From a school project to a passion-led business, Tashawna Welsh of Weeb Out continues to make her own path in the Asian pop culture entertainment space with her uniquely themed events.

Her third, Spirited Away In Your PJs, held recently at Girl Guides Association of Jamaica headquarters, St Andrew, was another success.

“I felt good about the event. I loved the turnout. I loved the fact everything came together after all the work, because it took a lot of effort. I’m very thankful for my team, the sponsors that came on board, and the wonderful vendors. I’m very happy for that,” Welsh told the Jamaica Observer.

Welsh originally began the Weeb Out brand of events as part of a school project for her project management course at the University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech). Taking her faith and love of anime, especially that of famed Japanese animation Studio Ghibli, Weeb Out has done enough to differentiate itself from the competition.

The Studio Ghibli inspiration was clear from entry and the venue drew design themes from the 2001 Spirited Away animated feature films, an idea she said came from feedback from Weeb Out’s Howl Meets Totoro event last year.

Adding her own flavour to the concept, Welsh produced a family-friendly pyjama party vibe to the proceedings that went over well with attendees. This made the cosplay competition rather interesting as participants went for a mix of sleep-themed characters, iconic Ghibli characters or, as Male Best Dressed winner Brandon Franklin did, combining both for his Kurama costume. The Naruto character blended its signature nine-tails with pyjamas, winning over the judges and the fans.

“Honestly, I was surprised to have won, because, believe it or not, this is my second time in a cosplay contest,” he said.

With the cosplay competition over, it was the main event that everyone came for — an anime pyjama watch party. Welsh said, given the effort required for each event, Weeb Out will continue to only hold one event for the year, and concentrate on making it the best possible.