Decorations to be judged on Dec. 17

FREEHOLD - The annual Freehold Borough holiday decorating contest is again being jointly sponsored by Freehold Beautiful Inc. and the Freehold Borough Recreation Commission.

Judging will be on Dec. 17 after 5 p.m. Participants need only to leave their lights on that evening for the judges to see.

The judges are children from the Freehold Borough elementary schools. The children will tour the entire town, accompanied by adult drivers from the sponsoring agencies.

This year the Recreation Commission is also looking for families who wish to be judges. Anyone interested should contact Lynn Reich at (732) 462-3357.

The judges select their favorite holiday displays, and third-, second- and firstplace winners are chosen from among all the honorable mentions. The judges also select a winner in the commercial category.

All winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on Dec. 21 at 5:30 p.m. at the Monmouth County Hall of Records plaza, Main Street. Musical entertainment will be provided by a combined brass ensemble from Freehold High School and Freehold Township High School, directed by Pam Makrancy and Edward Gattsek. Refreshments will be served. Santa is expected to make a visit.

Freehold Beautiful Inc. is the town's beautification group. Through the efforts of this volunteer organization, Freehold's streetscape has blossomed with flowering planters, pocket parks have been maintained, and the Appleyard reading garden was developed behind the Freehold Public Library, along with many other projects.

The Freehold Borough Recreation Commission is a group of residents appointed by the Borough Council to oversee recreation opportunities in Freehold. It acts as an umbrella organization and provides support for such programs as the Colonial Basketball League, Little League, Pop Warner, the summer recreation program and the open gym evening program at Freehold High School.