By Jesse Graham
AN all-out Christmas lights display on Don Road has scooped the top award in Healesville’s Christmas lights competition, with artistic and creative displays lighting up the main street throughout December.
The Deck the Heales-ville competition, organised by Healesville Rotary and Lions clubs with Yarra Ranges Council, invited businesses and homeowners around Healesville to present their best Christmas lights display, to turn the town festive for the holiday season.
Twenty-one entrants through the main street and around town took part, but it was a colossal lighting display at 54 Don Road that won the overall prize.
Lions Club president Lindsay Frost, who was also a judge for the competition, said the house was “the one you can see from space”.
“The impact was huge, and … you couldn’t go past their use of lighting,” he said.
He said the back-story of the house also gained some points, with the homeowner’s grandchildren working to put the masterpiece together.
“They got super creative in their areas, as well – it ticked every box, it really did.
“It was the deserved winner, (but) that having been said, there wasn’t a big points difference between first, second and third.”
The two second-place winners were the Lions Den Op Shop and Crumbz Craft along main street, while the third place winners were 18 Garabaldi Street and 15 Blue Gum Drive in Badger Creek, along with the Judith Eardley Save the Wildlife Centre, 38 Smith Street and Healesville Jewellers.
Each of the contestants had to present lighting that was visible from the street, lit from sunset to 10.30pm each night, from the beginning of the competition to Boxing Day.
The Don Road house featured many different lighting items across the front yard, facade and roof of the house, which moved and glowed in different colours.
The judges for the competition were Mr Frost, Yarra Ranges councillor Fiona McAllister, actor and resident John Wood, Rotary’s David Lau and Ian Tinney, Lions’ Lesley Grigg and this journalist, representing the Mail News Group.
Mr Frost said there was “a really good effort put in” from all the entrants, but hoped that more businesses and homes would get involved in the 2017 competition.
“I would have liked to have seen more from every category, really, but it was terrific to see some red-hot gos from the houses that entered,” he said.
“Love and effort were the two key judgement criteria, from my point of view.”
The third, second and third place-getters will receive their prizes of $1000, $500 and $100 respectively later in the month.
More details about this year’s competition will be available around October-November.
