Shepparton youth reach for the stars

Young people in Shepparton were encouraged to dress up and let loose for a night to remember as part of Cinema Cosplay at the local Village Cinema.

BY LERISSE SMITH

Lights, camera ... action! 

These three iconic words proved the winning formula for a night packed with fun and fanfare, as superheroes, villains and everything in between burst onto the scene at Village Cinemas Shepparton for the recent Salvos North East Youth Services Cinema Cosplay event.

The high-energy night officially kicked off ‘Youth Fest’ for Greater Shepparton, a month-long celebration in September championing youth creativity, achievement, and community connection through promoting interactive activities.

Cinema Cosplay was the brainchild of young people connected with The Salvation Army North East Youth Services (NEYS), based in Shepparton, with the cinema coming on board as both the venue and event partner. Young people were encouraged to dress up and let loose for a night to remember.

“We had a great turnout for a really niche subject matter like Cosplay,” said Jim Gow, Youth Participation Worker at NEYS.

“This event was the idea of young people for other young people. The Village Cinema Shepparton provided a couple of prizes for the winner of the best dressed and encouragement award – so it was great to have that sort of support locally.”

Since 2008, NEYS has been supporting young people aged 16 to 25 with housing needs, helping thousands locally across the region secure long-term accommodation, including access to crisis housing owned and operated locally.

But its support goes beyond bricks and mortar.

Jim said the services team continued to look at fresh ways to engage young people 12-25 years old through events such as Cosplay that tapped into youth interests – especially in pop culture and creative spaces.

“We too often hear that there is nothing to do in the area for young people, so we are constantly looking to change that, especially when it comes to putting on new and dynamic events that we haven’t tried before,” he said.

“This is very much a space that the youth services are looking to move into. Cosplay was about combining cosplay, or costume play, in this case a ‘Marvel’ theme, combined with a Marvel movie, The Fantastic Four: First Step. Overall, I think it was a good event and look to possibly change a few things for next time to make it even bigger and better.”