Completing the costume, I added a fabric backdrop and three hats.

Friday Night: Deon Taylor's One Scary Nite.

Exactly what was at stake in the costume contest was not clear. The previous year had advertised a $1,000 contest ($500/$300/$200), but this year the flyers simply said "Cash Prizes". I assumed this meant "less money than last year".

I was wrong.

When we arrived, fliers let us know the prizes: 1st place was a $1,000 gift certificate to Aquamarine Jewelers, 2nd was $500 cash and third was $250!

The line to park the car was long, and the line into the door was longer.

After we had been outside in line for about 10 minutes, they made an announcement, the event was sold out. No more tickets were available.

I was surprised. I thought $50 was out of scope for a Halloween party, but apparently I was wrong.

This gave me a good feeling. My doubts about the value of the party were erased. Not only was this event worth the $20 I had paid, at least a few people had paid $50 for the privilege.

When Scott and I finally got in the doors, we were greeted with enthusiasm and a cheer. Pretty awesome, and when we signed up for the costume contest, they let me know that we had just made it... they were just about to hand in the costume registration forms to the stage manager. I asked how many people had signed up for the contest and she counted the pages.

"Six pages worth". It looked like about 140 names, at $5 each.

The party was sold out, and the auto museum looked full and fun. Wading into the crowd, I hit as many people as possible with a flood of flashes. The VIP section got an eyeful. Some people posed for their moment in the spotlight.

Right away I found Greg in his Whiplash costume. It isn't apparent in the photograph, but his whips and chest light were dazzlingly bright. It was awesome.

With the paparazzi costume, I had pretty good vision because my head wasn't buried in a cardboard box. That was nice, but every place to buy a drink was swamped with people. A thick, jostling line was no place for a big costume, so I steered clear.

As if on cue, they announced that the costume contest would begin in about 15 minutes.

The stage area was very crowded, costumes had to carve out a spot to assemble for the staging. I guess that's why they call it a staging area?

Some VIP judges took their place onto stage and the costume contest began. It was chaotic.

Two groups went up, and four finalists were selected, including myself. But then MC had a change of heart and postponed the contest until later, after Bil Biv Devoe and another group had performed.

When it was time to restart the costume contest, everyone who hadn't had a chance to cross the stage lined up, next to the stage, as well as those of us who had been cheered into the final round. There was some line jostling as people who had not yet been judged asked for a better place in line.

With the music perfomance over, and at least one look at the costumes on stage, some of the crowd was ready to leave. A snake of people began to make its way out of the building.

The music faded and a single costumed predator took his place on stage, accompanied by Mark S. Allen, the MC.

Mark introduced Predator, explaining that he had inadvertently missed the first rounds of the costume contest. The crowd cheered meekly.

Then, in a twist, predator was announced as the third place winner in the contest! $250 cash!

I was surprised, and prepared for the worst. What happened to the final round? Were the rest of the costumes going to be let onto stage?

No. It was over. The MC announced the second place winner and my costume, Paparazzi, as the winner!

I was mystified.

But, being a wise contestant, I accepted my victory and went backstage to collect the prize.

I was presented with my $1000 gift certificate to Aquamarine Jewelers. I had never visited Auquamarine, but I was hoping they sold tools.

Backstage, jostling for a photo with Marc S. Allen, I met a young woman who didn't think I deserved to win. She was lecturing me about how much better the predator costume was, and about how he had been sweating in his latex skin for hours and that his was clearly the best costume in the building. I was speechless.

Finally she let me know that she wasn't going to talk to me anymore, because I obviously didn't care, and wasn't listening to her.

I had no doubt I had the best costume, but her lecture really bothered me. I guess its easy to think you've got the best costume, and hard to swallow when someone tells you it isn't.

Please continue reading page 13 of the Paparazzi costume.