Charles Street businesses now have an added incentive to dress up their display windows, following the announcement of the first annual Holiday Storefront Decorating Contest.
First- second and third-place winners in the inaugural competition, sponsored by the Joint Charles Street Committee of the Beacon Hill Civic Association and the Beacon Hill Business Association, will receive prizes during the Holiday Stroll Tree Lighting Ceremony on Thursday, Dec. 12, at 7:15 p.m.
Participating storefronts will be evaluated on the basis of originality, historic appropriateness and composition by a panel of judges, including Jared Wollaston, a Beacon Street resident and real estate broker; Miguel Rosales, a Joint Charles Street Committee member and bridge architect; Sharon Malt, president of the Beacon Hill Garden Club; architect Monica Pauli; and Patricia Butler, a new resident of the neighborhood and director of member services for Beacon Hill Village.
“Charles Street business owners do a first-class job decorating their storefronts every holiday season, and one of the neighborhood’s strongest points is the Holiday Stroll,” said John Corey, committee co-chair. “We hope this contest will help take it to the next level.”
Committee co-chair Susan Symonds, who will serve as emcee for the award ceremony, also anticipates that the contest will set the bar even higher for decorating storefronts than the superior standard already set by the Holiday Stroll.
“I’m really excited because the committee’s mission is do to everything in our power to make Charles Street a beautiful place, as well as to attract business,” Symonds said. “Anything the committee can do to enhance the beautification of the neighborhood is something we support.”