Venice homeowner wins holiday lights competition for third year
VENICE, Calif. (FOX 11) - Take a walk in a Winter Wonderland along the Venice canals where Mark Woodcock has decked out his home in a literally larger than life display.
"I made a giant fireplace with 5 foot stockings, I've got two huge presents on the side of my front door," he explained.
Each year the Venice Canals Association comes up with a holiday theme.
This year's is "It's a Small World."
Mark said that by making his display big, he wanted the spectator to feel small.
"To get that sense of feeling that you're like you're a child again," he said.
His red, green and white light display wraps around his entire canal front home and it takes him more than a week to put it all up.
"I've discovered that having larger ornaments on a Christmas tree only takes 20 minutes to put up instead of two hours," he said.
Mark's display has earned him 1st place in a friendly holiday lights competition between neighbors.
It's the third year in a row he's won, but Mark doesn't do it for the recognition, he does it because he loves seeing people from all over come enjoy the lights.
"I don't think I realized it was all the same house until we walked around the corner, it's clear somebody really has the holiday spirit around here," one spectator said.
All the bridges in the canal community are also decorated - from Venice you can see Paris with an Eiffel Tower standing tall over one of the bridges.
The Christmas Lights Display stays up through the new year.