Festive fun for businesses

By Steven Fox

A festive competition for Cork businesses has been announced in the run up to the holiday period, inviting them to transform their windows with seasonal displays. The competition is being run by the Cork Business Association (CBA) in collaboration with Cork City Council.

There will be four award categories available for participants. These are ‘Best Overall Display’, ‘Best Non-Retail Façade’ – which will cover pubs, cafés, restaurants, and other non-retail business premises – ‘Best Independent Retail Window’, and ‘Best Large/Chain Retail Window’.

Lead judge and CBA member Lisa McCarthy of Spectrum Display thanked Cork City Council for their continued support.

She said: “We’re delighted to see this competition return for a second year. The city window displays bring so much joy and helps create the magic of the season on the streets of Cork. Whether this is your first attempt or you’re a seasoned display creator, the process is exciting and rewarding.”

Members of the public can nominate their favourite displays and business owners by sending an email to info@corkbusiness.ie with a photo of their favourite display, the name of the business, and the business’ address. Business owners are also free to nominate themselves using the same procedure.

The entrants will be judged by a panel drawing from the retail, visual merchandising, and creative sectors. They will evaluate the competitors based on three criteria: festivity – how well they capture the Christmas magic and enhance their street – design, how well they attract the attention and hold the interest with thoughtful design – and creativity – the judges will award originality, strong themes and imaginative use of materials.

Submissions will be open to the public and businesses until 5 December.

This article was produced with the support of the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme funded by Coimisiún na Meán.