Three hundred and sixty-five days a year, The Washington Post’s reporters and editors deliver the news of the day to the public; once a year we ask you to return the favor. When you do, it is yellow. And sugary. ¶ Though it appears in the spring, the annual Peeps Diorama Contest serves as a sort of Year in Review — albeit one rendered in sugar, corn syrup, gelatin and Yellow #5. This year’s headlines were rife with Peepable moments: The dominant diorama subject of Peeps VIII was Olympics XXII, with Ellen DeGeneres’s Oscars selfie close behind. Other critical-mass topics included “Sharknado,” the National Security Agency, Pope Francis, Obamacare, the George Washington Bridge traffic study, Flappy Bird, gay marriage and, inevitably, “Wrecking Ball.” ¶ As always, the dioramas inspired awe, hilarity and occasional disbelief. Our contestants were not constrained by the medium: This year’s 700-plus entries included the storming of the Bastille, the parting of the Red Sea and George R.R. Martin’s “Red Wedding.” You gave us Peep Seeger (how could you not?), Lupeepta Nyong’o and Samuel Pepys. And the sheer volume of dioramas drawing a parallel between “Frozen’s” Arendelle and springtime Washington spoke to our collective polar vortex fatigue. ¶ Nonetheless, we winnowed the field to five finalists, with newsroom staffers voting for their top choice. It’s difficult to quantify what makes one diorama stand out in a field of 700. Resonance. Execution. But this is a competition where God — and victory — is in the details. Each of the finalists reflects that, whether it’s paying homage to one of the defining moments of the 20th century or proving that, in the end, you just can’t go wrong with a poop joke. ¶ Without further ado ...
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