BROOKINGS – Across the nation, towns and cities of all sizes are starting to light up during the Christmas holiday season. 

And Brookings is getting into the spirit of the season with what is being billed by its sponsors as “our first annual ‘Let It Glow Competition’”  

Sponsoring the gala are the Brookings Area Chamber of Commerce; Midwest Glass; Krogman & Co. Century 21, Emilie Portz; Outdoor Design & Landscape; and The Brookings Register. 

“There’s nothing better than seeing thousands of twinkling lights on a frosty night,” say the posters touting the event. The competition is for three $100-prize categories that include: Best in Show and Clark Griswold (most lights), both to be voted on by the mayor of Brookings, the Chamber president, Brookings Radio and the contest sponsors; the People’s Choice prize is to be voted on by the public via text.

The deadline to register is today. All homes must be decorated by Sunday, Dec. 9. Registration is free via telephone, 695-6125; info@brookingschamber.org; or www.brookingschamber.org.

Each house entry will be given a number. Residents can vote by texting the house number (1-99) to (906) 629-1697. Voting can be done anytime from Dec. 10-28. Winners will be contacted and also posted on social media.

Sponsors see an annual event

“This has been around for a long time,” said Portz, of past lighting events in Brookings. “It’s been revamped. It’s going to be an annual event going forward. And every year it will be called ‘Let It Glow.’

“There’s a pride in ownership. And what better way to show off that pride than to decorate your home for Christmas and let others around you enjoy it when they drive by and take a look.

“Think how many parents bundle up their kids, put them in the car, give them hot chocolate and drive around and look at the lights. It really is a good thing and a way for families to get together,” Portz added.

“When you’re driving around looking at the lights, let the kids help you decide which ones they like best. Because it is meant to have public involvement. It’s for everybody’s enjoyment.”

“That’s what we do with our kids,” she said, adding with a smile, “It’s called ‘Portz-forced family fun.’”  

Andy Johnson, Midwest Glass, said he got to thinking about such a lighting contest a couple years ago as he and his family drove around Brookings looking for lighting displays.

“If you don’t have a plan, you can drive for quite awhile without seeing any Christmas lights,” he explained. “So I had this picture in my head that it would be nice if you had some homes on a list and you could drive this loop and see some Christmas lights. Because we always liked to do that as a family, drive around.  

“If you’re not seeing Christmas lights, it can be a little harder. If there was a way for pulling together as a contest, group all the homes together on a sheet of paper or on a digital map. You could have a route to travel and it could be kind of a fun holiday tradition.”

He added that Midwest Glass considered doing it “as something housed under our company, but it made more sense if maybe the Chamber (of Commerce) would take it on.”

As to the “first annual” billing of Let It Glow being indicative of years to come, Johnson said, “My hope is of sustaining this. The more people you can have in this, the better it gets. You’re always hopeful for the best and you’ve got to get through the first year and let more people know about it.

“If you can get a lot of entries and more people involved and upping their game and wrapping their homes with Christmas lights, it gets to be more fun.” 

Eric Deibert, owner of Outdoor Design & Landscaping, in his fifth year in business in Brookings, said this was the first year he had heard about past lighting contests in Brookings. Landscaping is the primary side of his business, for which he has five to six employees. He employs six to 10 people for snow removal. 

For the past three years he has been doing Christmas season lighting on the side, employing three to four people. He was contacted by the Chamber this year about the lighting competition.

“We just do outdoor lighting for people,” he explained. “We put them up, we take them down and then we store them for them. We started in mid-November this year and just go until the early December time-frame. We have that little bit of time now that the ground’s freezing.”

This year they did about 45 houses.

“We’ll see if any of them enter into (the competition),” he said. 

The Register will provide a map showing the addresses of the homes that are entered in the contest. Additionally, there will be signs in the yards of the entrants.

Contact John Kubal at jkubal@brookingsregister.com.