PENANG: Characters from movies, games and comics, especially manga and anime, came to life with Cosworld Festival at Komtar Walk here in conjunction with the Christmas festive season.
Held on Dec 9 and 10, the event presented a spectacular lineup of activities and fun, games, dazzling performances and exhibition booths.
Cosplay is the lively, imaginative world where reality meets fantasy, where heroes and heroines leap from the realms of imagination into vivid existence. It is a subculture that surpasses mere costume play, breathing life into well-known characters and superheroes from anime, manga, comics, gaming and similar mediums, through meticulously crafted outfits and careful attention to detail in bringing characters to life.
Deeply rooted in pop culture, it is an art form that encourages creativity, artistry and imagination. As cosplayers spend time transforming themselves into their favourite characters, so does the world around them.
Cosplay elites like UniPlus, Jiro and Nazuki were the highlight of the event. Richard Lim, the founder of Cosworld, said: “Apart from anime merchandise and related products on sale, we invited food trucks to be stationed at the car park.”
Breaking away from the traditional circuit of events such as Penang CosCon, Bon Odori and Yosakoi, this extravaganza revitalised the holiday season by providing cosplayers with another opportunity to showcase their talents.
Macalister Road Village Community Management Council (MPKK) chairman Cheah Sze Phatt said: “This event was indeed a crowd puller especially for youths. And we really hope that Komtar will become livelier with frequent events such as this.
“There are merchandise booths, comic artists’ meet and greet, and many more activities including competitions and lucky draws.”
Santa Claus made a grand appearance at 9pm on the first day, while a gift exchange and Christmas wishing session greeted attendees the following day.
Cosworld Festival at Komtar Walk was organised by Cosworld with support from MPKK Macalister Road under Teh Lai Heng’s constituency in Komtar.
“I’m very happy that Cosworld had chosen Komtar as the venue to host its event. Cosworld is a well-known organiser of anime and gaming-related events, and I have no doubt that this event attracted many visitors to Komtar. As this was an open event, no admission fee was required,” Teh said.
Previously, Cosworld organised a successful festival at Megamall Pinang in Seberang Perai from Dec 1-3, attracting over 10,000 visitors.
Meanwhile, MPKK Kampung Jawa, which is also under Teh’s constituency held a Christmas and Tang Chek (Winter Solstic) celebration for the local community at Dewan Kompleks Taman Harapan, Jalan SP Chelliah on Dec 9.
“It is a tradition to gather and roll glutinous rice flour into little balls that are then cooked in syrup (for Tang Chek),” said MPKK Kampung Jawa chairman H’ng Siah Hooi. “Those who came early got to sample some of our delicious glutinous rice balls (tang yuan or kueh ee). There was also Christmas carolling and dance performances.”
Other than that, there were a host of activities lined up for participants, such as a do-it-yourself cookies workshop, sand art, face painting and making wax seals for Christmas cards and letters. “For those who are sweet-toothed, there was also be a booth giving out free popcorn,” H’ng said.
Meanwhile, Teh recently highlighted the issue of NGOs providing food to the homeless at the Komtar bus station. “Ever since the state government introduced the Transit Centre for the Homeless (Pusat Transit Gelandangan) in August, there has been a significant decrease in the number of homeless people at the Komtar bus station.”
Teh suggested that NGOs wishing to provide food coordinate with the transit centre for effective distribution among those in need. “I also hope that the cleanliness level can be maintained at the bus station,” he said.
The transit centre, located at Jalan C.Y. Choy, also houses homeless people. “The PTG also functions as a training centre for the homeless who take shelter there. There have been successful cases where the homeless received upskilling training and managed to gain employment,” he added.
Teh, who is with the DAP, is a third-term state assemblyman for the Komtar constituency. Previously, he was a councillor with the Penang Island City Council.
