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FAIRFIELD – Fairfield homeowners recently competed to see who had the best holiday display in town in Visit Fairfield CVB’s third annual Christmas Light Showdown.

The public was invited to score 16 homes whose addresses were shown on a map. Voting occurred Friday and Saturday, and that produced a “People’s Choice” Award along with first, second and third places, four honorable mentions, and a “Newbie Award.” Visit Fairfield CVB Executive Director Terry Baker said the 16 participating homes was down a bit from last year, and she believes that the bitter cold weekends leading up to the event stopped some people from getting outside to decorate their house. At the same time, this year featured eight new homes that had never competed in the event before, and Baker said that was encouraging.

The “People’s Choice” Award, determined by fan voting, went to Stephanie Wharton at 913 S. Sixth St., who came in second place last year. Wharton’s display is truly a feast for the eyes involving a projector that casts a video onto a large window, a series of “smart” lights that can create images on her garage door, and scrolling text that goes with each scene, on top of lots of illuminated lawn ornaments. This high-tech display allows Wharton to cycle through five distinct scenes: Home Alone; Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer; Sesame Street’s Cookie Monster; the Grinch; and a Stretchy Pants cartoon based on the song by Carrie Underwood. Wharton’s scrolling text allows her to add catchphrases that go with each scene. For instance, the Home Alone text reads “Merry Christmas, ya filthy animal!”

“I used to live in the country, and I’ve been decorating this house ever since I moved here in 2019,” Wharton told The Union. “I find it fun to put a little cheer into the community.”

Wharton said she wasn’t affected by the recent cold snap because she started decorating early, in mid-November, since she knew the cold was coming. Those who missed the display during the Christmas Light Showdown should not fret because they have until the first weekend after New Year’s to see it, when Wharton will take it down.

Wharton said her mother and sister enjoy decorating for Christmas, but more so inside. She’s taking the family’s love for decorating to a new level.

“No one else in the family does this,” she said. “I’m the crazy one.”

In addition to the scores from the general public, a group of secret judges traveled around town adding their own scores to make a list of the top four finishers. Baker said that there actually wasn’t much difference in scoring between the judges and the public.

“We saw a wide variety of styles and number of lights, which is always fun to see,” Baker said. “Some were more classic and serene, where they had all white lights or all blue lights. Some were more colorful, like ‘we’re going to compete with the Griswolds.’ We welcome all those different styles into our ecosystem.”

The following homes received awards from the event:

1st Place: Vickie Heald - 1205 S. Fifth St.

2nd Place: Dan Bowers - 610 E. Buchanan Ave.

3rd Place: Claudia Royer - 405 S. Main St.

Newbie Award: Brian Davisson - 1105 S. Eighth St.

Four Honorable Mention Awards:

Nathan Rodgers - 206 S. Ninth St.

Matt Ellis - 1003 E. Briggs Ave.

Tiffany Brower - 106 W. Madison Ave.

John Spurgeon - 703 S. 33rd St.

Mack’s Automotive has sponsored this event from the beginning. Baker said the business’s owner, Jason Craun, loves the event and has been a wonderful supporter, supplying all the cash prizes to the award recipients.

Those who missed the competition on Dec. 12-13 can still find a map of the participating homes at visitfairfieldiowa.com.