Library Unmasked-The Steampunk edition

Library Unmasked went Steampunk for it's third edition at the Southeast Steuben County Library.  The #libraryafterhours party was yet another smashing success!

Geared Up for Unmasked

Doors opened at 6:30 for this event.  Those who came to cosplay headed to the registration table to enter the contest.  Some parents even attended in full garb ready for fun.

These Parents Rock!

If you look close at that mom's hand, you might recognize a geared up cuff/ glove from our First Friday Art Club Steampunked Costumes earlier in July.  Our talented Hannah created those huge gears out of myriad cardboard boxes.  Aside from geeked out parents, our teens and kids had fun cosplaying, too. 

Willow the Watch Maker

"Willow the Watch Maker" created most of her costume in our Steampunked Costumes art class.  That hat was white and hiding in the Creation Station, the library maker space, for over a year.  Now it has new life and new places to roam.

The Reporter

Although parents discussed the meaning of Steampunk with their kiddos, some strong willed ladies chose their own path for cosplay.  Here you see Rosie the Reporter.  Too Cute!

To include some technology, Hannah set set up the green screen with cool steampunk backgrounds to share on social media.  Search #LibraryUnmasked to follow the scene.

You can try this in the Creation Station!

While families got caught in Steampunk land, groups also tested out Breakout EDU with Kayla.  This puzzle was like an escape room in a box.  Stop over before summer is gone to test your escape skills.

Rainbow Pallette

Painted Love by Jennifer Sekella was on hand during the night to paint faces and make everyone look fabu for a few hours. I got a gear that kept me going well past midnight.  The kids were excited to have some feisty color to complete their Friday festivities.

Butterfly and Tiger

Let the crafts begin!

Power Potion

Crafts included Potion Jar and Skeleton Key necklaces hosted by my trusty teen volunteers, Jenni and Sarah.

Premium Help in every Corner

Leather bracelets were made with Ann Recotta of Soulshine Studio.  The leather strips were donated by Aurora Shoe Company.  Many thanks to all those helping hands making a crafty and memorable occasion.

Kathryn W. stepped in to help, too!

There were several artists on hand selling their work and offering drawings to guests.

PolarNasu 

PolarNasu (Derek Morrow) took the digital drawing approach.

Filomena Jack

Filomena Jack took the funky and fabulous path, per usual.  She had paintings, drawings, jewelry and pizzazz to keep everyone engaged.

Joe Schichtel

Joey Schichtel kept the crowd entertained with his impressive illustrations and dark humor.

Emily Swan

Emily Swan graced the group with her prepared illustrations.  Color, cut and stand the characters up for an action packed experience.

Patrick Thomas

Local author, Patrick Thomas was in the house promoting books he wrote.  We got his steampunk book, As the Gears Turn, to add to the collection.  Be sure to check it out.

Has anybody SEEN Troy?

Troy from the Corning Museum of Glass brought elements from their Curious and Curiouser exhibit on display at the Rakow Research Library until February 17, 2019.  Glass eyeballs and locomotion video are all very Steampunk essential.

Dancers ready to Bust a Move

The roof was raised with performances from YunG-K, J-Cuzzo and Lukey Bear.  These young men are high school students with too much talent to keep packed in Corning.  Their performances were part of their "School's Out" summer tour and they made some new fans in the process.

Yung-K and J-Cuzzo

The finale to the festivities was the cosplay contest, judged by members of the 11th Hour Cosplay group.  They are such a fun group, they event dressed to the Nines.

Steampunks Away!

The winners of the Steampunk Cosplay contest won weekend passes to Twin Tiers Comic Con in September.  Page One Entertainment donated some of the passes for the winners.  

Steampunk Crew

The winners from left to right are Frankie with Goth Before Goth was Real, Christina as Early Inventer (Glider), Remy and Ryker as The Gear Brothers, Robin as Formal Engineer, and Hannah as Willow the Watch Maker.  Kudos for all the effort put in these designs!

Goodies Galore!

We were graced with several donations from area businesses, like ice cream from Dippity Do Dahs, certificates to CD Cafe on Market Steet, Table-Top games from Michael Steffins, Metacheckers from Ed Bond, a dinner certificate from Denny's Sub Shop in Big Flats, ice cream from the Sweet Spot, pizza from B's Pizza, ice cream from McDonald's in Corning/ Painted Post, comic con passes from Page One Entertainment, plus many artsy goods from the presenting artists. Penguin Random House also sent us a BIG BOX O' SWAG to raffle off for the evening.  With over 45 prizes to raffle, lots of people went home with a treat.

That wraps up the biggest summer program I create.  I hope you've been inspired to get in the cosplay game, work your art, create your craft, sing your song and rock out in the skin you're in.  We look forward to another Library Unmasked in 2018.  Thanks for visiting!

