A Guelph man is part of a mission to bring joy to children at hospitals, or stuck at home during the pandemic, through cosplaying.
Bill Kovacs is a 51-year-old cosplayer who for the past seven years has dressed up in costumes to participate in different events across Guelph, Kitchener, London and more.
Currently, he is a member of a cosplay group called 5th Deep Core, a Kitchener-based gropup that specializes in dressing up as Star Wars villains. The name of the group is a reference to a stormtrooper unit.
Before the pandemic Kovacs and other group members attended charity events and visited children in costumes to provide entertainment. One of their biggest events was attending the KW Run for Cancer.
“We provide additional colour and photos with the kids," said Kovacs. “We’ll go visit kids in the hospital and stuff like that.”
Kovacs adds that everyone in the group has a different role. Since joining the group six years ago, he has been cosplaying as Boba Fett, a bounty hunter in the Star Wars universe.
“We’ve got a guy that plays Darth Vader. I do Boba Fett. We have a couple of guys who play the sand people, a.k.a. the Tusken Raiders, and lots of stormtroopers.” said Kovacs.
With the pandemic putting in-person events on hold, Kovacs said 5th Deep Core has been offering to hold video calls with children in order to lift their spirits.
“Imagine a kid suddenly getting a video call from their favourite Star Wars character or their favourite superhero,” said Kovacs. “That makes their day, especially when they’re trapped in their house with the pandemic going on.”
Kovacs explains kids get excited seeing characters they love on screen in real life, and seeing the kids connect with them makes the group's work more fulfilling.
During his first cosplaying event with 5th Deep Core, he remembers attending a fundraiser for the Kitchener Waterloo Humane Society, where he met a young boy who was able to identify his costume.
“It speaks to the longevity of the movies and the impact it has on our society,” said Kovacs, “The little seven-year-old boy who wasn't even alive for the release of the first movie, he knew who Boba Fett was and he could name off each of the characters."
"And we're going, 'okay, you're going to be dressing up and playing characters with us down the road, kid!' "
Kovacs said they are one of many cosplay groups within Southwestern Ontario, and there are others cosplayers who are offering to do video calls during this time. A group in London has put together a Facebook page people can contact to set up a video chat with a character.
“Have your favourite superhero and favourite supervillain reach out to you, have a video call with them and wish you a happy birthday when you’re stuck at home or in a hospital bed,” explains Kovacs.
He said he looks forward to returning to his role as Boba Fett.
“I’ve had a love for costuming and dressing up as characters for a very long time,” he said, "Once this pandemic is over with, I'm sure things will calm down and give me more time to do things like that."
