From left, Cre8tive Cosplay of the Mid-Ohio Valley co-founders Alecia Gulley of Portsmouth, Ohio, and Joshua E.B. Smith of Vienna and member Tony Workman of Parkersburg pose with food donations the group collected for the Parkersburg Homecoming parade this year. (Photo provided by Joshua E.B. Smith)

PARKERSBURG — If local pantries need food to provide to people in need, who they gonna call?

Members of Cre8tive Cosplay of the Mid-Ohio Valley, founded by Vienna resident Joshua E.B. Smith, have won the title for the most donations at the Parkersburg Christmas parade for six years in a row, said group co-founder Joshua E.B. Smith of Vienna.

Smith and his fellow volunteers dress as a variety of pop culture figures, from Ghostbusters to princesses to video game and anime characters.

“We do cosplay for fun because we enjoy going to conventions,” he said. “At the same time, we understand how serious it is when somebody’s hungry.

“I can’t solve hunger in town, but at least I can help somebody go to bed with a full stomach for one or two nights,” Smith said.

From left, Cre8tive Cosplay of the Mid-Ohio Valley members Robert Farley of Charleston, Garret and Amber Powell of Athens, Alecia Gulley of Portsmouth, Victory Jones of Charleston, Kiera Mortensen of Vienna and Carrie Alexander of Huntington pose for a photo during the 2024 Parkersburg Homecoming Festival. (Photo provided by Joshua E.B. Smith)

The original goal was just to share their love of cosplaying – designing and making costumes in homage to their favorite characters and properties – in a local event.

“We just wanted to walk in a parade, and the local parades were requiring a food donation,” Smith said.

They ended up missing the first event, but turned in the food they’d collected – and wound up being one of the top donors, he said.

“We decided to do better,” Smith said. “We’ve just been trying to do our best to improve upon that every year.”

Last year, through cash and food collections, they contributed $3,264 worth and are shooting for $3,500 this year.

Food collected by members of Cre8tive Cosplay of the Mid-Ohio Valley is shown loaded into a vehicle. (Photo provided by Joshua E.B. Smith)

There’s a limited window to still contribute. Smith, an author, will be set up at the craft show at the Grand Central Mall this weekend and accepting donations of food and cash for the cause. Cash donations can also be made at Classic Plastics at Rink’s in Marietta through Sunday or Jimmy Avocado’s in Parkersburg until about noon on Tuesday. A food collection box is at the WesBanco branch in Vienna, and donations will also be accepted until noon Tuesday. Donations can also be made via PayPal at http://donate.C8cosplay.org.

Smith said the group’s tagline is “We’re fighting hunger like a bunch of nerds.”

There are between 20 and 30 dedicated members, with the number participating dependent on the time and location of a particular event. They usually have 10 to 12 in attendance.

The main events they focus on are the Parkersburg Christmas parade and Winterfest and the Easter and Homecoming parades. But “we also work festivals, events, birthday parties … pretty much everything from Homecoming to the local cons,” Smith said.

They work to keep their events kid-friendly, he said. One of Smith’s favorite parts is the reaction of children when “suddenly they see a character that they recognize, that they love.” He’s even gotten the occasional spontaneous hug.

Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com