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

The Pirate Carrying a Mermaid Optical Illusion has been named Patch's Halloween Costume in America. Its creator -- and wearer -- will receive a $5,000 prize for having 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!

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
John Smith May 17, 2013 at 11:12 pm
Yeah, I don't think that's what he said. I'm pretty sure he acknowledged that the law requires theRead More vote to be in summer. But you know, I was actually listening instead of making things up to fit my agenda...
Retired May 17, 2013 at 10:52 pm
These PTA people are not too smart. What's really sad is that this guy Jarret Behar said the sameRead More thing at meet the candidates night..but he is an attorney and should know the law or at least have looked it up before he opened his mouth..so how come he didn't realize b/c a prop like this can only be voted on in May that there could never not be a special election to add trustees in the summer? So this shows that he is either a puppet of the PTA/board or just stupid. Either way, is bad..and shows why he should not be elected as a school board trustee.
GM May 17, 2013 at 04:14 pm
Donna- Great post! Prop 2 will pass if all the folks on Patch get busy this weekend and get theRead More word out. On election day there must be a few folks at each polling site handing out palm cards to "Vote YES on Prop 2". All readers need to Just do something. It's a grass roots effort. 7 is a lucky number!
RL May 17, 2013 at 08:08 am
I agree new blood can be used and some new thinking and the way to accomplish that is to vote newRead More faces in. Does having more people create a larger bureaucracy thought. Having served on a number of private, charity and corporate boards I can tell you more is not always the answer. I think term limits would be a better approach. This way you don't have the same though process year after year. Two terms six years seems reasonably to me.
Dawn-Marie Bailey May 15, 2013 at 09:01 pm
I've started a Facebook page for this: https://www.facebook.com/VoteYesForProposition2?ref=stream#
LINANA May 17, 2013 at 12:28 am
Since past precedence for a number of years has been to send out literature informing ALL residentsRead More (including those with no children in the schools) of candidates bios, does the omission of the bios raise a legal issue? ??? We all pay school taxes and district has the obligation to provide us with this info. Shame on them!!!! Teacher's union is also "encouraging" votes for Egan & Behar and against adding two additional seats to the board. People with a vested interest "encouraging" you to vote a particular way should raise flags!!! Hopefully people will think for themselves and make an informed vote for the candidate they feel will best represent the students & residents of Commack.
Janice May 16, 2013 at 12:08 pm
IT does raise a red flag! I think it IS definitely time to vote for some new folks. I am going toRead More check out Hartman and Tampellini's bios. If I like what I see, I am voting for change
concerned citizen May 16, 2013 at 09:32 am
there seems to be a strang pattern of coincidences. The minutes from the board meeting thatRead More approved his secretary dissappear, Bios left out when they used to always be sent, misleading announcements about the nursing cuts when addtional money was recieved by the state implying that they retained nurses when infact the cuts remained in the budget. I think that the people running the school district are being abusive of thier power in pushing this budget and ensuring that the administrators work with a board that they are comfortable with. Just look at the lengths that they went to ensure that the supreintendent had a secretary that he was "comfortable working with". Its a good thing that he's not comfortable working from a mansion because the school board would probably give that to him as well!!
Dawn-Marie Bailey May 15, 2013 at 09:02 pm
Doing my best. Please spread the word. Thanks!
GM May 15, 2013 at 08:30 pm
You go Girl! Spread the word. It's less than a week until we vote and you can quickly educate usingRead More social media.
Dawn-Marie Bailey May 15, 2013 at 08:28 pm
Hey everyone. I've also started a Facebook page:Read More https://www.facebook.com/VoteYesForProposition2?skip_nax_wizard=true#
ergodic May 16, 2013 at 11:09 am
Hey, PTA, BOE/// try lending a hand///don't criticize things you don't understand///the community isRead More clearly beyond your command///your 100 year road is rapidly aging///and, the times, they are changing. CUFSD has experienced a decline in total enrollment from a peak of 7830 in 2008-09 to 6934 (projected) in 2013-14, a decrease of 11.4%. During that period, spending per pupil increased from $19,759 to $25,871 - an increase of 30.9%. This performance does not reflect well on the financial management capabilities of the BOE. And, is it a surprise that NYSUT is an advocate for the status quo? A more democratic approach to decision-making via a vote for Prop 2 should be helpful.
re May 16, 2013 at 12:01 am
Vote yes for the additional members of the board. Save our schools. Save our schools with fairRead More representation. Join a new taxpayers representation committee at the Commack community assoc effective September 2013. Our next meeting is May 30 at 7pm at the Bristol assisted living community room( next to sears) Do not let this civic group wither away as it would be a victory for the school board that monitors any opposition to the way the district operates.
Dawn-Marie Bailey May 15, 2013 at 08:27 pm
I started a Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/VoteYesForProposition2?skip_nax_wizard=true