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Putting on the Glitz

In this year of curtailed travel and sheltering in place, our homes have taken on new importance. In addition to being refuges from the world for our families, they’re now doing double duty as remote offices, schools, and even houses of worship.

This contest celebrates how we use our homes to share the joy of the holiday season. Even before the invention of the electric Christmas tree light in 1882, men and women have decorated their homes for the holidays. Greenery, dried flowers and fruits have been used for wintertime decorations since at least the mid-19th century.

The internet age has seen holiday decorations taken to a new level, as spirit-filled suburbanites cover every available surface with lights, add a musical sound track, and post videos of the show on YouTube.

From the electric candle in a window to the over-the-top extravaganza of the Griswold family in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, our decorations are a way we share holiday joy with friends, neighbors, and people we’ve never even met.

Thank you to the holiday-spirited Centre Countians who made the contest a success. We plan to present it again next year.

Award Winners

The judges made awards for both traditional and contemporary displays.

The winner of first place in the traditional class is the home of Richard Carson, 126 S. Thomas Street, Bellefonte. The second-place winner is the home of David and Jim Frego-Bliek, 130 Aspen Drive, Boalsburg.

The home of Jimmy and Sheri Vuccolo, 1231 Shamrock Avenue, State College, won an honorable mention for its “Wow Factor”.

In the contemporary class, the top prize winner is the home of Daniel Forster, 3051 West Whitehall Road, Pennsylvania Furnace. The second place winner is the home of Pat Allegrucci, 282 Varsity Lane, State College.

The home of the Esposito family, 1659 Circleville Road, State College won an honorable mention for a display that “brings out the inner child in all of us”.

Download the list of entries so that you can check them out yourself!

Download the List of Entries Here

Rules and Fees

  1. Open to single family homes, duplexes, and apartments in Centre County. Commercial establishments are not eligible.
  2. An entry may be a single home or coordinated multi residence display. Multi-residence displays must be on adjoining properties.
  3. Decorations must be visible from the street or a public sidewalk. Judges will not enter properties to view back or side yards.
  4. Entrants’ names will not be released to the judges.
  5. Use of political messages or figures is prohibited.
  6. Entrants must submit a completed application along with up to three photographs of no more than 2MG each and/or a video less than 30 seconds long.
  7. Entry Fee: $10/single home, $20 group entry.
  8. Entry deadline, Friday, December 11, 2020 at 5:00 p.m.

Prizes

There will be first, second, and honorable mention prizes in both the Traditional and Contemporary Categories.  Additional prizes for Best Use of Technology, Best Use of Natural Materials, and “Wow” Factor may be made at the judges’ discretion.

Judges

A panel of five judges will select the contest winners. They will visit the entries separately and will meet online to select the winners and award prizes.

  • Keith Bierly, Owner, Forefathers Book Shop, Rebersburg
  • Rebecca Inlow, Board Member, Rowland Theatre, Philipsburg
  • The Hon. Pamela Ruest, President Judge, Centre County Court of Common Pleas, Bellefonte
  • Fritz Smith, Executive Director, Happy Valley Adventure Bureau
  • Mary Sorenson, Executive Director, Centre County Historical Society, State College

Visit the Festival Store!

Visit our online store to buy Festival t-shirts, posters, friendship bracelets and our special jigsaw puzzle.

Festival Store