If Charleston residents are enthusiastic about the holiday season, they can show off their spirit in the town’s annual decorating contest.

Charleston’s 11th annual Spirit of the Holidays Outdoor Decorating Contest will begin next week.

Kimberly Wargo, the event’s coordinator, said the contest, which judges local participants on their home displays, will offer more than $500 in prizes donated by local vendors, including gift certificates, free oil changes and other services.

She said judging will be from 6 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 14 and is free to anyone who enters before the deadline at 5 p.m. on Friday.

Wargo said the city will be divided into four different quadrants, with each section having a different winner.

She said the winners of the four quadrants will then be judged to crown an overall champion.

Wargo said the contest started in 2001 and will feature this year’s overall winner in a written article for the JG-TC.

She said the piece in the newspaper will include pictures of the winners’ homes and information about the their approach to decorating.

Wargo said that the judges use five categories to critique a participant’s decorations, including overall lighting, the creativity of their decorations, cohesiveness of the display as a whole, technical use, such as electric props or moving decorations and the display of holiday spirit.

Wargo said that the spirit category is the most important aspect when judges are evaluating the homes.

According to Wargo, the judges look for houses that capture the spirit of the holidays.

To register for the event, participants should visit Charleston’s Parks and Recreation office at 520 Jackson Ave. by 5 p.m.

John Downen can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].