“You don’t need street lights in my neighborhood,” said Yvonne Dubis, the 2017 winner of the #PSLinLights competition.
This year, she and her 24-year-old son, Travis, have doubled up on the decorations and the lights.
“It’s the ‘Rad’ house,” Dubis said. Her home is located on SW Rad Court, just south of Becker Road, west of the Florida Turnpike. The Dubises did the best they could last year, having found out late about the city’s lighting competition and still dealing with roof damage from the hurricane. “We were surprised (about the win). We were ecstatic,” she said.
Not to be caught off guard again, the Dubis family has been planning all year what their house would look like all lit up. In October, they started assembling the pieces they would need.
Dubis said the sense of community the competition has engendered is even better than the City Council and yard-sign recognition she received for winning.
“It brings the family together,” she said, noting that she and her son have grown closer from the effort.
Motorists slow down to soak in the dazzling light display, often shouting out exclamations of amazement to the Dubises. And as much as she enjoys the positive feedback, she said she’s had to remind a few to keep their comments G-rated. “Santa’s watching!” she’s admonished them.
The Dubis family’s interactions with the neighborhood and community-at-large are exactly the reason the City of Port St. Lucie launched #PSLinLights in 2016.
As neighbors gather to look at lights, “it gets them talking,” Port St. Lucie spokeswoman Sarah Prohaska said, and it helps grow vibrant neighborhoods.
This year’s winner will receive an as-yet-unspecified gift from the city through the NICE program, which is funded through recycling revenues. The winner will also be recognized at a City Council meeting and receive a yard sign hailing the home as the champion.
Residents have through Dec. 31 to decorate the exterior of their homes (and yards) and upload a photo to the city’s competition webpage map. Voting will start Jan. 2 and run through Jan. 6, via a SurveyMonkey survey. The winner will be announced on the city’s Facebook page Jan. 7.
To help residents get further into the holiday spirit, Port St. Lucie commissioned a couple of community buses through Treasure Coast Connector and St. Lucie Community Transit to bus 200 people throughout the city to take in the sights.
All 200 spots were claimed in less than 40 minutes, Prohaska said, and a waiting list of another 200 was created.
The tour was free but limited to just two nights at two times, and to just a couple buses. Prohaska said the city is seeking the public’s input regarding expanding the bus tours. To do so, though, a small fee would be charged.
Anyone wishing to provide feedback regarding a potential fee is encouraged to email [email protected].
