The Penn family wins CIL’s Light up the VI competition
It was a narrow win above another East End home, that of Rhea Floyd, a can’t miss spectacle at Fat Hog’s Bay.
According to CIL, William and Arliene Penn pipped the Floyds by scoring very high with their creativity and extensive use of lights.
In telling the story behind their creation, Arliene T. Penn, who happens to be the Director of Communications in the Premier’s Office, said they focused on the creative element of the competition and, despite constant back and forth between herself and husband on what was the best design, they agreed on a final product.
In the heart of their creativity was the use of scraps of wooden and other materials, most of which were from the aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and Maria.
The Penns said the lighting up was significant for their family in more than one way as it coincided with the completion of the reconstruction of their home after it was ravaged by Hurricane Irma and moving back in for Christmas.
They won the Caribbean Alliance 1st place prize of $3,000.
A strong second for the Floyd’s
In second place, The Floyds' home has been the centre of attraction for persons commuting the main road through Fat Hogs Bay.
They too had a creative touch, which included Santa Claus arriving in a helicopter and landing on the roof. He climbs down with his crew and creates a merry time with characters such as Frostie the Snowman and members of Paw Patrol.
The Floyds won the $1,500 second place prize.
Close to 30 homes entered competition
Close to thirty homes were entered into the competition with seven from Virgin Gorda and all the others from Tortola. Judges were chosen outside of CIL to include persons with backgrounds in decorating, lighting, among other things.
The three main categories were Creativity, Uniqueness, and Grandness.
Bonus points were awarded to the top 10 participants with the most generated likes on Facebook.
According to CIL’s Simone T. Monsanto, CIL is looking to making the event an annual one during the festive season and is hoping to extend the competition to include businesses and other categories.
The prizes were sponsored by CIL and Caribbean Alliance.
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16 Responses to “The Penn family wins CIL’s Light up the VI competition”
I looked forward to driving up East to see the lights close to YEP centre and close to Bings.
Kudos to you all.
It encourages people to light up their properties and is a great attraction for everyone - tourists included.
Bravo, Please make this an annual event!
Snowmen, rain deer and other items that reflect a white {snow} Christmas.
And congratulations all the folks who won and participated in the competition.