See the new Light Up Lakewood Video here!

Light Up Lakewood 2011 from Chris Karel on Vimeo.

Thursday, December 8th kicked off the 2nd annual Gingerbread House Tour & Scavenger Hunt with many of our Downtown Lakewood merchants offering Open Houses in the evening.

The winners of this years Gingerbread House Tour are:

Families & children under 12
Casey Whittaker
Host location Landfall Travel

Youth 12-17
Mary Grace & Henry Brandt
Host location Discount Drug Mart

Adult
Pam Smith
Host location Landfall Travel

Best of Show
The Carroll Family
Host location Paisley Monkey

Although the Business Category isn’t judged, Hotel & Leisure Advisors’ entry on display at Rozi’s deserves special mention. Click here for the article on Lakewood Patch.

Thanks so much to our judges, Mary Ann Crampton, Eric Lowry, Dan and Erika Deagan, who had the difficult task of choosing from a great group of entries, to Colin McEwen and Lakewood Patch for highlighting this event and to everyone who agreed to host a house.

Better get started if you want to win next year. Here is your inspiration!

Orchestrating an event like Light Up Lakewood is the result of a lot of hard work from volunteers, local businesses and associations, and we are very grateful for all of their assistance. We want to recognize those groups here, and we encourage you to show your support for these organizations and companies now and throughout the year. Please click their logo or name for more information on our wonderful sponsors!

Thank you to our 2011 Light Up Lakewood Sponsors 

               Key Bank                   

Lakewood City Schools      Lakewood Masonic Temple         

OMG Mobile Gaming             

  Panera Bread and LakewoodAlive Light Up Lakewood Event

For those of you that had Pictures with Santa at Panera, click HERE for the link on Fliker where you will be able to find and print your pictures! We hope you enjoyed your photo-op! More pictures from Chris Karel HERE

You’ve found it! The link to Light Up Lakewood 2011. There are so many new and exciting events added this year that will add a new facet to the family fun. Click our logo to the left to view the schedule. Check back again to find out what else there is, as the schedule is subject to change….for the better!

2010 Winner St. James Church

Downtown Lakewood Business Alliance (DLBA) wants to spark the imagination and creativity of the community, that’s why we’re challenging residents to build a gingerbread structure and enter it in our Gingerbread House Tour.

The structures submitted will be placed in the stores and/or windows of participating Downtown merchants where holiday shoppers will be able to admire them.  The gingerbread houses be on display by December 3^rd for Light Up Lakewood and remain in place through December 22^nd.

Scavenger hunt sheets will be available at each participating merchant and both Lakewood Public Libraries.  The scavenger hunt will continue through Tuesday, December 20^th. Completed sheets may be turned in at any participating merchant or the LakewoodAlive office. Those who have correctly identified all the houses will be entered into a drawing for a Downtown Lakewood gift basket.

Judging of the entries will occur on Thursday, December 15^th at 6:00 p.m.  DLBA’s panel of judges will select a house in each category that exemplifies Most Creative Use of Materials, Best Use of a Theme and Best of Show.  Categories are:  Children & Family (12 & under); Youth (13-17); Adult (18+); Business/Organization; and Professional.  The last two categories will not be judged.  Prizes, donated by Downtown Lakewood Business Alliance, will be awarded on December 22nd.  Entrants may pick up their creations from the host business on Friday, December 23^rd, or as otherwise arranged.

Click HERE for all the details. Click HERE to print an entry form. Have fun!! Click HERE for information and ideas for your Gingerbread house.

Wanted: Imaginative, talented and fun Lakewood residents to be part of a new tradition as part of the Light Up Lakewood FIRST ever Holiday Parade on Saturday December 3rd! Gather your friends, relatives, social groups or organizations and dream up a motorized “float” or strut your creativity as a group in the march.

The parade will begin at 5:00 pm, preceeding the Light Up Lakewood lighting ceremony at the Hospital, starting at Bunts and ending at the Drug Mart parking lot. Join Santa and his entourage of parade watchers make their way back to the hospital balcony for the lighting.

Click the LUL logo where you’ll find all the details and the registration form. So, get in the holiday mood, put your heads together and come up with something wonderful for all to see as you christen a new tradition for Lakewood!!

LakewoodAlive invites anyone interested in sponsoring a portion of Light Up Lakewood Festivities to go no farther! You’ve reached the page where you can see all benefits of becoming a sponsor! The event draws not only Lakewood residents, but people from other cities as the word spreads about this wonderful holiday gathering. With the addition of the first ever Parade, there will be more people than ever as they come to see the latest addition that is sure to become a family tradition for everyone.

Sponsorships for snow machines, ice carvers, singers and jugglers are just a few of the opportunities avaliable. Depending on your sponsorship level, from articles, press and media releases to LakewoodAlive, Downtown Lakewood and Light Up Lakewood website exposure, there is a level for everyone!

Click our logo and read all the benefits and details as well as a printable form.

We always depend on and truly appreciate all our wonderful sponsors that make our Lakewood events so successful!

This year we’ve added something special to the annual Light Up Lakewood event. Plantation Home in Downtown Lakewood  generously sponsored a $500.00 scholarship.

The Light Up Lakewood Festival King and Queen Scholorship was avaliable to any Lakewood resident that is a high school Sophomore or Junior during the 2011 – 2012 school year. Six finalists were selected to be interviewed, three for the queen and three for the king. One king and one queen was chosen by the selection committee

The winners are…….

King – Pete Nelson – Lakewood High School
Queen – Rachel Ritter – Lakewood High School

Congratulations to them both as the winners of the scholorship and the FIRST parade King & Queen!

Rachel & Pete will be presented to the community in a horse drawn carriage in the parade at 5:00 pm and again at the lighting ceremony at Lakewood Hospital at 6:00 pm.

A huge thank you goes do David Stein of Plantation Home for sponsoring the scholarship and to the following volunteers on the scholarship committe for their time. It had to be a hard decision to make among the applicants!

Kelley Drumm – Chairperson
David Stein – Sponsor
Chris Gordillo
Tori Worron
Tamera Karel
Geof Pelaia

A huge amount of what makes our Spooky Pooch Parade Event so special are the vendors, non-profit, rescue groups and demonstrations! Come early and stay after the parade to find unusual and unique items for your pet AND you!! Test your dogs skills with the Ohio Air Dogs Fun Course. Find out how you can help local rescue agencies and bring home some goodies for your pet and yourself.  Below are the vendors who will be at St. Charles Green beginning at 12:30 on October 15th. Click their logos to learn more about them.

Camp Bow Wow Westlake        Fluffy Couture       G.R.I.N.        Scentsy
Lakewood Family YMCA    Pet Psychic Rev. Liz Madsen   Personal Bling   Mad Mouth Gyros