The festival has been designed by Headspace Port Macquarie and the Hastings Community Drug Action Team (HCDAT) and seeks to connect young people, their friends, family members and cosplay lovers alike.

Wauchope High School Year 11 student Grace Bloomfield said it was a chance for her to display her artwork and become more involved in the cosplay world.

"I started cosplaying a couple of months ago and I thought this would be a good opportunity to get into it a bit more," she said.

"I got into cosplay because it looked fun and I tried it once and really enjoyed it."

Festival organiser and HCDAT member and volunteer Virginia Cox said the team were "blown away" by the number of participants who came along.

"It's overwhelming. It's the first time we've done anything like this in Wauchope and that means it was a bit of a wildcard, we didn't know how it was going to go," she said.

"It's actually emotional for me because it's wonderful to see how excited everyone has been and to see their level of engagement."

Ms Cox hopes that the event will inspire friendships and lasting connections between participants.

"People have spent weeks building up to this and hopefully it will create new friendships. It's not just a one hit wonder, it's something that can maybe inspire and lead into other things," she said.

"That's what makes it really magical for me."

Over 100 people joined in the parade to show off their costumes and hard work.

"People have come as far as Forster, Turners Flat and Kempsey," Ms Cox said.

"I would like to thank everyone for embracing the idea and joining in. It's been a fantastic event with a happy atmosphere."