The Southside Garden Club will hold its 12th annual holiday lighting contest next week, and the deadline for entry is drawing near.

The deadline for entries is Wednesday, Dec. 3, at 8 p.m. The following day, Dec. 4, out-of-town judges will view each entry, beginning at 5:30 p.m. Cash prizes of $50 will be awarded to five first-place winners. The residential categories that people may enter under include traditional, whimsical and religious, while the commercial categories include window display and outdoor display.

All contestants are judged by the Garden Club of Alabama criteria. Artistic effects such as design, originality — including lighting ideas or effects — as well as scale and proportion, ingenuity and conformity to the Christmas spirit are the guidelines for the judges to make their final decision.

Traditionally, the weekend after Thanksgiving is the beginning of the Christmas season. Shopping, football games, decorating and leftover turkey fill the days. In Demopolis, ’tis the season of decorating and preparing for Christmas on the River. The citizens of Demopolis are encouraged to decorate their homes, yards and businesses early to impress the thousands of visitors during this festive weeklong occasion.

This is a much-anticipated annual event. The Garden Club encourages people to dust off their decorations from last year and turn on their holiday lights.

For more information on the contest or to enter, contact Betty Baxley at 289-2957 or Sharon Farst at 289-8518.