Ottawa Ontario — Local cosplay artist Annie DeRochie won in the category of costuming as Twinrova at the Ottawa Geek Market Arts Scholarship program.

Who is Twinrova? Twinrova is the evil sorceress in the Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time video game. By now, you are saying this is a geek thing and yes, you are right.

The Ottawa Geek Market Arts Scholarship program was initiated in 2015 which seeks to recognize geeky artists who show great promise in the field and who share our passion for comic books, science-fiction, fantasy, gaming, anime, or horror. The Ottawa Geek Market awarded one $1,000 scholarship in each of the following categories: Costuming (costume-making, cosplaying, design, sewing, etc.) , traditional/2-dimensional art (painting, drawing, charcoal, etc.) and sculpture (wood, clay, polymer, etc.)

Annie, a resident of Summerstown, Ontario (near Cornwall) is presently attending her first year in fashion design at Fanshawe College. Miss DeRochie is a graduate of Char-Lan. Annie is the founder of CoTiCon, Cornwall’s Tiny Convention for geek, anime and pop culture enthusiasts. It will take place for it’s third year on August 20th, 2016 and Annie is organizing a Super Smash Bros. Tournament on Sunday, December 27th – check out www.coticon.com for details.

“I really enjoy costuming and have been participating in various conventions since I’m 12. I am very grateful for the scholarship which will enable me to complete my formal education.” says Annie. “The two other finalists in my category are highly respected in the cosplay world and I was so honoured to be a finalist with them.”

Niq van der Aaa, Jessica Rousseau & Richard Wong who are highly respected and knowledgeable in the cosplay scene were the judges for this division.

“All entries were wonderful and finalists are truly creative and excellent costumers which made our job difficult.” said Jessica Rousseau. “We are pleased to announce Twinrova as our first scholarship recipient.”

The Ottawa Geek Market is Ottawa’s premiere festival of all things geeky. Since its inception in 2012, the event has proudly raised more than $26,000 for local charities, donated more than $14,000 in admission, and welcomed 15,800 patrons. The Geek Market is a proud member of Ottawa Festivals and operates as a non-profit organization.