Wrigley Association

Judges Award Wrigley Cup for Best Christmas Tree Lane Decoration

2055 Daisy Collects More Than $450 in Prizes

WRIGLEY, Long Beach, CA

The Wrigley Association, proud organizers of the 55th annual Daisy Christmas Tree Lane (CTL) Parade on Saturday December 13th announced the winners of the Christmas Tree Lane Home Decoration Contest today.

Sharon Salazar and Adriana Castro decorated 2055 Daisy to the top prize out of more than 40 decorated homes. Three of the six judges gave them their highest score. The Salazar family has lived on CTL for eight years. In addition to a plaque and getting to hold onto the CTL cup for the next year, they will receive $150 in cash plus one hour of consultation donated by area decorator Shoshanah Siegel, "Your Color Diva" (www.yourcolordiva.com) and gift certificates from Buono's, Thai Sky, Pho America, Wrigley Pet Spaw, Pollo Campero and Tacos Don Chente

Second Place went to Hector Marquez and Tony Mesa at 2336 Daisy who have also lived in Wrigley for 8 years. Third Place was Saul and Adella Vaca at 2264 Daisy who have lived on Christmas Tree Lane for 14 years. 2nd and 3rd place winners get $100 and $50 respectively plus gift certificates from Buono's, Thai Sky, Pho America, Tu Casa, and El Paisano Market. Home Depot also supported the contest with a donation.

The judges were Frank Buono of Buono's Pizza, Nick Diamantides of the Signal Tribune, Ryan ZumMallen of the LB Post, Dave Wielenga of The District, Tim Patton of the 7th District Council Office, and Gavin Mc Kiernan of the Wrigley Association.

Gavin Mc Kiernan, who coordinated the contest for the Wrigley Association said, "I am proud to play a part in furthering this neighborhood tradition. Having lived in the area for five years I see the car loads of children young and old that enjoy the lights on Christmas Tree Lane every year and its nice to give something back to the people along Daisy who give so much enjoyment to others at this time of year."

The Wrigley Association

is a 501 C4 non-profit organization, whose mission is to promote the common interest, instill pride, establish and encourage the highest standards in Wrigley. To foster an active understanding of citizenship and civic responsibility. To oppose and discourage discrimination and to create a sense of belonging. To promote higher business standards and encourage uniformity and cooperation among the merchants, property owners and residents. To eliminate crime, perpetrate community pride, and develop wholesome, enjoyable, cultural, social. And physical activities.

Contact

To speak with a representative from the Wrigley Association, please contact
Gavin Mc Kiernan at (562) 234-6821 or wrigleyvillage@att.net

Long Beach News | 12.10.08| news@lbpost.com

My Night As An Unqualified Holiday Lights Judge

The sun was setting on Daisy Lane last weekend when I pulled up to judge their holiday lights contest.  It's a charming street in the Wrigley Neighborhood by day, but becomes a beautiful holiday wonderland come nightfall. 

The Wrigley Association invited myself along with five others to judge the annual contest, and some residents were busy stringing up their lights to get ready for the contest.  Others already had their displays in full swing by the time I'd arrived.  I was ready to be impressed, and did not leave disappointed.

Gavin Mc Kiernan of the Wrigley Associated greeted me with a clipboard and a hot chocolate and explained the rules.  A little more than a mile of streets to walk, and eight categories to grade each house.  A perfect score was 80.  I reasoned that with a semester-and-a-half of industrial design classes under my belt, my scores should carry more weight than the others.  Gavin did not agree. The District Weekly's Dave Wielenga joined Gavin and I as we cruised down Daisy, in search of the perfect decorations.

Immediately, my scores started off high.  I was very impressed with the work of the Daisy Lane residents, not only with those who were extravagantly above and beyond, but many used fewer lights to still create a festive presentation.  As the night darkened, more and more houses lit up, making Daisy Lane glow with red and green.  This is no coincidence: it's officially known as Long Beach's Christmas Tree Lane, and people know it.

Several times, drivers pulled up alongside us to ask when the parade will be held (this Saturday, but info on that later).  Others came up to us to ask what we were doing.  When we said that we were judging the lights, one person yelled, "That's tonight?!" and hurried home to finish his decorations.  The city has already organized decorations on the street's center divider, and Daisy Lane will be ready for its close-up during Saturday's parade.

The parade will begin at 5:00pm and last until 8:00pm.  Mayor Bob Foster and First Lady Nancy Foster will serve as Grand Marshalls, and special appearances are expected from bands, car clubs, police and fire, and a jolly bearded man in red.

After judging about thirty homes, the scores were getting close.  Dave, Gavin and I traded judging tips as we tried to guess who would be victorious.  Nearing the end of our journey, we came across two that jumped out into the lead with a wide array of decorations and clever lighting.  They favored one while I chose the other.

The most difficult part of the night came as we added up over forty scores, each from six judges (we're all terrible at math).  In the end, the Salazars at 2055 Daisy emerged victorious, after receiving top honors from Dave, Gavin and Frank Buono of Buono's Pizza.  Tim Patton from the 7th District Council Office, Nick Diamantides of the Signal Tribune and myself favored the runners-up at 2336 Daisy, who probably wish that Gavin would have approved my ratings scale request.  Both winners went home happy as the Salazars were awarded with a plaque and $150, plus an hour of decorating consultation and several gift certificates.  Second and third place winners received $100 and $50, respectively.

So get out your clipboards, and when you attend this Saturday's Daisy Lane Parade, let us know who you think deserves Best Christmas Tree Lane Decoration honors.  Can anyone dethrone 2055 Daisy?











Story and photos by Ryan ZumMallen

Comments
Dave Wielenga said: Yes, Ryan did have that year or so of formal design education, but I believe my real-word experience--that is, I've lived through about twice as many Decembers as he has--provided me with the wisdom to make the right choice. We agreed that the hot chocolate and sugar cookies were incredible, though. Robert said: This was a great read....I love the photo of the 3 of you.

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