Historic District holiday decorating contest

Cameron Wells, 6, holds the Best In Show award from the Ocala Historic District & Woodfields Area Decorating Contest for the Christmas decorations at his family’s home in southeast Ocala, Fla. on Monday, Dec. 21, 2020. The judged decorating contest, that was sponsored by Hiers-Baxley to benefit the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), raised $1,500 for NAMI. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2020.

Hiers-Baxley Community Care team, led by Leena Williams, sponsored the first Ocala Historic District & Woodfields Christmas Decorating contest and announced the winners on Monday afternoon. Featuring five different categories with an entry fee of $25 for each category, the contest raised over $1,500 for Marion County’s National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI). Piggybacking off the Historic Ocala Preservations Society’s decorating contest, Williams, who lives in the Woodfields area herself, wanted to introduce a decorating contest that would feature not only historic homes, but other homes in the area. Following the success this time around, Williams assured that the contest will return in 2021, with a separate contest in October for Halloween.[Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette]