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The Penn family wins CIL’s Light up the VI competition

- Floyd's home in Fat Hogs Bay a close second
The home that won the $3,000 first prize of the Caribbean Insurers Limited (CIL) Light up the Virgin Islands (VI) competition. Photo: CIL/Facebook
Winners of the Caribbean Insurers Limited (CIL) Light up the Virgin Islands (VI) competition, William and Arliene T. Penn. Photo: VINO
Winners of the Caribbean Insurers Limited (CIL) Light up the Virgin Islands (VI) competition, William and Arliene T. Penn. Photo: VINO
The home in Fat Hogs Bay that won the $1,500 second place prize. Photo: CIL/Facebook
The home in Fat Hogs Bay that won the $1,500 second place prize. Photo: CIL/Facebook
One of the homes that entered the Caribbean Insurers Limited (CIL) Light up the Virgin Islands (VI) competition. Photo: CIL/Facebook
One of the homes that entered the Caribbean Insurers Limited (CIL) Light up the Virgin Islands (VI) competition. Photo: CIL/Facebook
One of the homes that entered the Caribbean Insurers Limited (CIL) Light up the Virgin Islands (VI) competition. Photo: CIL/Facebook
One of the homes that entered the Caribbean Insurers Limited (CIL) Light up the Virgin Islands (VI) competition. Photo: CIL/Facebook
One of the homes that entered the Caribbean Insurers Limited (CIL) Light up the Virgin Islands (VI) competition. Photo: CIL/Facebook
One of the homes that entered the Caribbean Insurers Limited (CIL) Light up the Virgin Islands (VI) competition. Photo: CIL/Facebook
One of the homes that entered the Caribbean Insurers Limited (CIL) Light up the Virgin Islands (VI) competition. Photo: CIL/Facebook
One of the homes that entered the Caribbean Insurers Limited (CIL) Light up the Virgin Islands (VI) competition. Photo: CIL/Facebook
EAST END, Tortola, VI- The creative touches put into decorating the exterior of their home for Christmas has won an East End family the $3,000 first prize of the Caribbean Insurers Limited (CIL) Light up the Virgin Islands (VI) competition.

It was a narrow win above another East End home, that of Rhea Floyd, a can’t miss spectacle at Fat Hog’s Bay.

According to CIL, William and Arliene Penn pipped the Floyds by scoring very high with their creativity and extensive use of lights.

In telling the story behind their creation, Arliene T. Penn, who happens to be the Director of Communications in the Premier’s Office, said they focused on the creative element of the competition and, despite constant back and forth between herself and husband on what was the best design, they agreed on a final product.

In the heart of their creativity was the use of scraps of wooden and other materials, most of which were from the aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and Maria.

The Penns said the lighting up was significant for their family in more than one way as it coincided with the completion of the reconstruction of their home after it was ravaged by Hurricane Irma and moving back in for Christmas.

They won the Caribbean Alliance 1st place prize of $3,000.

A strong second for the Floyd’s

In second place, The Floyds' home has been the centre of attraction for persons commuting the main road through Fat Hogs Bay.

They too had a creative touch, which included Santa Claus arriving in a helicopter and landing on the roof. He climbs down with his crew and creates a merry time with characters such as Frostie the Snowman and members of Paw Patrol.

The Floyds won the $1,500 second place prize.

Close to 30 homes entered competition

Close to thirty homes were entered into the competition with seven from Virgin Gorda and all the others from Tortola. Judges were chosen outside of CIL to include persons with backgrounds in decorating, lighting, among other things.

The three main categories were Creativity, Uniqueness, and Grandness.

Bonus points were awarded to the top 10 participants with the most generated likes on Facebook.

According to CIL’s Simone T. Monsanto, CIL is looking to making the event an annual one during the festive season and is hoping to extend the competition to include businesses and other categories.

The prizes were sponsored by CIL and Caribbean Alliance.

16 Responses to “The Penn family wins CIL’s Light up the VI competition”

  • onlooker (03/01/2020, 09:40) Like (9) Dislike (0) Reply
    Thanks so much for the lights, it was one way of reminding me that it was Christmas.

    I looked forward to driving up East to see the lights close to YEP centre and close to Bings.

    Kudos to you all.
  • Too true (03/01/2020, 09:44) Like (12) Dislike (0) Reply
    What a wonderful competition!
    It encourages people to light up their properties and is a great attraction for everyone - tourists included.
    Bravo, Please make this an annual event!
  • asking for a friend (03/01/2020, 10:13) Like (3) Dislike (3) Reply
    Was there any real competition?
  • i dont care wha a man seh (03/01/2020, 10:36) Like (6) Dislike (3) Reply
    DA's house had look the best
  • bvi (03/01/2020, 10:38) Like (6) Dislike (11) Reply
    SOCIETY PEOPLE RUN THINGS AROUND HERE
  • Kingfish (03/01/2020, 11:38) Like (16) Dislike (10) Reply
    They are all beautiful, however it is very difficult to understand why within a tropical setting homes are decorated with
    Snowmen, rain deer and other items that reflect a white {snow} Christmas.
    • Tim (03/01/2020, 15:59) Like (8) Dislike (1) Reply
      The lights were all beautiful but it would have been better if Caribbean themes were depicted rather than a white Christmas which we don't have here .
    • tola (03/01/2020, 16:14) Like (0) Dislike (0) Reply
      same thing ah seh
  • Lily Ann (03/01/2020, 11:51) Like (8) Dislike (3) Reply
    Now all that money gone back in he Light Bill ... LOLOLOL
  • Crap (03/01/2020, 12:57) Like (6) Dislike (0) Reply
    The floyd's home looked way better. What were they judging on?
    • unknown (03/01/2020, 15:47) Like (4) Dislike (0) Reply
      If you look on CIL page...they announced persons to vote for the best decorated home without stating who they were for. So in the end it boiled down to the most likes on the page. And while their home looked better I believe they were looking for creativity......but all the homes were lovely.
  • All the best (04/01/2020, 00:18) Like (2) Dislike (0) Reply
    Well done the Penns.
  • SCB GIRL (04/01/2020, 02:18) Like (11) Dislike (0) Reply
    Just wanted to give a shout out to the folks who decorated the Well in Sea Cows Bay. It’s so colorful and festive. It lifted my spirits each time we drove by it during this Christmas season!
    And congratulations all the folks who won and participated in the competition.


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