Old Towne Orange’s Holiday Lights Street O was back for 2025! Kim and Alan Pincus were missed, but we got to enjoy their beautiful, former stomping grounds.

About 40 people brought their holiday spirit out to the streets of Orange. This historic area with beautiful homes also goes big on Halloween lights, so there were a number of skeleton crossovers. One house was adorned in the theme of the Chronicles of Narnia, with life-sized wolves and Mr. Tumnus, and blocks of along both Pixley and Pine streets were lit with coordinated lights and other decorations.

Participants had 90 minutes to complete the course, and most came back in right on the wire. Correct answers were worth 10, 20, or 30 points. Total possible points were 790, which includes a 100pt bonus for getting the 5 selected award-winning houses.

Wayne Cottrell came in 1st by nearly clearing the map for a total of 740 points. He must have been especially aerodynamic due to wearing a shirt on the course! The father, son & dog team Lost & Founders came in 2nd, just edging out Clare Durand in 3rd. Other notable friendly competitions were between the two Girl Scout teams with Camp Scherman counselors, with Team Stark’s Fan Club getting more points than first timers Team W RIZZ. Another scout team, Troop 737, was the largest team with 8! Christmas came early for Alan Perez, who was strategic with his controls and beat out his son Logan by collecting the Winning Category Bonus. Team King Bill’s Court came back the fastest, with Rich and Carol Hoesly close on their heels (must be because Rich got his lucky blue & black fleece back!). Brian Boudreaux and his family were out on the course the longest. The Tischlers tied each other (although Susan was a few seconds faster), Sofia Somova was the youngest solo runner on the course, the Orange Elves came in 4th despite forgetting what they named themselves, Team Cypress Pair brought loads of holiday cheer, and Roman Geiko and his wife brought their baby.

Happy Merry Everything to Everyone and a ho ho ho-liday thank you to the volunteers:

·        Rich Hoesly provided the pencils and access to underlying map

·        Clare Durand was Event Director

·        Alan Perez did registration

·        Recinda Sherman had the most fun setting the course