Candy Cane Court, Davis schools up for $100K prize

Thanks to Davis’ own Candy Cane Court, our schools might become $100,000 richer.

Jim and Kristy Powell’s always festively decorated house on Henri Court in Wildhorse is one of 24 finalists in Patch’s national “Deck the House” contest. The grand prize winner of the contest will receive a $100,000 payment to the public school system where the winning home is located.

Homeowner Kristy Powell, the designer and creator of much of Candy Cane Court’s decorations said of the news, “It’s so exciting that our little lights could benefit the district so much!”

Patch.com, a local news website owned by AOL, ran the contest earlier this month in all cities and towns that have a Patch website. Of the 860 Patch websites, one top entrant from each site was chosen to be judged based on “creativity, festive nature of decorations and capturing the spirit of the winter holidays.”

From there, the Powells’ house advanced to become one of 24 eligible for the grand prize.

By virtue of their selection as finalists, the Powells will receive $500 toward their holiday electric bill.

However, the next phase of the contest is where the real money is. According to the “Deck the House” rules, during the national voting period — which begins at 6 a.m. Friday and ends at 8:59 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 8 — “visitors will be able to vote for their favorite finalist at deckthehouse.patch.com. The one finalist with the highest number of valid votes at the end of the national voting period will be deemed the grand prize winner (subject to verification). Voting is limited to one vote per person per finalist per day.”

So many people enjoy Candy Cane Court each year with its annual appearance by Santa Claus, the Cal Aggie Marching Band-uh playing Christmas songs, and hundreds of Davis residents strolling, socializing and sipping cocoa. Now it’s time to catapult Davis’ treasure to national fame, and get some much-needed money for the schools.