Barrio Hollywood's fourth annual Christmas lights contest got under way last Wednesday and runs through Dec. 20.
At stake are cash prizes — $100, $75 and $50 for first, second and third place respectively — and smaller awards for five honorable mentions. Winners will be announced at the neighborhood's Christmas potluck dinner at 7 p.m. on Dec. 21 at El Rio Neighborhood Center.
"We start things in our neighborhood to try to get people involved, to try to get people together," said Margaret McKenna, president of the Barrio Hollywood Neighborhood Association, which sponsors the event.
Barrio Hollywood is bordered by North Silverbell and West St. Mary's roads, West Speedway Boulevard and the Santa Cruz River, with a high percentage of the community's approximately 2,500 homes sporting decorations each year, McKenna said.
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"You can go down the street, and about one out of five houses don't participate," she said.
The contest began because so many people already went to great lengths to show their holiday spirit via home decorations, she said.
Turning it into a contest has helped people take more pride in the area, as they tend to pick up litter a little better to keep their property neat for the competition.
The neighborhood association officers pick a night to drive around fairly late — around 9 or 10 p.m., McKenna said — and take pictures when people aren't expecting it.
They place a lot of value on the light displays with the most originality.
"You can have a million lights but not really show anything, you know?" McKenna said.
Likewise, spending a lot of money doesn't automatically translate into contest winnings, either.
"Some people buy all these blowups and stuff like that, and those are interesting but they're not really creative," she said.
She recalled an entry the first year of the contest, where a resident on Silverbell had a big display that included a Martian, all of it handmade.
One time, another resident who has a waterfall and pond put out lights and the Virgin Mary, she said.
"It can be religious. It can be color. It's actually almost anything."
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