Last night’s first-ever Walker’s Point Halloween Pub Crawl and Costume Contest drew more than 1,000 people to the heart of the neighborhood and the competition was stiff for the costume contest featuring an $800 first prize.

OnMilwaukee sponsored the event, which included 12 bars with drink specials and "secret" judges who clandestinely chose their favorites for the evening. Myself, my partner Royal Brevvaxling and Gregg Wolf of Fat Daddy’s registered people for the contest and were part of the judging process.

The criteria included concept, costume (we favored homemade over store-bought) and character ("acting" the part as well as looking the part.) We finally came up with our top three, although we realized we'd never be completely satisfied with our picks because there were just too many creative costumes.

Here are the winners of the 2017 first-ever (and certainly not the last) Walker’s Point Costume Contest.

First Place: Angela Fioretti as Corpse Bride. Prize: $800

Photos simply do not convey the emotional beauty of this costume. Angela as the Corpse Bride was incredibly lovely, lonely, haunting and impeccably outfitted. We were impressed by her dyed-blue skin and general presence. Her semblance to the actual animated character was very close but still featured Angela's personal creative take.

Second Place: Chris Klesmet for The Incredible Hulk & Iron Man. Prize: $250 bar tab



Chris assembled the Iron Man costume for himself and constructed by hand the Hulk costume for a friend, who was at least 6 foot 5 inches. (Compare his size next to the average-sized "Elvis" next to him.) With the addition of his massive "muscles" the Hulk was so gigantic he was unable to come into the bar originally because it was too packed. When he finally walked in, his massive size and Hulk-like demeanor drew almost everyone’s attention. It was exactly what a costume is supposed to be: awe inspiring, creatively constructed and packed a major "wow" factor.

Third Place: The Alice In Wonderland group costume. Prize: Bucks’ suite tickets

Represented by Cameron Armstrong, it was the detail of this group’s costumes that got us, from the Queen’s illuminated bloody heart staff to The Mad Hatter's adorned hat and thread spools bandolier. This group did not have a single weak link and although a classic costume concept, they took it to a new and original level.

For more photos of costumes from last night's contest, check out our Facebook page.