'This is where I belong': Sci-fi fans find joy and camaraderie in annual cosplay parade

"The parade always fills me with positive energy, cause you can look around into that great sea of people and find costumes that were either bought or made and people are standing there looking around as well going, 'Oh my God. This is where I belong.'"

Racing around her mother's apartment in southwest Calgary, Jay Hunt, 17, quickly changes into her first costume.

It's based on a fictional character, Nezuko, from a manga series, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. In January, she started hand-drawing the correct pattern onto her costume's kimono, which she found at a nearby Fabricland after a painstaking search for the correct shade of pink.

She's got three costumes like this, all based on anime characters, all mostly handmade. 

In a blur, she swaps wigs, robes and accessories — like coloured contacts and fangs — to achieve the desired look.

"I love doing this mostly because it lets my creativity roam free and go wherever it needs to be," she said. "This is fun, this is exciting. I get to express myself in a way that I can't do every day."

Early spring is when Calgary's cosplayers like Hunt come alive. 

Mixing together sequins, spray paint and an unfathomable amount of hairspray, the city's sci-fi and fantasy lovers emerge from a long winter as superheroes, villains and mythical creatures.

• Watch the full 2023 POW! Parade of Wonder

It's all part of the Calgary Expo, the city's annual fan convention, running April 27 to 30. The POW! Parade of Wonders marks the start of the event at 10:30 a.m. Friday.

It's one of dozens of expos, events and conventions that happens across North America, and the world. Millions of people (or "fandoms," as the people involved often call themselves) are drawn together through shared interests.

It's a community — one many involved say is rooted in diversity and positivity. 

Though science fiction conventions of various sizes have happened in Calgary going back 40 years, the first official Calgary Expo took place in 2006 with about 3,000 attendees. These days, over the event, up to 100,000 people drop by. 

Because of the pandemic and an epic snowfall last year, the parade hasn't fully run since 2019. Thousands are expected to return to Stephen Avenue this year to take part in the march or watch from the sidelines.  

For parade producer Allison Moore, the event brings an incredible sense of community and joy.

"You get all of these really young kids that are all putting on their superhero costumes and their princess dresses and they're high-fiving Batman and Spider-Man when they walk by," she said.

"We've had all sorts of different genres and celebrities over the years, so it's really, really exciting to see."

Hunt's mother, Piper Camps, started the family's excitement for the expo. 

She went to her first one in 2010, even though she was "very pregnant" with her son, Dominic Hunt. She says she couldn't resist the chance to get an autograph from Leonard Nimoy — the original Spock from Star Trek.

"Oh my god, it was so awesome," she said. "I was raised on horror movies and sci-fi … I love thinking about what could be, especially in Star Trek. Who doesn't want a teleportation system?"

The sci-fi fever is clear when looking around Camps' home. 

There's a lightsaber sitting under the TV.

A Darth Vader mask and a TIE fighter replica (a starfighter from Star Wars) are positioned front and centre on the bookshelf.

She has also set up a mannequin, complete with a skull head, to work on her own costume for the parade: Sylvanas Windrunner from World of Warcraft. It's taken months to mould the intricate shoulder-pieces, glue on the Velcro and paint the armour.

For the trio, the event has been a family tradition since 2014. It's a time when they can all express their creativity, be together and escape into interesting stories.

"We have so much fun," she said.

Star Trek chapters

Patrick Nichol's sci-fi fever started when he was just a young boy. 

He's a member of the USS Chinook, a local chapter of an international Star Trek fan club.

Nichol remembers sitting in front of the television, comic books spread out in front of him, picturing himself as a member of Starfleet Command.

"It shows you the realm of possibilities, like what can happen, what may happen," he said.

He and his club have marched in the parade for several years, each wearing a uniform from their favourite variation of the show. He wears the classic red uniform seen in the original series.

"It's possibly one of the most inclusive gatherings you'll ever see in a parade of that type," he said.

"You've got young people, older people. There are people that have some mobility issues and so on. But all of them are together as one community showing off their pride."

The group will also be marching with the newest member of the club, the USS Wildrose. 

Dyre Scheer-Peters co-founded the local chapter in September to provide a dedicated space for fans in the LGBT community and those with disabilities.

Although it's the chapter's first time in the parade, he says he expects the same welcoming atmosphere he's experienced at the expo itself.

"There's a connection that these strangers … we can just go up to and go, 'Hey, I like that' or we just pick up conversations from a year prior," he said. "It just has that thing about it."

Family traditions

Jackie and Natarie Liu walked in their first parade in 2010. They brought their twin, nine-month-old daughters dressed as Ewoks — characters from Star Wars.

"It's really great to have just a wholly positive event," Jackie said. 

"There are no politics to this … it's nice to have an event that's entirely for enjoyment and literally nothing else."

This time of year at the Liu house is known as the "con crunch." Their daughters know it by the smell of spray paint in the air.

Natarie, who's a pediatric neurologist and the family costume designer, even tweaks her work schedule the week ahead of the expo to ensure everything is done in time.

"I think this is the way that I escape the stress of everyday life," she said. "I really enjoy that creativity that I get to have and the bonding, the memories that you make as a family."

Over the years, she has used bed sheets, memory foam mattress pads and exercise mats to achieve their various looks. 

"I asked my little one, 'What do you like about the parade?'" Natarie said. "And she says, 'Seeing people who are dressed up just like me because there's people who like the things that I like.' And that was really, really kind of neat."

The family moved to Edmonton three years ago, but each year, they return to Calgary for the expo.

This year, they'll be wearing costumes based on characters from Star Wars Rebels.

"It's a world to escape in. It's great stories. In some cases, it's good lessons, good morals. But overall, it is very entertaining and it's a way for us to, I think, escape our sort of regular lives," said Jackie.

And as the parade gets closer, the final touches continue.

Amid all her creative chaos, Jay Hunt says she can't wait to see what other participants at the parade have come up with.

"For me, it's all about showing off my creativity."