Aquarium Lighthouse Contest Features Wiltonians' "Millstone Tower"

A Wilton couple’s model lighthouse is helping to light the way for visitors to The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk as part of the Aquarium’s 12th annual “Festival of Lighthouses Contest.”   

“Millstone Tower” by Katie Keating and her boyfriend, Mike Giuffre, is among the 22 creative lighthouses in the holiday display, which will be open daily from Saturday, Nov. 16 through Jan. 20, 2014.

The exhibit is free with Aquarium admission. Visitors can follow these homemade beacons through the galleries and then cast a vote for their favorite.  The lighthouse with the most votes wins $1,500.

The lighthouses were built by local artists looking for a challenge, by friends and families who wanted to work together on a fun project, and by students fulfilling an assignment.

“The best gifts are those gifts that are unexpected yet show great thought,” said Judith Bacal, the Aquarium’s director of exhibits. “The ‘Lighthouse Contest’ is like a gift for us each year, because the designs are always so unexpected and the finished works show such thought and craftsmanship.”

Rules are kept to a minimum to allow for maximum creativity. Lighthouses must be 3 to 6 feet tall and have a working light, and may not include animal remains (such as shells).  Beyond that, it’s up to the creators’ imaginations.

Keating’s parents, Sean and Ivy Keating, entered the contest in 2011 and 2012, and she and Giuffre take up the challenge this year. Their entry is a six-sided lighthouse that tapers up to a light, neatly tucked under a gazebo-style roof. Holiday wreaths cut a spiral path up the outside, while snowflakes dust the scene below of trees, deer and a waterwheel.

Other designs this year include: a lighthouse made from Hostess snacks, a gingerbread lighthouse and a lighthouse made of green plastic soda bottles.

Four entries were built by students at The Ursuline School in New Rochelle, for their “Senior Introduction to Engineering” class.

There are cash prizes for winners and they will be announced at an evening reception on Jan. 23.

The 2013 “Festival of Lighthouses Contest” is free with Maritime Aquarium general admission.

For more details about Maritime Aquarium exhibits, IMAX movies and programs, call (203) 852-0700 or go online to www.maritimeaquarium.org.