Light Up Ohio County Residential Holiday Decorating Winners & Light Trail Announced

Participants in the annual Decorating Contest and Light Trail were asked to keep their lights up until January 1,

First Place. Photo provided.

(Ohio County, Ind.) - Ohio County Tourism, Inc., announces the winners of the 2024 Light Up Ohio County Residential Holiday Decorating Contest and Light Trail.

Ten applications were submitted into this year’s competition. Any resident located within in the Ohio County limits was eligible to apply.

“Residents of Rising Sun/Ohio County pulled out all the stops this year. We greatly appreciate all the time, effort, and expense these folks took on to make sure that Ohio County shines bright!” said Kendal Miller, executive director of Ohio County Tourism.

The 2024 judges not only awarded a first and second place but deemed a tie for third. The overall results from the judges prompted the tourism board to award honorable mentions to the rest of the entrants.

The first-place winner is Mark Abplanalp of 121 N. High Street in Rising Sun. Mark has been a long-time participant and always ceases to amaze the judges with the thousands of lights and displays that he uses on and around his home.

Additional winners include Jordan Warner of 800 Burgess Avenue, second place: with Joe & Lisa Lewis of 407 S. Poplar Street and Colton Bruce of 612 Wilson Street tied for third.

Second place (left). Tied for third on the right. Photos provided.

Honorable mentions went to Bob Cunningham & Jaime Scott, 625 Fifth Street; Robin Scott, 1300 Finn Lane; Dalton Craft and Katelyn Davidson, 1341 Finn Lane; Lori Turner, 2147 Salem Ridge Road; Tim Lambert, 6726 Twain Lane; and Josh and Stefanie Buchanan of 6126 Dittmer Road in the Aurora portion of Ohio County.

The top four winners and honorable mentions received cash prizes. Neighborhood award winners received “bragging rights.” Located in Rising Sun, these were awarded to High Street winning the Holiday Cheer Neighborhood Award, and Elliott’s Landing garnering the Shiny & Bright Award.

“Ohio County Tourism would like to thank everyone who helps make Ohio County shine bright throughout the holiday season! We hope everyone will come to Ohio County, grab a bite to eat at our local eateries and then head out to view all the lights. There are a lot of homes decorated that didn’t enter the contest,” said Miller.

Participants in the annual Decorating Contest and Light Trail were asked to keep their lights up until January 1, 2025; however, this is not mandatory.

Information on additional Rising Sun/Ohio County events, lodging, shops, eateries, and landmarks, log on to the enjoyrisingsun.com website, follow the Rising Sun-Ohio County Tourism Facebook page, drop by the 217 N. High Street Visitors Center on Tuesday-Friday from 10am-4:30pm, and Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. or call (812) 438-4933.

The Visitors Center will be closed for the holiday from December 23 through January 6, 2025. Tourist information is available 24/7 inside Rising Star Casino Resort, 777 Rising Star Drive, Rising Sun.