Lawndale Tribune The Weekly Newspaper of Lawndale Santa’s Sleigh Arrives in the South Bay Like many surrounding cities, South Bay families, especially children, welcome Santa and Mrs. Claus in a flurry of artificial snow as the holiday season quickly approaches. Photo by Cristian Vasquez. City Hosts Annual Holiday Decorating Contest By Cristian Vasquez The City of Lawndale Beautification Committee has once again put everything in place for this year’s 2013 Holiday Decorating Contest. The annual decoration contest has been part of the City’s end-of-year celebration for more than 30 years. The judging for this year’s decorating contest took place on Friday, Dec. 20 from 6 to 11 p.m. and the award ceremony to acknowledge the winners and everyone involved will take place Jan. 25, 2014 at 2 p.m. at the Community Center. “We send out letters to let them know what category they were chosen for, but we try to keep it a secret as to if they finished first, second or third,” Administrative Assistant for the City of Lawndale Donna Banks said. “We also have the block category because there are more than one or two blocks that like to decorate their houses. Some people just like to do it decorating without seeking recognition, but this makes it fun.” The Beautification Committee’s members along with local cable television drive around the city to judge the decorated homes based on every application received for the contest. This year there were an estimated 40 to 50 participants and they were all judged for most outstanding category, best theme, religious category, best lighting, best animation category, most originality and residential category, followed by the block award. “Getting to see all of the houses is just wonderful. We know ahead of time where houses we are going to go,” Lawndale Beatification Committee Chair Judy Oldziewski said. “Members of the committee do go around and if we see something that is pretty spectacular, we will stop to give them an application and encourage them to enter. People are very excited about the contest and “Getting to see all of the houses is just wonderful...if we see something that is pretty spectacular, we will stop to give them an some people stand outside and say hello to the committee. It is just a fun evening out with the committee. It is definitely a fun part of Christmas.” As the group of judges drove around, they scored each house from one to 10 in two categories so that if they have more in one category than the other, they can switch back and forth. After visiting each decorated location, the judges go out and compile the scores to determine the winner. “There is no absolute formula to win. If there is a jumble of lights, then it’s not going to be impressive,” Oldziewski said. “However, if they have a pattern of lights or a theme, that is good. Also, if a whole yard is just lights, that is also fine because we have a lighting category. We also have an animation category, which is where there are moving decorations and moving parts. Originality can include things that are handmade or that are a bit unusual. It is hard to say it is unbiased because as judges, we all have different tastes--but everyone has some input.” The first, second and third place winners in any category will receive a plaque while the rest of the participants will receive an honorable mention certificate and have the opportunity to get their picture taken to commemorate their participation during the January ceremony. “We see some of the same faces over and over, but we see new ones every year as well,” Oldziewski said. “We have 10 people this year that have never entered. That is really fun because we have new, different people with a different creativity and some new ideas.” For the members of the committee, judging the contest is as much a serious task as it is a fun activity that helps the community bond “It is a fun thing and I think that it is very positive for the community,” Oldziewski said. “It brings the community together just like the Santa Sleigh and it is one more thing that is ours. You couldn’t do this in a bigger city. Lawndale is small enough that we can cover the entire city in one evening. It is definitely a tradition.” • application and encourage them to enter.” Inside This Issue Calendar...............................3 Classifieds............................7 Finance..................................3 Food.......................................5 Seniors..................................3 Legals................................ 6-7 Pets........................................8 Police Report.......................2 Sports....................................4 Weekend Forecast Friday Partly Sunny 79˚/54˚ Saturday Partly Sunny 73˚/54˚ Sunday Partly Sunny 71˚/52˚ AND lAwNDAle News Herald Publications - Inglewood, Hawthorne, Lawndale, El Segundo, Torrance & Manhattan Beach Community Newspapers Since 1911 - Circulation 30,000 - Readership 60,000 (310) 322-1830 - December 26, 2013
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