Sean C. Morgan
Trash to Treasure was the big winner in the Oregon Jamboree’s business window decorating contest.
Oregon Prospecting and Rita’s Relics placed second, and Seamingly Creative was third among 13 participating businesses.
Jamboree Festival Director Erin Regrutto said the winning selections were made by a panel of judges and by people who cast votes at the Arts and Crafts Festival in front of the high school for their favorite windows.
Judges were Roxanne Beach, marketing director on the Jamboree management team; Miriam Swanson, co-publisher of The New Era; and Mayor Jim Gourley. They judged based on aesthetic appeal, inclusion of the Toby Keith “Red Solo Cup” theme and creativity.
The public voted for the same businesses in the same order, with nearly 200 participating.
“This is the first year we’ve had a contest,” Regrutto said. In the past, the Jamboree had a passport game it ran to encourage people to stop at local businesses.
“I know that there was a movement to decorate windows in the past, but we haven’t really been a part of that since I’ve been here,” Regrutto said. It was a good thing to get people involved and get them into the theme.
The Jamboree worked with Swanson to put together a prize package that included office supplies from Comcast, an ad in The New Era, business cards from Select Impressions and two three-day general admission tickets to the 2014 Jamboree.
“It was fun for everybody to see it,” said Teresa Stas, Jamboree marketing and sales manager. The Jamboree received a lot of good comments about it.
“Every year, our interns come up with a project,” Stas said. This year, they received input from others in the community, and they made the call to run this contest.
“It was a fun visual for people driving into town,” Stas said.