DOVER — The magic of the holiday season is on full display in downtown Dover as the annual array of merchant window displays is underway.
Store windows have been decorated in the theme of “Holiday Wishes.”
Dover Mayor Robin Christiansen, Dover Police Chief Thomas Johnson, NCALL’s Will Grimes and Bayhealth Nurse Educator Karen Cebenka and her husband Kenneth served as judges for the window-display competition at the Capital Holiday Celebration on Dec. 4.
Creative Vision was awarded first-place honors for its display that featured shimmering Christmas trees surrounding by gifts with ornaments hanging down amid a snowy, wintery theme. Parke Green Gallery won second place, followed by Sozo. Maxine’s Fashions captured Mayor Christiansen’s Choice Award and Mitten and Winters was awarded the Downtown Dover Partnership (DDP) Staff Choice Award.
La Baguette Bakery, Maxine’s Fashions and Mitten and Winters all earned honorable mentions in the overall awards for the window displays.
“One thing that immediately struck me is the pride behind each display and the resiliency of the downtown Dover merchants to produce a beautiful holiday atmosphere for the community, despite the many challenges related to COVID this year,” Chief Johnson said.
Mrs. Cebenka said the window displays set the perfect mood for the holiday season.
“This was a great night for our first night in our new home,” said Mrs. Cebenka, after her night of judging.
Mayor Christiansen expressed how proud he was of the many people who have come together to promote the holiday in Dover.
The “Holiday Wishes” theme was selected by the Downtown Dover Partnership Design Committee members because it supported the Downtown Dover StoryWalk, featuring the book “The Wish Tree.”
Poster-sided pages of the book are featured in the shop windows and one page leads the viewer to the next.
“The book provided merchants with an opportunity to use broad creative license and this turned out to be such a nice collaboration between the DDP and the Dover Public Library,” said Diane Laird, executive director of the DDP.
StoryWalks are designed to promote exercise and literacy skills by taking a book apart and spreading it out along a trail.
Families are invited to walk along the trail, and in this case shop window to window, and read the book together. Discussion questions are provided with each page of the book to encourage parents to talk about the book with their children, which strengthens reading comprehension. See https://Tinyurl.com/DoverStoryWalk for details.
Shoppers are invited to enjoy the colorfully lit merchant windows throughout the holiday season and are invited to vote for their favorite display in the People’s Choice category by visiting: https://Tinyurl.com/DoverWishes20.
