A Norwalk woman’s intricate dollhouse lighthouse is the fifth-place winner in the 14th annual “Festival of Lighthouses Contest” at The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk.
Jo Stecker earned $225 for receiving the fifth-most votes from Aquarium visitors during the holiday display, which ran from Nov. 21 to Jan. 18 and featured 22 large model lighthouses built by local artists, students and hobbyists.
Stecker has been successful each year she has entered the contest, taking home prize money for fifth place last year, third place in 2013 and second in 2012 – always with dollhouse-themed lighthouses. Her “North Pole Lighthouse” this year is again a highly detailed four-story dollhouse, this time with a Christmas motif. Peek inside to see the fully furnished – and holiday-decorated – first-floor kitchen, Santa’s workshop on the second level, third-floor living room and fourth-floor bedrooms.
The contest’s winners are chosen by Maritime Aquarium visitors, who enjoy the lighthouses in the aquarium galleries and then vote for their favorite. More than 11,500 votes were tallied in this most recent display, which – as always – attracted a collection of widely creative works.
At a Jan. 21 ceremony at The Maritime Aquarium, five other prizes also were awarded from the paper-ballot voting:
• first place ($1,500) – “Surviving the Storm” by Robert Keene of Darien.
• second place ($750) – “Tiki Island Lighthouse” by Brett Almstead of Ridgefield.
• third place ($375) – “Fairy Lighthouse” by Bob Hemond of Trumbull.
• fourth place ($300) – “Fieldstone Tower” by Pedro Davila of White Plains, N.Y.
• sixth place ($150) – “Droste Point: The Lighthouse Within” by Nancy Todd of West Haven.
Hemond also won an additional $500 for winning the exhibit’s “Facebook Favorite” vote conducted online Dec. 28-Jan. 18.
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Maritime Aquarium 2015-16 Lighthouse winners
“We congratulate the winners, and thank all 22 contestants whose creativity and efforts added a bright and festive cheer to The Maritime Aquarium through the holiday season,” said Chris Loynd, the Aquarium’s marketing director. “Because of them, the real winners were the Aquarium’s visitors.”
Photos of all the winners can be seen at flickr.com/photos/Maritimeaquarium.
Entry forms for the 2016-17 “Festival of Lighthouses Contest” will be available on the Aquarium’s website this summer.
For more information about exhibits, IMAX® movies, programs or other offerings at the popular Connecticut family attraction, go to MaritimeAquarium.org or call (203) 852-0700.