To celebrate the spookiest time of the year, Algonquin College students, staff and alumni gathered at the Student Commons on Oct. 31 for The Great Pumpkin Party and Costume Contest organized by the AC Hub and the Students’ Association.
A Halloween celebration complete with face painting, jack-o’-lanterns, trick-or-treating, a photo booth and other activities were part of the event.
The Halloween celebration drew enthusiastic responses from crowd members, such as Andrew Eijike, a Carleton University student who came to support his friend.
Eijike shared his thoughts on The Great Pumpkin Party and Costume Contest.
“They really brought their best, and honestly, I enjoyed it,” Eijike said.
The highlight of the day was the costume contest where students gathered to show their creativity and talents for disguises. With diverse costumes and designs, the participants showcased a wide range of outfits.
Among the standout costumes were many inspired by anime figures such as Chainsaw Man and characters from the popular anime TV show Naruto, including Obito and Minato. Inspired by other universes, the contest featured the DC Hero, Batman and his arch-nemesis, The Joker.
With many outstanding costumes on display, the competition was fierce. After careful deliberation over a 30-minute break, the judges announced the winners of the contest.
Noland White, a first-year illustration and concept art student, secured the second-place prize for his creative costume of Freddy Fazbear from Five Nights at Freddy’s.
White expressed his unexpected joy about taking second place.
“I feel pretty good about winning, and honestly, I wasn’t expecting it. There were a lot of good costumes, and there was a lot of good effort,” said White.
Grace Thompson, also a first-year student from the illustration concept art program, took home the first-place prize. Thompson’s victory earned her a $100 gift card, a well-deserved reward for her outstanding costume.
Her costume, an infected inspired by the video game The Last of Us, impressed the judges with its detailed and eye-catching design.
After collecting her prize, Thompson expressed her joy and passion for the video game.
“I’m happy about winning the contest. I didn’t know there was a prize. I just wanted to do the catwalk,” said Thompson.