Get Unmasked again in 2018

SSC Library UnMasked 2016

We stayed open after hours for another fabulous SSC Library UnMasked event on July 15, 2016.  Entertaining an all-ages cosplay crowd is a big undertaking during busy summer scheduling, but it is 

TOTALLY WORTH IT!

The event began just after 6 p.m. with a line of cosplayers rolling onto the sidewalk! It's a joy to see the fruits of your labor pay off with an excited crew ready to UnMask the Library.

First 50 in the Door

Our registration table had free raffle tickets for all attendees to enter for prizes.  Comic magnets and special raffle tickets were offered to the First 50 in the Door.

Welcome to SSC Library UnMasked 2016

Rounding the library, attendees found FREE COMIC BOOKS

 leftover from Free Comic Book Day.

Free Comic Books for All

We had a button making station with lots of glossy images to make permanent mementos.

Make a Button with Danielle and Bethany

If you brought your appetite, Super Hero Stew would fill your hungry tummy.

Kacey serving the Super Hero Stew

There was a Super Smash Bros. video game tournament.  The competition for a $20 Game Stop gift card was tough.  Luckily we had a runner-up prize of $10 to Dippity Do Dahs Homemade Ice Cream Shop.

Super Smash Bros.

Many businesses and local artists donated their goods and services to this event and we are indebted to their generosity.  Great Escapes Adventures was on hand to play board games available in their shop in the Arnot Mall.  One lucky raffle winner will get to experience an Escape Room game in the near future.

Can you find the key to leave an Escape Room?

Joey Schichtel returned with his talent and photo booth for all to enjoy.  He donated 2 framed prints and an exclusive Harley Quinn comic book cover to our raffle prizes--

wish I could have won!

Joey Schichtel

Maegan McKenzie designed coloring sheets with background settings.  Everyone was welcome to draw their own super hero character to be added into a coloring book.

Maegan McKenzie

Emily Swan brought her talent with Paper Bag Super Hero Puppets.

Emily Swan and Co.

Ed Bond showed off his Metacheckers game.  He raffled one game as a prize, but also donated one game to the library in-house board game collection.  I challenge you to a duel!

Ed Bond with Metacheckers

We had an outta-control obstacle course.  

You had to capture our villain robot named Ramsey.

Obstacle Course

Hungry (human) Hippos gave way to more excitement.

Human Hippos

The evening rounded out with the highly anticipated Cosplay contest. For clarification of the word cosplay, it is costume play.  A fun activity for kids of all ages.  11th Hour Cosplay brought their knowledge and experience with cosplay costumes to the competition.

They had the honor of considering winners for four categories:  Novice, Journeyman, Master, and Group.  Each winner scored a weekend pass to Twin Tiers Comic Con in Elmira, New York on August 13 & 14, 2016!

Cosplay Contest

With stories and anecdotes behind each costume, 11th Hour Cosplay narrowed their decisions to these final winners:

Cowboy as Novice

Soul Eater Evans as Journeyman

Glados from Portal as Master

Robin and Batman (or is that The Joker?) as Group

We even had a surprise category of O.C., original character.  One of my First Friday Art Club students won this award for her creation made in our Cosplay Costumes event.

Best Original Character

There were so many wonderful efforts in competition.  The decisions were tough!  Congratulations to our winners, but extra special thanks to all who participated.  I feel events like this are more fun to meet new friends with similar interests than winning prizes.

It's difficult to list all costumes in entirety.  So much variety to enjoy all evening.

SSC Library UnMasked ended with over $600 in prizes offered to lucky winners whose names were drawn from our registration collection.

P R I Z E S ! ! !

We are grateful to our program sponsors who provided 

free or discounted opportunities and art work.  

• Heroes Comic Shop hooked us up with 2- $25 gift certificates, plus magnet door prizes
• Denny's Submarine Shop provided a certifiicate for 2 subs and 2 shakes 
• Park Avenue Sports Center gave 5 free passes for mini-golf
• Dippity Do Dahs Homemade Ice Cream Shop sent a $10 gift card + 6 scoop credits
• Filomena Jack sold us a Dr. Zoidberg original painting
• Joey Schichtel gave us 2 framed prints and an original comic book 
• Laura Charles provided 2 original prints
• Twin Tiers Comic Con gifted 4 passes for the 4 we bought for the Cosplay Contest.
• McDonald's Restaurant provided free small ice cream cards
• The grand prize was a Kindle Fire with $10 gift card, power cord, and screen protector

Prize Giveaway

The event finished at 8 p.m. once all prizes were collected and many families had their fill of thrills.  With 16 volunteers and library workers on hand, the building was back to business as usual within an hour.  As I locked the doors for the night, I felt relief that it all went off without a hitch.  I extend my gratitude to everyone who supported the Library UnMasked efforts.  Our community is rich with generosity!

Join Us Next Time

If you missed it this year, be sure to join us next time.  It just keeps getting better!

Thanks for visiting :)

~erica