Vancouver Style: Kumoricon

This posting is dedicated to my friend, Tom, who has a blog called Boise Style; he goes around the “city of trees” and captures the latest in style. Well, do I have some style for you!

Carla and I wanted to stretch our legs somewhere other than the neighborhood today so we went up to Vancouver, Washington for one of our favorite walks: Fort Vancouver west to downtown then under the Interstate Bridge and back east along the Columbia River. I decided to tote my camera since we were going to be paralleling the BSNF railroad for part of our walk.

As we headed out a fire truck was headed the other direction; I had to be quick on the draw to get it. Let’s be honest here; if I take a picture of a fire truck or a train it will get posted regardless of the topic of the post.

Firetruck at Fort Vancouver, Washington
Firetruck at Fort Vancouver, Washington

We didn’t make the entire loop today because we got caught up in the middle of a Kumoricon convention in Esther Short park. Kumoricon is a celebration of anime and Japanese culture; you can read more about it here. I think it is a variant of Cosplay (or Costume play) where participants dress up in the costume of their favorite character and act out parts. We didn’t see much acting but we saw plenty of costumes. 

I’m out of the mainstream, obviously, since I didn’t know who one character was. If you know, or if you know more about Kumoricon, please post a comment. My only guess is that the woman with the crazy hair is a troll doll?

Kumoricon characters at Esther Park, Vancouver, Washington
Kumoricon characters at Esther Park, Vancouver, Washington

This is tough looking dude (dudette?)

Kumoricon character at Esther Park, Vancouver, Washington
Kumoricon character at Esther Park, Vancouver, Washington

Along the way we asked if this was for anime like Howl’s Moving Castle. One member said “well, kind of” meaning, of course, we were off the mark. We stopped overthinking it and just enjoyed the event.

Kumoricon character at Esther Park, Vancouver, Washington
Kumoricon character at Esther Park, Vancouver, Washington

There was one area where groups would get together and do some poses for the crowd. I don’t know if these characters go together in an anime or not.

Kumoricon characters at Esther Park, Vancouver, Washington
Kumoricon characters at Esther Park, Vancouver, Washington

When I saw this couple from across the park I thought to myself that that was a very risqué costume on the right; not quite as racy as I thought. But very wild. Again, I’m not sure if these two characters team up in the comics or not.

Kumoricon characters at Esther Park, Vancouver, Washington
Kumoricon characters at Esther Park, Vancouver, Washington

Love, LOVE, LOVE the hair. 

Kumoricon characters at Esther Park, Vancouver, Washington
Kumoricon characters at Esther Park, Vancouver, Washington

We asked and these two do go together. I like the color outfit contrasted with the monochrome.

Kumoricon characters at Esther Park, Vancouver, Washington
Kumoricon characters at Esther Park, Vancouver, Washington

Lots of folks were taking pictures of the groups and these kids were enjoying posing!

Kumoricon characters at Esther Park, Vancouver, Washington
Kumoricon characters at Esther Park, Vancouver, Washington

It started pouring rain for about 10 minutes. We grabbed shelter and I got a view shots of people headed for cover. The characters are great here, but I really like the expression of the woman with the flower in her hair.

Kumoricon characters at Esther Park, Vancouver, Washington
Kumoricon characters at Esther Park, Vancouver, Washington

I wish this would have come out sharper; I was in a hurry to catch her. It’s my favorite of the set. I don’t know if that eye patch is real or part of the costume. Again, if you know, please post a comment.

Kumoricon character at Esther Park, Vancouver, Washington
Kumoricon character at Esther Park, Vancouver, Washington

I was struck by just how much fun these people were having. There were shouts of joy and plenty of smiles and laughter. The conference goes on the whole long Labor Day weekend; so if you live around town, there is time to head up on Sunday and check it out for yourself.

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