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The Winner of Patch's Best Halloween Costume in America Contest is...

The Pirate Carrying a Mermaid Optical Illusion is Patch's Best Halloween Costume in America. Its creator—and wearer—will receive a $5,000 prize for the most creative and innovative costume.

Ashley Playford dressed up as a pirate carrying a mermaid this Halloween. Well, actually, she dressed up as the mermaid. Well...her creativity has earned her the title of Patch's Best Halloween Costume in America and a $5,000 grand prize.  

It was Playford's use of an optical illusion that won us over. Take a look at the photo she entered on Peekskill-Cortlandt Patch! Last year, the , won.

Almost 4,000 Patch users entered the contest from Oct. 15 to Nov. 5, with costumes ranging from the Eiffel Tower and Honey Boo Boo to a flower pot and a clever interpretation of "binders full of women." .

National judges chose 1 finalist from each Patch state based on who had the most creative and innovative costume (we combined North Carolina & South Carolina for this contest, as well as Washington D.C. and Virginia). Each state finalist will receive $250. From those finalists, Playford's costume was chosen as the grand prize winner.

Congratulations to Playford and to all the other statewide winners (check out our gallery above for photos of all the finalists).

Can't wait to see what everyone comes up with next Halloween!

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Just a short thought to get the word out quickly about anything in your neighborhood.
Share something with your neighbors. Write a new post... What's up? Make an announcement, speak your mind, or sell something
A Chinese-American couple will dress just like their mainstream American counterparts at the wedding.
Crystal Tai May 1, 2011 at 06:28 pm
Thank you very much for you kind words, Priyanka! The answer to your question is in another articleRead More I wrote for Cupertino Patch, "Five Wedding Reception Venues in Cupertino." Thanks again!
Priyanka Sharma-Sindhar April 27, 2011 at 08:21 pm
This is definitely very useful for the those of us who aren't Chinese, but do have Chinese friends..Read More Thank you, Crystal. What are the popular spots in Cupertino for Chinese weddings?
Anne Ernst (Editor) April 3, 2013 at 12:59 pm
It's difficult to know what's going on in a kid's mind unless they feel confident enough to open upRead More and talk. And this program helps us adults to learn to listen differently.
Debbie Reiley April 3, 2013 at 03:50 am
I too was at this Challenge Day. It was my 6th. I first volunteered because I watched the programRead More on MTV "If You Really Knew Me" when my son was being severely bullied in middle school and saw the program was offered when he was a freshman in high school. My company strongly supports me volunteering for this and allows me to take the day off work to attend. I am continually humbled by what these teens share and saddened at what some of them have experienced in their short lives. This program is so valuable. I think every school should offer it and every parent should attend. It helps us to realize that we need to think twice before we judge or assume things about others when we know nothing about them. It is the volunteering opportunity that I look forward to participating in every year.
Anne Ernst (Editor) March 30, 2013 at 06:30 am
Carrie, Thanks for allowing me to be a part of it again.
Janice Chua March 28, 2013 at 06:45 pm
It was fun hosting you all at Bitter+Sweet, Anne!
Loy Oppus-Moe March 28, 2013 at 02:40 pm
A big "Thank You" to Anne, Pete, and 53 other professionals who opened up their companiesRead More and organizations to give our students hands-on experience of what life might look like for them post-high school. Job Shadowing brings relevance to education!