Ashley Playford dressed up as a pirate carrying a mermaid this Halloween. Well, actually, she dressed as the mermaid. And 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!
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 one finalist from each Patch state based on creativity and innovation (we combined North Carolina & South Carolina for this contest, as well as Washington D.C. and Virginia). A Mission Viejo man was California's finalist.
Each state finalist will receive $250. From those finalists, Playford's costume was chosen as the grand prize winner.
Congratulations to Playford and all the statewide winners (check out our gallery above for photos of all the finalists).
