‘Deck the House’ contest offers another way to get into the holiday spirit in Centre County
Centre Region Parks and Recreation invites Centre Region residents to show off their best outdoor holiday decor, with its first-ever Deck the House Holiday Lighting Contest.
“We had thought about this event for a couple years,” said Beth Lee, CRPR’s recreation supervisor. “With COVID and with trying to do as many distanced events (as possible) and still being engaged with the community, we revisited it.”
CRPR staff began planning the event in mid-fall and are excited to coordinate what they hope will become an annual tradition.
The contest is open to residents in State College Borough and the townships of College, Ferguson, Halfmoon, Harris and Patton, with a $5 entry fee ($8 for Halfmoon Township residents). Residents can enter the contest in one of four categories: Classic/Traditional, Show Stopper Griswold Full-Throttle, EverGREEN or Best Theme. Category winners receive $125 in cash prizes and a holiday-themed gift basket.
While most of the contest categories are self-explanatory, the EverGREEN category is a bit more unique, challenging participants to create beautiful holiday displays in an eco-friendly way. Kristy Owens, recreations services manager, said the CRPR staff will be looking for EverGREEN entries to display a “good use of LED lights, making sure that everything appears to be energy efficient; the way people have connected their lights throughout their yard and whether or not they went overkill; or maybe it’s something that’s just simple and not a lot of lights. It should be a little more cognizant of their energy bill. ... It requires people to get more creative with how they’re decorating their home over the holidays.”
Entrants have until Monday to register for the contest, with judging occurring Dec. 18, starting at 5 p.m. CRPR staff will judge each entry.
“It’s basically all of CRPR’s staff. We’ll take a few cars and split up and divide and conquer,” Owens said. “We’ll be dividing up and taking a certain number of houses, and photographing each one, and then collectively decide which one is the best.”
Owens said that the staff will be posting live on social media (including Facebook and Instagram) the night of the judging to give followers a look into the process, as well as at the fantastic decorations on display.
When it comes to guidelines for the contest, there are few bounds to participant creativity. According to Owens, “One thing we really want to emphasize is that lights and decorations are visible from the street. Otherwise, it’ll be really challenging for us to judge. Then, they need to make sure they have their lights turned on. We will be sending out email reminders in advance. That night of judging, everyone should have their lights on and functioning.”
Contest winners will be announced the week following the judging.
“Be as creative as you want,” Lee said. “We’re looking for all kinds of lighting, from people who take it simple to showstoppers. We hope people get their families involved, enjoy it, take some pictures and send them our way. We’ll be happy to post them. We’re looking forward to seeing how people will be creative.”
Participants can tag CRPR in their social posts with #DecktheHouse and #CRPR.
“This is not just a one-and-done event for COVID,” Lee said. “We’re really excited to get this started and growing and hope it will continue over the years.”
Deck the House is one of several holiday light contests in Centre County this year. The Puttin’ on the Glitz home decorating contest is part of Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts’ December to Remember events, and Deck the ‘Fonte 2020 invites Bellefonte residents to share their light displays for a virtual walking/driving tour on the Downtown Bellefonte website.