First Annual Christmas Light Up Nederland Christmas Lighting Contest WHAT WHEN: Christmas Lighting Contest for Citizens of Nederland Texas December 1st thru the Christmas Season WHERE: Windows and outside of your BUSINESS PRIZE: CASH awards of $200, $300, or $500 and the honor of Lighting Up Nederland. ENTRY DEADLINE November 18, 2015 Christmas Parade is December 5, 2015 at 6:00 pm Judging will be the week of December 14 and December 18, 2015 Awards will be presented and announced on December 22, 2015 2015 BUSINESS CHRISTMAS DECORATING CONTEST CONTACT PERSON NAME OF BUSINESS ADDRESS OF BUSINESS PHONE ( ) CELL PLEASE MAIL TO: Nederland EDC P.O. Box 1325 Nederland, TX.77627 You may also email entry info to: kdecuir@nededc.com or cherrmann@nededc.com
2015 LIGHT UP NEDERLAND Holiday Decorating Contest RULES & INSTRUCTIONS The 1 st annual LIGHT UP NEDERLAND Home and Business Decorating Contest will be held this season with the following dates: Entry Application Period: 11/12/15 through 11/18/15 Judging Period: 12/14/15 through 12/18/15 Winners Announced: 12/22/15 Please read these rules and instructions and if you have any questions contact Nederland EDC at 729-1020. Entry applications are available at NEDC 1519 Boston Avenue or on-line at www.nededc.com. 1. Participation is open to all residents with a City of Nederland address. 2. Entry is free, no cost or fees apply. 3. Employees of the City of Nederland, NEDC, Chamber or Heritage Festival are not eligible to participate. 4. Entry Applications must be received no later than 3pm on Wednesday, November 18, 2015. 5. Contest is for exterior decorations only, including decorations in windows that are visible from the exterior. Judging will be done from outside the residence only. 6. Judging will be based on curb appeal as viewed from the street only. Therefore only those decorations located on the street side of the property will be judged (corner lots will be judged from both streets). Judges will not enter the property to view back or side yards. 7. Participants agree to have one or more photos of their decorated residence exterior posted on the NEDC, Chamber and City of Nederland Websites and/or published in various forms of media. Participant agrees there will be no compensation of any kind for said posting or publication. 8. Judging criteria will include [a] Unique design and creative use of lights and decorations; [b] Storyline or theme; [c] Display and placement of decorations, animated objects, etc.; and [d] Overall presentation. 9. Judging will be done from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. the week of 12/14/15-12/18/2015. 10. Participants should ensure that all lights, animations and decorations are in place and activated for the judging periods on all nights. 11. An Entry Number Card will be provided to each participant. This card must be affixed to the exterior of the residence in a conspicuous place where it can be seen by the judges from the street. 12. Prizes will be CASH: One 1st prize of $500; one 2nd prize of $300, one 3rd prize of $200. There will be a 1 st. 2 nd, 3 rd prize for Business and Home Category. 13. Winners will be posted on Social Media and on the City of Nederland Marquee by the Police Station. 14. Winners will be able to pick up their CASH prize at the NEDC office and be prepared for your photo to be taken. 15. Be creative, be festive, have fun!
THE 2015 NEDERLAND ULTIMATE NEIGHBORHOOD CHRISTMAS LIGHT SCORECARD GENERAL SCORING COVERAGE (0-10 POINTS) This scores how well home owners have covered their home/yard with lights and decorations. Too few lights and decorations should result in a deduction. Keep in mind that the opposite also holds true-decorative overkill can also warrant a loss in points. Clark Griswald s house had great coverage, but his lights caused severe retinal damage; ocular injury should always result in a lower score. _ ATMOSPHERE (0-10 POINTS) This scores the level of Christmas Spirit you feel as you stand in front of the home. Atmosphere can come from a variety of different sources, depending on the scorer. Lights and decorations are not necessarily the only variables in calculating this score. For example, if the temperature drops below 80, an owner who comes out with eggnog or cider can earn himself/herself a higher score unless you are lactose intolerant, in which case such an action may result in a significant deduction. SCORE SHOWMANSHIP (0-10 points) This scores the home owner s attention to detail. An obvious amount of forethought and planning should be apparent to the scorer. Special touches like creative use of lights/decorations or the use of music and/or projection equipment should result in a higher score. Decorations that seemed to be placed willy-nilly should cause a deduction. If you can see into the home and you notice that their stockings are hung by the chimney without care, this score should be an automatic zero. SCORE TOTAL SCORE FOR GENERAL SCORING EXTRA CREDIT NATIVITY SCENE (+7 points) A home that gives credit to the real meaning of Christmas earns seven extra points. CHRISTMAS TREE VISIBLE FROM THE STREET (+ 5 POINTS) If you can see the family tree from the street, Christmas Spirit soars along with a few extra points. EXTRA EFFORT BONUS (+3 POINTS) Placing lights and decorations with an eight foot A-frame ladder is one thing, but getting on the roof, or climbing above 12 feet deserves some hazard pay.
FESTIVE STREET BONUS (+2 POINTS) If the home is on a street with more than half of the other homes illuminated with Holiday Cheer, sing a verse of It s Beginning to Look A lot Like Christmas and add two points. EXTRA CREDIT TOTAL AUTOMATIC DEDUCTIONS PARTIAL BLINKAGE (-5 POINTS) Five strands of lights are neatly hung together, but only one is blinking. What s the deal? UNNECCESARY BLINKAGE (-5 POINTS) Some Christmas light manufacturers are trying to push the envelope with how much blinking the human eye can withstand. If it blinks like a strobe light, it s ruining Christmas for the whole neighborhood. ANNOYING YARD DECORATIONS (-3 POINTS) Just because Ritter, Walmart, SAMS, Home Depot, or Lowes had a sale on inflatable lawn decorations doesn t mean you had to buy two dozen. If the decorations are cluttering the front yard, leaning over from improper installation, or have anything to do with ANYTHING OTHER THAN CHRISTMAS, it s time to pull the plug on a few points. MULTIPLE BURNOUTS (-2 POINTS) Strand and bulb burnouts are the handiwork of angry South Pole elves. Any more than two burnouts in a display should cause a deduction. If a major storm just blew through the night before, Yuletide etiquette requires a 48 hour window for the home owner to rectify the situation. IRREGULAR COLOR PATTERNS (-2 POINTS) If a green bulb burns out, it should always be replaced with a green bulb. Messing up the strand s color pattern is something that only a Grinch would do, and should thus be scorned by all. COLORED COACH LIGHTS (+2 or -2 POINTS) This one Is tricky. Generally, the one-red-one-green colored coach lights are an eyesore and should earn an automatic two point deduction. However, if the coach lights are a subtle part of a larger, high-scoring holiday installation, they may earn the home owner an extra two points for successfully incorporating an annoying decoration strategy. Having nothing other than colored coach lights is an automatic 1,000 point deduction. TOTAL DEDUCTIONS
40-50 Points - Santa uses a picture of your house as his computer wallpaper. 30-40 Points - Incredible! Did you hire Buddy the Elf to help you decorate? 20-30 Points - You're becoming a regular Holiday Cheermiester. 10-20 Points - A bit Scroogey, but at least you did something. 0-10 Points - Were you raised in a household of Grinches? GENERAL EXTRA CREDIT DEDUCTIONS GRAND TOTAL