Butler Township hosts first Christmas home decorating contest
BUTLER TWP — The township’s board of commissioners agreed Saturday that Andrew Yaracs of Meridian Road has the jolliest home in the township for the holiday season of the 14 homes that took part in the first Christmas Home Decorating Contest.
“It’s a new idea that Butler Township is putting forward for the residents,” said township commissioner Dave Zarnick.
The Christmas contest is an offshoot of the Halloween home decorating contest the township held this October, which was a major success, according to Zarnick.
“The commissioners were very pleased with the response we got from our residents with the Halloween decorating,” Zarnick said. “So we thought we would give it a go for Christmas.”
The five judges for the contest were the five members of township’s board of commissioners: Sam Zurzolo, Joseph Wiest, Ed Natali, Jim Lokhaiser and Zarnick. The five gathered at the Butler Township municipal building at 5 p.m. and started touring the township to scope out all of the contestants’ houses.
“We're really excited about doing this because these residents put a lot of effort into their Christmas decorations,” Zurzolo said. “They put a lot of time and effort into making it look like Christmas, and we're pleased to be a part of it.”
The 14 homes were judged on four criteria: creativity, curb appeal, theme and overall value. Each category was given a score out of 10, and the home was given the average score of the five judges. Only outdoor decorations were judged.
“All they had to do was call in and register if they wanted to be in the township’s Christmas decoration contest,” Zarnick said.
The homes ran the gamut of creativity and sophistication. One home on Evans City Road encouraged the judges, who were piled into one car, to tune their radio to 91.9 FM for Christmas music which would accompany the decorations.
The prize for first place was a commemorative Christmas ornament.
Both Zarnick and Zurzolo expect the decorating contests will be traditions of Butler Township in the future.
Homes that participated in the contest can be seen on South Main Street, South Benbrook Road, Deer Run Drive, Bluegrass Drive, Garden Avenue and Meridian Road.
