Let's light up the community this holiday season!
Judging for the 2024 Annual Arthur G. Hooper Decorating Contest will take place
Thursday, December 19th, 4-7 pm.
Homes and businesses in New Russia, Elizabethtown, and Lewis will be judged in categories of Most Original, Most Beautiful, and the Spirit of Christmas. Winners will have their names engraved on a permanent plaque and receive a gift from the Social Center.
Please contact the Center with your name and address if you wish to be included in our route or nominate a neighbor: 873-6408 or info@elizabethtownsocialcenter.org.
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Decorating Contest winners will be announced by December 23!
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How to be a Contender
Many people ask how our winners are chosen. Our panel of judges varies each year and has different ideas for what winning decorations should look like. However, some tendencies seem consistent among judges from year-to-year. If you are looking for advice, here are our tips:
1. Contact us with your name and address. You do not need to sign up to win, but we cannot guarantee you will be on our route unless we know where you live. Please feel free to nominate a neighbor!
2. Judges seem to prefer the look of "warm" lights versus the cool, bright look of some LED's. No one is staunchly anti-LED, but a majority of winning decorations have been incandescent or warm LED. Most judges do agree the two types should rarely be mixed.
3. Judges seem to enjoy both all-white and multi-colored displays. One single color is rarely chosen as a winner, but mixing white in with a single color can be beautiful.
4. Judges prefer a display which has an overall design with a sense of tidiness and/or uniformity. Displays with lots of varieties of lights and decorations randomly scattered about are not often selected.
5. Sometimes less is more. A yard chuck-full of organized decorations is all sorts of fun, and often a contender. But occasionally a small display that is unique and well-presented takes a prize.
These are just a few observations from past contests. The most important thing to remember is to create a design that you enjoy coming home to each night! We highly recommend ignoring our tips in favor of your personal preferences.
2022 Winners
Elizabethtown
Spirit of Christmas – Dawn and Paul Fenton, 118 Water Street
Most Beautiful – Sharon and Phillip Hutchins, 45 Roscoe Road
Most Original – Kia and Shawn LaPier, 7268 US Route 9
40th Anniversary Best New Design Award – Denny and Darlene Mitchell, 24 Dougan Lane
Lewis
Spirit of Christmas – Susan Hathaway, 7 Mitchell Hill Road
Most Beautiful – Jan and Jim Bradley, 20 Blood Hill Road (view from Roscoe Rd.)
Most Original – Candy and Jerry Mitchell, 622 Mitchell Hill Road
40th Anniversary Best New Design Award – Ryan Cogswell, 528 Stowersville Road
Honorable Mentions
Honorable Mentions in Elizabethtown go to: Donna and Josh Bennett (River St.); Justin Mader, together with Jeanne and Paul Redmond (Hand Ave. - but make sure to drive through the Aubachon's alley to see the full display!); Brent and Lena Vosburg (Hand Ave.); the Brady Family in New Russia (US Route 9); Gay and Rick Olcott (Cross St.) and Mountain Lake Services (Dougan Ln.).
Honorable Mentions in Lewis go to: Wanda Duso (US Rt 9); Morgan and Tanner Cassavaugh (US Rt 9); Margaret Bronson (Stowersville Rd.), Tom and Vanessa Cross (Stowersville Rd.) and Ken and Chris Whittemore (US Rt 9).
Thank you to the following businesses who helped light up the streets for the holidays: Park Motor Inn, Namaste Inn, Bub's Pizza, Life Church, Dulac’s Bookkeeping, and Feeley Well Drilling.
Congratulations to the winners and thank you to everyone for creating a festive atmosphere in our communities!
Take the Tour
Load up the car, turn on the all-holiday station, bring some candy canes and prizes, and play Decoration BINGO!
Print our list of winners and nominees and BINGO cards, or contact us to pick some up at the Social Center. Happy Holidays!
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