Alaska (KTUU) – They came from galaxies, kingdoms and comic book pages — all converging on one place Thursday: the Alaska State Fair
More than 50 cosplayers packed the fairgrounds for the 907 Star Wars Cosplay Contest, dressing up as everything from Stormtroopers to Disney princesses.
Fair organizers encouraged visitors to dress up as their favorite fictional characters, and for many competitors, the contest is no laughing matter.
Robert Veal Velk competed as an Enforcer from the Piltover police department, from the show “Arcane.” It was his first time cosplaying, and he and a friend spent about three weeks building the costume, which was entirely 3D printed and hand-painted.
“I think I’m gonna place. I have a feeling I might place, but there are some good cosplays out there,” Veal Velk said.
Other competitors put months of work into their costumes. Caleb Shamp competed as Levi Ackerman from “Attack on Titan,” a costume he and his friend spent close to nine months building. Shamp’s costume included working props.
“The swords here, there’s six that can be stored in the sheath boxes and they’re fully disconnectable from the top and they break, and there’s built-in CO2 effects on the back, controlled completely by this control button in the center of my hit here,” Shamp said.
Shamp ultimately won the contest.
Beyond the costumes, the contest served a bigger purpose. Organizers also collected donations for the Make-A-Wish Foundation during the event.
Contest winners have not yet been announced. See a spelling or grammar error? Report it toweb@ktuu.com
Copyright 2026 KTUU. All rights reserved.
