By Laura Bailey
Bristol residents are preparing to light up the December nights with their festive outdoor displays for the annual holiday lighting contest.
“It’s a community event that a lot of people look forward to it each year,” said Mike Prentiss. “It’s a good time to get some hot chocolate and see all the different light displays in Bristol.”
Prentiss is the creator and organizer of the Bristol Holiday Lighting Contest. The Bristol resident came up with the idea for a city-wide lighting contest with his now 8-year-old daughter.
“My daughter was five at the time and we were looking to create something,” said Prentiss, “One of our favorite things is seeing the holiday lights all around the town, and we started this.”
The contest, which was first held in 2019, has steadily gained popularity from viewers and participants.
“We had about 15 houses sign up in the first year, and now it’s in the 20s,” said Prentiss. “We also saw a lot more votes coming in from the community; we had about 1,200 votes last year.”
Registration for the contest is open to all Bristol residents, with prizes awarded to the top five displays.
Winners will receive either a $100 gift card of their choice to the Doubletree, Rebel Dog Coffee, Rodd’s Restaurant, Mulligan’s Grille, or have the opportunity to take either a Railroad Spike or Blacksmith Knife class at Faith & Fire Forge.
Past winners include the Jacobs family of 90 Mountain View Ave., the Jones family of 90 Rosewood Dr. and the Brzezinski family of 415 King St., who claimed the top spot last year.
As the Bristol Holiday Lights contest continues to grow, the Prentiss family are working to make viewing the lighting displays more accessible to Bristol residents who may not be able to see all of the displays in person.
“This year, we’re going to take all of the pictures of the lights with the addresses on them, and turn it into a video,” said Prentiss, “so that people that can’t make it out will be able to see the different displays. “My daughter and I will spend three to four hours driving around town, taking all the pictures together.”
Voting for the holiday lights will open Dec. 9, and continue through Dec. 18 at 9 p.m. Visit the Bristol CT Holiday Lighting Contest group Facebook page to see the lighting displays and participate in voting.
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