Decorating contest helps light up neighborhood

 

Above, the house at 429 E. Scott was one of the lighted decoration winners. The photo below is from 1401 Grainger, one of the interior decoration winners.

 

On Friday, December 2, 2005, from 4-6:30 PM, judges from outside Old North Knoxville selected the winners for the 7th annual ONK Decorating Contest. The judges were driven around the neighborhood twice, once during the daylight and again after dark so they could select the winners in both the traditional (non-lighted) and lighted category.  The judges commented that the neighborhood residents' preference this year seemed to be lighted decorations, as there were far more ligthed than traditional themes on display.

And the winners are:

Traditional (non lighted): 

  • 1001 Thompson Place (Mike Branum and Tom Havasy)

  • 510 East Scott Avenue (Tom and Donna Brechko)

Lighted category:

  • 1313 Grainger Avenue (Lou Russel and Bryant Ayers)

  • 429 East Scott Avenue (William Haun and Mary Labroski)

The judges for this year's decorating contest were:

  • Knox County Commissioner David Collins (representing the 2nd District, including Old North Knoxville)

  • Lynne Sullivan (Parkridge neighborhood resident and member of the Knox Heritage Board)

  • Ed Eckenrod (Oakwood/Lincoln Park resident and Executive Director of the Center for Neighborhood Development)

ONK Resident Chester Kilgore drove the judges around. Thank you to the judges and to Chet for taking the time to do this.

In addition to exterior decorating, there was an additional contest this year for best interior holiday decorating for homes on the tour.  The winners of this contest were:

  • 1313 Grainger Avenue (Lou Russel and Bryant Ayers)

  • 1401 Grainger Aveunue (David Marshall, Brad Phillips, and Eddie Ratcliff)

Each of the winners received a $25 gift certificate. Congratulations to the winners and thank you to all who decorated their homes for the holidays. Streets such as East Scott were a festival of lights for the holidays, with many cars slowing down and stopping to admire the decorations.

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