips and tricks of the trade.

“For people like us, it’s a time to show off what we like to do,” Cosmah said.

Cosmah spent more than 50 hours in a single weekend, “non-stop gluing” to get his Groot costume just right. His toils clearly paid off. His handmade costume looked very professional and everywhere he went, he was a hit.

“I’m just craft crazy!” he said.

Standing over 8 feet tall-with the aid of two five-gallon buckets, Cosmah crafted every element of his costume, from root to canopy, including the mask. He used common household items. He used cheap, foam flooring material, to make most of the exterior, EVA Safety Flooring, which he said is very popular with costume designers because it’s cheap and malleable- a very effective “bang for your buck.” He also had plastic tubes wrapped around his body, looking like roots.

Save the back of his head, it essentially looked like Groot himself was walking around and that must be why he won this year as a crowd and judge favorite.

When it was his turn to take to the contest stage, he said in Groot’s signature low-tone voice, “I am Groot!” and the crowd went berserk, making the loudest roar by far compared to the other contestants.

He said that everyone around town knows him as Deadpool, the infamous Marvel character who has also become very popular in recent years. He works at the Valley Country Store off Church Road. You can usually find him there in his authentic looking, Deadpool costume, cracking jokes and ringing up items. It looks almost like he jumped off the movie screen to check you out, clearly expensive looking. He’s already brainstorming ideas for next year’s cosplay contest, which proves to be more popular each year.

“It’s a labor of love but it’s more love than labor,” Cosmah said.