Seventy-three students donned Halloween costumes and walked the stage at the University Programs Council’s inaugural “Hoo-lloween” costume contest Wednesday evening. Hosted at the Amphitheater, the event gave students the chance to channel their Halloween spirit and be reminded of the joy in dressing up for the holiday.
As audience members enjoyed free food, competitors began walking across the stage and introducing themselves before audience members and a panel of judges. The lineup of competitors included anime characters, cowboys and cowgirls who brought a dog dressed up as a sheriff and even a person dressed as the Rotunda.
The panel of judges consisted of Nicole Jenkins, dean of the McIntire School of Commerce, Kenyon Bonner, Vice President and Chief Student Affairs Officer, University employee Kathy McGruder, fondly referred to as “Ms. Kathy,” and Stanley Stepanic, Assistant Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures known for his popular course “Dracula.” Each time a competitor left the stage, the four judges held up scorecards indicating their rating of each costume from 1-10. Ms. Kathy gave every contestant a perfect 10.
By the end of the contest, three contestants — a witch wearing a primarily hand-sewn outfit, Daemon Targaryen from “Game of Thrones” and Emily from Tim Burton’s “Corpse Bride,” complete with blue body makeup — had received perfect scores from all four judges. Their places were subsequently decided by the audience, who rated the three finals by the amount of cheering and clapping.
Third-year College student Alanna Davis, who was dressed as Emily, won first place. The students dressed as Daemon Targaryen and the witch won second and third place, respectively. The first place prize was a $100 gift card, while second place received a $75 gift card and third a $50 one. Honorable mention prizes included a gift basket, a giant gummy bear and a giant gummy worm.
Throughout the contest, many contestants got into characters during their introductions. Some students mimicked their characters’ gestures or voices. One notable introduction was delivered by the student dressed as Daemon Targaryen, who expressed his desire to become king with a booming, passionate speech.
The contestants’ creative outfits and theatrical delivery brought the event organizers’ vision for the contest to life. Max Tavatli, UPC Smiles n Giggles committee director and fourth-year College student, said one of his main goals when organizing the event was to remind students of the excitement of dressing up for Halloween.
“[The contest] is a fun way to display your costumes and get recognition for them because I feel like that doesn't happen anymore,” Tavatli said.
According to Tavatli, the contest was the result of an idea he had come up with two years ago when he was applying to be part of UPC. His initial plan was to organize a “Jim Ryan costume contest,” where whoever dressed most accurately as University President Jim Ryan would be chosen as the winner. Realizing that this idea might place too much pressure on Ryan to participate as a judge, Tavatli said he decided to pivot to a general costume contest.
Forrest Sun, SnG committee member and second-year College student, said he and Tavatli planned to engage the Charlottesville community by hosting the contest during Trick-or-treating-on-the-Lawn. They ultimately ended up hosting the contest the day before Halloween, but Sun said they still wanted to make the event as inclusive as possible by inviting anyone with a costume to participate and welcoming University faculty and staff to judge.
“The idea was to make it a generalized community event that was open to everybody and to get the judges who best embody U.Va.” Sun said.
For many contestants, the event doubled as a display of Halloween spirit and creative expression. As she expressed her excitement for the holiday, Davis said she got the chance to admire other competitors’ costumes.
“Halloween is honestly one of my favorite holidays … and I love showing Halloween spirit,” Davis said. "I was very impressed by the level of creativity that other participants had as well."
One participant, fourth-year College student Holly Doustout, who won first honorable mention, brought a particularly creative and Hoo-themed costume. She wore a cardboard box decorated with string lights, stamp-painted bricks and printed windows to resemble the Rotunda.
Doustout said when she was younger, she and her grandfather would make Halloween costumes out of boxes, such as a vending machine or a Barbie doll in a box. When she was planning her costume for the contest, she wanted to continue this tradition.
“I was like, 'Oh, I kind of miss making my costumes … What can I do that's U.Va.-themed?'” Doustout said. “So I picked the Rotunda."
First-year College student Gracie Tennant said she enjoyed looking at various costumes, and she expressed an interest in seeing the contest happen again next year, especially if it includes different categories, such as an impersonation or character embodiment category.
“I liked rooting for all the different costumes … I think it was fun that people were willing to participate,” Tennant said.
Tavalti said the turnout Wednesday could have been bigger, but he was excited to see members of the University community come together for the contest. As he is set to graduate this academic year, Tavalti said he hopes younger students will help the contest expand in the future.
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