To bring in the holiday season, the Oxford Music Academy is holding its second annual Christmas light contest.
Oxford residents may enter the contest now through Dec. 7 by submitting a display on the Oxford Music Academy’s website. Voting will begin Dec. 8 and ends Dec. 28.
The idea for the contest came to Jon Sanford, the founder and director of the Oxford Music Academy, as he was enjoying a cup of morning coffee.
“[I] saw a post in the Oxford Talk Facebook group asking if there was any kind of Christmas light contest in town,” Sanford said. “After realizing there wasn’t, I decided to start one. I’m used to creating website pages and forms for the academy, so I knew I could get it up and running fairly easily.”
Last year, nearly 30 displays were submitted into the contest and over 600 votes were received.
“When everything was ready, I responded to the original Facebook post later that morning and the enthusiasm was incredible,” said Sanford. “Entries and votes started pouring in, and I was overwhelmed with the number of voters I needed to manually respond to and verify.”
All entries will be posted to the Oxford Music Academy’s website Dec. 8 along with a map of addresses so voters can view them in person, Sanford said. For those who cannot visit the displays, photos of each entry will be included on the website.
To cast votes, participants must visit the Oxford Music Academy’s website here. The page will update once voting opens.
Those who wish to vote for their favorite display will fill out a short form with their name, email and which entry they are voting for. To keep things fair, according to Sanford, participants will receive an email to which they must reply in order to confirm their vote.
“… With an earlier start in spreading the word, we’re aiming for over 1,000 votes,” Sanford said.
There are three possible prizes that contestants may win. Winners may choose between an Amazon gift card or an Oxford Music Academy certificate. First place will receive $300, second place will receive $200 and third place will receive $100.
“The OMA certificate can be used for lessons, instruments, accessories or sheet music we have available for sale,” said Sanford.
Winners will be announced Jan. 1. According to the Oxford Music Academy’s website, those who place in the contest will receive instructions on how to claim their prize in the mail. A valid ID confirming the winner’s address must be presented to receive their prize.
“As a fan of Christmas lights myself, I’m thrilled to contribute something festive and fun for the community,” Sanford said. “I’m committed to making this a cherished tradition every year.”
