The Island Celebration judging of the Christmas lights took place on Friday, December 20th. Teresa O'Neal organizes the contest every year, and finds willing volunteers from among our few December visitors.

This year Teresa recruited Kathy Mikus, who splits her time between Ocracoke and Virginia, and her two children who were here visiting her for the holidays, Colleen Mikus of Charlottesville, VA and Casey Mikus of Fairfax, VA.

According to Teresa: "The tour of the island looking at Christmas lights took about an hour and a half and they enjoyed it very much, saying they were seeing parts of the island they had never been to before. We always try to see all the houses that have lights so everyone has a chance to win. They struggled to narrow down the winners to one per category and said we should have more categories because there were so many they liked!  Some of the categories did not have a hands-down winner. Best in Show was a tight call between Bobby O'Neal's and Cathy Scarborough/Jason Ellicker's but the mice at Bobby's were a deciding factor!  The Best Theme was between Stella O'Neal and Rachel O'Neal, as they all liked the beach themes. Most Traditional was another lively discussion as they all liked the Austin's and Chip & Helena Stevens', but Casey made a strong case for the Austin's. All in all it was a fun evening and I think our judges enjoyed the event."

BEST IN SHOW (Home)  Bobby O'Neal

MOST ORIGINAL Kathy and Dave O'Neal

BEST THEME Evan Borek & Rachel O'Neal

MOST TRADITIONAL Clyde,Virginia and Trudy Austin

BEST IN SHOW (Business) The Island Ragpicker

Teresa has no input in the judging, so it's just a happy coincidence that her own shop, the Island Ragpicker, won this year. Congrats, Teresa and Albert! She also mentioned that there didn't seem to be as many homes or businesses decorated this year. 

The contest is sponsored by the Ocracoke Civic and Business Association, and winners received a sign that night at their properties and also received a certificate. Bragging rights last all year. Signs will be up until sometime after Jan. 1.

Teresa said she would love to see the holiday boat parade revived sometime, a tradition that she last recalls seeing in 1999.

“The lighted boats would sail around Silver Lake and it was so beautiful seeing all the lights reflected on the water,” she said. “It would be something nice for us to do in the off season.”