Winter in Wisconsin brings on sunsets before 5 p.m. But the earlier the sun goes down, the sooner holiday lights go up and brighten neighborhoods across the state.
Communities spanning from Superior to Kenosha host competitions to see which houses can produce the strongest holiday spirit with lights, inflatables and music to entertain passersby.
In Jefferson County, Chad Holpfer is in charge of the local Deck The House contest that aims to bring communities together.
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He is the city of Jefferson’s director of parks, recreation and forestry. He oversees the competition that also covers Fort Atkinson, Whitewater and Watertown this year.
“We have people in other communities traveling to other parts of the county that they may not have traveled to before,” Holpfer told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today.” “We have people that are traveling and spending money in other communities when they’re stopping and picking up hot cocoa, or they’re stopping and getting dinner.”
Holpfer himself has started a family tradition with his wife and kids where they put on Christmas pajamas, load up the car with snacks and pass as many houses in the contest as they can in one night.
Awards in the Deck The House competition are voted on by the public and include winners for most elegant, best holiday spirit and the Clark Griswold Award, named from the movie “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.”
Up in Eau Claire, a private citizen organizes his own multi-community holiday lights competition.
The Chippewa Valley Parade of Lights started as an event put on by the Eau Claire Parks and Recreation Department, but Mitch Mitchell took over the operation of the contest to keep the lights on each year.
“This year, we did bring a couple of volunteers just to help us,” Mitchell told “Wisconsin Today.” “Our prize funds are mostly formed by donations we receive from local businesses, so we had a couple people help us do some advertising and get the word out so we could get some more participants and sponsors.”
His competition features a panel of judges that hands out five awards, one of which is the People’s Choice Award. He brought home some hardware himself in the first few years of the event before taking over the leadership role.
“There’s so many different levels depending on a person’s experience and the person’s budget,” Mitchell said. “I have definitely evolved my display over the years. (It) started out very basic, and now I run a little more advanced controller, and people can pull right up to the house, tune into the radio and enjoy the lights and sounds.”
Mitchell fell in love with holiday lights as a child, growing up with a tradition of he and his father lighting up the house each winter. As an adult, he now spends weeks planning his display before the first bulbs come out of storage.
He said the passion isn’t about how many lights someone buys or how big their inflatables are. It’s about bringing the community together and making the cold winter season a little bit warmer.
“You’ve got to be willing to put the time and the effort in,” Mitchell said. “Whether it’s a couple of strands of lights around the top of the roof or going all out decorating all the trees, either way, it’s still nice to see the holiday spirit out there.”
The Chippewa Valley Parade of Lights runs through Sunday, Dec. 22. Voting on Deck The House in Jefferson County just wrapped up on Dec. 15, but light displays remain on at participating houses.
