West Hollywood Halloween Carnival

Calling all devilish designers and phantoms of fashion! In order to summon the creative spirits, West Hollywood has announced PROJECT MASQUERADE, a contest for the best costume design for this year’s West Hollywood Halloween Carnaval. Three finalists will each receive a stay at the glamorous The London West Hollywood hotel on Halloween night, where one winner will be selected to receive a $250 grand prize.

The legendary Carnaval is one of the largest Halloween celebrations in the world, drawing thousands of revelers to Santa Monica Boulevard each year. Sponsored by the West Hollywood Marketing & Visitors Bureau, PROJECT MASQUERADE recognizes the unmatched creativity that goes into some of the outlandish designs seen each year, many of which require weeks or even months of planning and assembly. From outrageous drag queens to magnificent monsters to brilliant parodies of current events, the costumes at the West Hollywood Halloween Carnaval harness the amazing creativity and innovation for which West Hollywood has long been known.

To participate in the PROJECT MASQUERADE contest, entrants must submit their costume design concepts to the West Hollywood Facebook page www.facebook.com/westhollywood by Monday, October 24. Three finalists will be selected and notified by Wednesday, October 26 and invited to spend Halloween night at The London West Hollywood hotel, where they can arrive and get dressed for the night in high style. The hotel is just a short walk from the revelry on Santa Monica Boulevard. During a judging ceremony on Halloween night, the finalists will present their actual costumes and one winner will be selected to receive a $250 bonus prize.

Rules of the contest:

Entrants must submit a detailed design concept for their costume. The entries must consist of a 100-word (maximum) written description plus visuals; either photos, sketches or drawings of the concept. Submissions must be uploaded by Monday, October 24 to the official West Hollywood Facebook page at www.facebook.com/westhollywood in the “Project Masquerade” album. Please post your images and include a 100-word (maximum) description in the captions. From the Facebook entries, three finalists will be selected and notified by Wednesday, October 26 to receive a complimentary stay the night of Halloween (October 31, 2011) at The London West Hollywood. The finalists must provide their own transportation and be present the night of Halloween in order to participate in the final judging. The hotel stay includes breakfast. The finalists must be able to present a credit card upon check-in for incidentals, such as parking or anything else purchased in the hotel. Entries can be individuals or pairs. For pairs, the costume design must share a common theme. The costume design submissions will be judged on creativity, thoroughness, and clarity of concept. The designs can be outrageous and edgy but should not exceed a “PG-13” rating. The three finalists will be judged on their execution of the concepts they submitted. And finally: “Make it work, make it weird, make it fabulous!”.