Winners Announced Of Portsmouth's Annual Holiday Lights Contest

PORTSMOUTH, NH — The annual tradition continues as Mayor McEachern has announced the winners of the 2023 Citywide Neighborhood Committee Holiday Lights Contest.

This year's contest saw entries from 34 Portsmouth residents, but only three could come out on top. These winners, who were chosen by members of the Citywide Neighborhood Committee plus three children — Cody Bureau, Sonia Jarvis and Sidney Jarvis — are as follows.

Best Traditional: Molly Wilson, 1360 South Street
Most Creative: Kris Kraft, 760 State Street
Kids’ Choice: Matt and Nicole Beyer, 580 F.W. Hartford Drive

Honorable Mentions were awarded to:

Jana Goldstein, 170 F.W. Hartford Drive
Brent Guillot, 32 Manning Street
Brian McGuire, 21 Madison Street

"The Citywide Neighborhood Committee has done a great job of reviving the Holiday Lights Contest so that it’s now an annual tradition and part of what makes Portsmouth a wonderful place for the holidays," McEachern said after announcing the winners at Monday's city council meeting ."Each year, so many families put so much time and effort into the displays, helping to bring holiday spirit to their neighborhoods and holiday light to our beautiful city."

The best part of the event, according to Citywode Neighborhood Committee co-chair Elaine Apatang, is that it brings neighborhoods together and "helps form lasting friendships."

"The Committee is delighted to do its part to ensure that Portsmouth continues to be the holiday capital of North America, as we are known," Apatang added.

You can tour all of the contest entries thanks to the committee's interactive map with the winners marked with red snowflakes and the honorable mentions in green.