Griswold Challenge returns to downtown Sparks
The 39 North Pole Village Griswold Challenge is back, and Sparks families/businesses are invited to participate in the annual holiday light decorating contest held in Downtown Sparks November 30 through December 2 free of charge.
The 8th annual challenge celebrates the true spirit of Christmas by inviting people to create their best, most innovative light displays and fill a booth with holiday decorations as Victorian Square turns into the 39 North Pole Village.
When handed a 10’x20’ space (equipped with a power supply), teams are encouraged to let their imaginations run wild and work off themes based on holiday movies, family traditions, or business concepts. The idea for the Griswold Challenge was created by One Nevada’s Lisa Jansen and 39 North Downtown’s Angela Handler, inspired by popular holiday movie “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” starring Chevy Chase. The People’s Choice awards allow attendees to pick winners, and the team behind the best decorated booth will take home the Clark Griswold Award and $500 (second place gets the Cousin Eddie award and $250).
“We wanted to have a fun, free event for the people in Sparks,” says 39 North Events Director Angela Handler. While it can take an hour to an entire day to set up a display depending on how much time and effort you want to put into it, there are ways to streamline the process.
“If you’re a car salesman, you can bring a car, decorate it with lights, and be done,” says Handler.
“People don’t have to stay at their booth the entire time,” says Handler. “You can throw up a banner and leave for a while,” she adds. It’s basically free exposure for businesses, and everyone has a home base they can go back to while enjoying the rest of the festivities.
With five new apartment complexes in Downtown Sparks overlooking Victorian Square, Handler encourages residents to get involved, too.
“We created a Griswold Porch Edition,” she says. “How cool would it be to see all of the porches and windows in Victorian Square all lit up?”
While the event is free to enter, there is a $10 suggested donation which will go back to 39 North Downtown to cover its expenses as well as distributed to local charities. Santa Cause will be rolling into town in a Cousin Eddie RV and Moana Nursery donated 10 live Christmas trees and 20 fresh cut trees to be given away in a raffle and silent auction.
Registration for the 8th Annual Griswold Challenge is open through November 26. For more information, visit 39NorthDowntown.com. The 39 North Pole Village will be open in Downtown Sparks Nov. 30 to Dec. 2 and there will also be free photos with Santa, a heated vendor tent, live music, free train rides, and food trucks.
