Pace High School held their annual Halloween costume runway this past October. The runaway students who signed up to go on stage were also part of the costume competition. Paul Zheng and Ms. Lambrou were the first-place winners of the Halloween costume runway of 2025.
Paul Zheng and Ms. Lambrou went as zombie cheerleaders. Zheng was inspired by “movies like ‘Bring It On’ and other cheerleading movies.” He had started liking the idea of cheerleaders back in 2020. It inspired him to want to win first place in the costume runway. All his pieces were bought on Amazon. “My makeup was done by my mom, and I put on lipstick to make it look like actual blood, like a dead cheerleader,” Zheng said.
Ms. Lambrou also added that they had “been discussing this idea since last year.” They worked on their costumes separately. Ms. Lambrou did not order her costume; instead, she relied on her neighbors. She stated, “I borrowed my pink wig from my neighbor and the skirt from another friend. It was really kind of a DIY homemade costume.”
Jerral Gil Montano, Farai Reid, Aarushi Bhati, and Katelynn Saldana were the second-place winners.
Their group costume was “Adventure Time,” based on friendship. Aarushi Bhati, who had come up with the idea, had been inspired by her love for “Adventure Time” said, “I love my friends and adventure times, so I was like, you know what? Why not do it all together? The art was the most fun. It took me about a week to do the cardboard cutout. I made that paper mache, used a lot of hot glue, and I put all that stuff together to make my guitar.”
Gil Montano agreed, “The most creative part about the costume was creating the props. I had to make my crown. I was able to create it during art class with my peers.”
Katelyn Saldana, who dressed up as BMO, said she had joined at the last minute but had a lot of fun DIYing the cardboard BMO.
Farlis Almonte and Meghan Correa were the third-place winners. Their duo costume was Mario and Princess Peach. They were inspired by Pinterest and had to hustle two days before Halloween to find Farlis’s overalls when the costume they ordered was way too small when it arrived.
Anim Sams, Mr. Chong, and his crew made it possible to celebrate this tradition. Sams added that “People don’t really see how fast the changes are for the next performance. All the work backstage is what people don’t see.” The most important thing that happens is the coordination of the event. The event was successful.
