Cosplay Day Out 2010

Humble, Texas, USA. February 27, 2010.
Reporter(s): Drake


Once you’ve been to about two or three anime conventions, bets are you know what to expect before you arrive on the scene. However, this was not true for Cosplay Day Out 2010, an outdoor picnic event held in Humble, Texas for cosplayers to have a day of fun. Why might this be, you ask? Simply put, there are not many major cosplay picnic events of significant size out there, and not many people really ever mention their experiences at one. In fact, a quick Google search brings up a handful of cosplay picnic events, and most of those are not in America, or are small and intended for local anime clubs. So what compelled me to make the four hour drive from Lafayette, Louisiana to Humble, Texas to check out Cosplay Day Out?

Right off the bat, the biggest reason that a few of my friends and I went was to meetCDO’s lone guest of honor, Jason David Frank, the Mighty Morphin’ Green Power Ranger from back when Power Rangers was still good. Sadly, Jason David Frank was only on site for an hour and half at most.

After his departure, though, the atmosphere and idea behind this event really began to sink in to me.

This was really an event geared for the younger fans in a family-oriented environment, which is sometimes lost at the bigger conventions. The afternoon was spent playing Cosplay Chess, Red Light Green Light, and Red Rover, among other actives, which was very enjoyable for all in attendance, young or old. The day ended with a traditional cosplay contest, with yours truly as one of the judges. I have got to say, there was an enormous amount of talented cosplayers around, namely the Frieza from Dragon Ball Z. Though what really awed me was the sense of family and pure compassion among the attendees. There were no hard feelings toward those less talented in the art of cosplay, and the experienced cosplayers were more than willing to share their tricks and offer advice.

Overall this was a very fun afternoon, and worth the trip—especially to meet Jason David Frank, but also to relax and just have some good old fashioned fun. I would honestly love to see a few more events similar to Cosplay Day Out formed around the country. This type of event provides a great environment for younger fans, who are sometimes forgotten in the larger conventions, and a great deal easier to set up. So if you happen to be in the Houston area around the next Cosplay Day Out event, I recommend checking it out.