There were cats, witches and characters at Frederick Community College’s most recent Halloween costume contest, but there was one group in particular that prepared months in advance for the event. They called themselves “The Romper Gang” and all four FCC students poured dedication into making sure their costumes were remembered.
When asked about the inspiration for their costumes, they all agreed it came about accidentally.
“It started with just wanting to buy rompers,” Jo Grackin said. “But then it evolved into The Romper Gang.”
They shared comments about the ups-and-downs along the costume preparation journey that brought them to FCC’s Halloween Costume Contest.
“We tried to be Power Rangers,” said Elijah Butler. “But the team didn’t order their masks on time.”
Regardless of the miscommunications, they knew they wanted to do a group costume, so they started to compromise with what they had. Months ahead of time, the students were determined to be victorious.
As the start time came closer, the team decided to start heading up to the judging area with the other contestants.
“I’ve been looking forward to this day for so long,” said Grackin, his lasts words before leaving the table.
The contest started with a parade around the Cougar Grille so that the judges could get a good look at all of the costumes. As “The Romper Gang” came up to the microphone, they wanted everybody to know about the Snapchat filter they designed specifically for the day.
“It was a good idea, but that Snapchat filter was $30,” Caleb Daniel said jokingly.
The filter consisted of a cartoon of the costume as well as a border and the word “Romper gang” in the bottom corner.
As the winners were announced, “The Romper Gang” congratulated them and continued to have fun with the other contestants.
“It was a tough loss,” said Joseph Joannides.
The group said that they had fun preparing for the contest and that they would not change a thing.
“We didn’t win, but we won so much more than that. We won fame and that makes it totally worth it,” Grackin said.
The students then sat down and watched as FCC employees showed their costumes off as well. After the employee winner was announced, the contest came to a conclusion.
“I think I am the only one who looked good in this costume anyway,” said Butler with a smile.
