24/12/2025
A word from the Tourism Manager and Christmas Festival Organiser 🎅⭐
Before I sign off for Christmas, I just wanted to sincerely thank and congratulate all 36 entrants of the Christmas Lights competition. What a wonderful way to turn up the festive spirit in our community. My fellow judges and I have been so impressed by all the hard work and dedication put into each display.
I have loved seeing the online community celebrating and congratulating the entrants and winners but I did want to address some of the feedback surrounding the competition. Deciding a winner in a competition with several well-deserving entrants is always super tough and whilst the judges feel the result is well deserved and that the elements the winner was judged on are in line with the competition rules, we understand the different opinions being shared and the frustration felt when it does not feel fair, or that all the incredibly hard work is not recognised as you feel it should be. We are continually learning each year and will be making some changes to how we run this competition in 2026, which I have detailed below.
I also wanted to clarify how the competition ran this year for the best house category; there were 5 judges involved in this year's competition, 3 of whom had not been involved before and 2 of whom are new residents to Cowra and were not aware of previous winners. Each of the judges independently scores entrants across three categories worth 5 points each. These points are then added up to decide on the winner, with this year Fitzroy Avenue winning by just half a point over Eulo St.
Whilst I understand the frustration and disappointment when the same house wins each year, the way the competition works is simply that the highest point score wins - it would not be fair to award this in any other way. In saying that, we do have a Hall of Fame process whereby once an entrant wins across 3 consecutive years, they enter the Hall of Fame and are not eligible to enter the same category for the following two years. This year, Fitzroy Avenue has entered the Hall of Fame and will receive a certificate and yard signage to recognise their impressive sustained success.
Here is what we promise, as a minimum, for 2026:
- Review of competition categories and prizes
- Clear communication and definition of competition rules and terms and conditions at relevant stages throughout the competition
- Ability for 2 community members to apply to be a part of the judging group
- Listing of the judging criteria so entrants can better understand the process
- Signage that will enable visitors to vote in real time
Again, I sincerely thank and congratulate all entrants; the hard work and commitment is so impressive, and you all deserve to be celebrated. I would also like to thank the judges; 3 of whom volunteered their evenings to support this important community event at such a busy time of year.
Merry Christmas, everybody. We are already excited to make Christmas in Cowra bigger and better in 2026.
Courtney Preo
Tourism Manager
