Holiday Lights Contest: Geneva home wins editors' pick in Tri-Cities
Bruce and Joyce Papiech at 39W641 Bealer Circle in Geneva have been chosen by editors as the Tri-Cities winners of the Daily Herald Holiday Lights contest.
The overall contest winner, chosen by online voting, is Dante Fiandaca of Algonquin.
Q. How long have you been decorating your house like this?
A. Seven years.
Q. What inspired you to go all out with your decorations?
A. Bruce is an electronics engineer. We love Christmas.
Q. How many hours does it take to put up the display?
A. About one month of 12-hour days.
Q. How much does your electric bill spike in December?
A. It really doesn't. It's all LED lights that are very efficient. It all runs on 20 amps.
Q. What do your neighbors think of your display?
A. Everyone loves it. We've gotten calls from neighbors telling us the radio transmission isn't working so we can fix it. We get letters from kids saying thank you and asking if we will do it again next year. People will sit in their cars all evening and watch, sometimes up on the hill where you can see the whole thing.