Jo Stecker, of Norwalk, wins $300 for receiving the third-most votes from Aquarium visitors for her entry, “National Lighthouse.”
Stecker has entered the Aquarium contest – and finished “in the money” – numerous times, always with detailed dollhouse-style lighthouses. Her “National Lighthouse” this year features a furnished lighthouse-keeper’s house. The keeper stands on the porch, overlooking water, greeting two children in a canoe. The adjacent lighthouse, with a red-and-white spiral, is lighted from within and leads up to beacon lights on two levels, with flags from dozens of nations ringing the lowest.
The Aquarium’s holiday lighthouse display ran from Nov. 19 to Jan. 16, and featured 13 large model lighthouses built by local artists, students and hobbyists. The contest’s winners are chosen by Aquarium visitors, who enjoy the lighthouses in the Aquarium galleries and then vote for their favorite. More than 6,700 votes were tallied in this most recent display, which – as always – attracted a collection of widely creative works.
At a Jan. 19 ceremony at The Maritime Aquarium, three other prizes were awarded from the paper-ballot voting:
• first place ($1,500) – “LEG-lobe” by Nick Parker of Ridgefield.
• second place ($750) – “Cork Island Lighthouse” by Carolina Fontes of Stratford.
• and fourth place ($150) – “Minion Point” by Charlie Kestler and Roy Glover of Shelton, with Connor Rieve of Bethel.
An additional $500 prize was awarded to “Minion Point” and Kestler, Glover and Rieve for getting the most votes in a separate “Facebook Favorite” vote conducted online Jan. 1-16.
“We congratulate the winners, and thank all the contestants whose creativity added a fun and festive cheer to The Maritime Aquarium through the holiday season,” said Tina Tison, the Aquarium’s marketing director. “Because of them, our guests were the real winners.”
Photos of all the winners can be seen at flickr.com/photos/Maritimeaquarium.
For more information about exhibits, IMAX® movies, programs or other offerings at the popular Connecticut family attraction this winter, go to MaritimeAquarium.org or call (203) 852-0700.