Laurens County has a new holiday tradition this year, and its schedule runs ahead of the season. Merry & Bright Nights asks homes, businesses, and churches to keep their displays lit every night of December. Registration closes November 16, and People's Choice voting ends December 15, halfway through the month the lights stay on. If you want your porch, storefront, or church lawn in the running, the decisions start this weekend.
Visit Dublin GA and the Dublin-Laurens County Chamber of Commerce announced the contest on October 30. It is open to Laurens County residences, businesses and organizations, and churches, each competing in its own category. This first year's theme honors America's 250th birthday with one question: "What does an American Christmas mean to you?"
The Calendar Runs Ahead of the Lights
Most of what decides this contest happens before most families would normally have their lights up. Here is the order, as announced on the Merry & Bright Nights page and in the Visit Dublin GA launch announcement:
- November 16: Registration closes for all three categories.
- December 1: Displays switch on. The registration form asks entrants to keep them lit from 5 to 11 p.m., December 1 through 31. People's Choice voting opens the same day, and business donations are due at the Dublin Visitors Center.
- December 1, 4 to 7 p.m.: Guests at the Holly Jolly Welcome at the Dublin Visitors Center get early access to the map of participating displays.
- December 4: The full map goes public on the Merry & Bright Nights website, timed to Downtown Dublin's annual Christmas tree lighting.
- December 15: Voting closes.
- December 31: The display period ends.
Voting Opens Before the Public Map Does
Voting starts December 1, but the public map doesn't come out until December 4, so the first three days of voting happen before most people can look up where the displays are. The one exception is the Holly Jolly Welcome crowd, who get the map on opening night.
For entrants, that makes December 1 a real deadline. A display that goes up the second weekend of December will have only a few days of voting left. For anyone who wants to see the lights, the Holly Jolly Welcome is the earliest way to plan a route. It is also an easy evening out. The Visitors Center is planning cookie frosting, a coloring contest, a hot cocoa bar, and Santa photos, with free pictures sent to your phone by Betta Focus Photography.
The organizers have said why they scheduled it this way. In the Visit Dublin GA announcement, Miriam Lewis, executive director of Visit Dublin GA, explained the idea:
"Dublin's holiday travel often takes a dip during the winter months, so we started brainstorming creative ways to turn Dublin into the Hallmark town that we all know it can be."
That explains the early timing. The contest is built to give people a reason to drive around in the first half of December, when the downtown tree lighting, the parade, and the Santa visits all fall.
What an Entry Asks For
The registration form is short. It asks for your contact information, your category, the display's address, and a description of what you're putting up. Two choices on the form are easy to skip past. You can decide whether your location appears on the public map, and you can decide whether your display is judged. A homeowner who wants to be part of the citywide light-up without being on a public map has that option. Registered displays are eligible for People's Choice unless the registrant opts out.
The form lists no entry fee. Businesses do have one obligation. Each participating business agrees to donate a gift certificate or item worth $25, preferably something that represents the business, and to drop it off at the Dublin Visitors Center by December 1. Weekday hours there are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and weekend hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Those donations go into the prize for the residential winner, so the local businesses entering the contest are also stocking the homeowner's prize. Each category has its own award:
| Category | Award name | What the winner receives |
|---|---|---|
| Businesses and organizations | The Merry Merchant | The Merry & Bright Nights trophy and a winner's certificate, held for one year before the trophy goes back up for grabs |
| Residences | The House That Sleighed | A festive basket of goods donated by Dublin businesses |
| Churches | The Guiding Light Award | A dated Merry & Bright Nights plaque to display for the year |
Voting is online. Voters pick one favorite in each of the three categories.
November 21 Puts a Tree in Reach Before the Deadline
If the lights have to be on by December 1, the tree and the decorations have to come home in November. Outside downtown, Saturday, November 21 is when the season starts.
Rentz Christmas Tree Lighting. Rentz Park, 989 Rentz Dexter Road, has a full day planned from noon to 7 p.m. Santa and The Grouchy Guy are scheduled to arrive at 5 p.m.
Southern Cypress Christmas Tree Farm opening day. The family-owned farm at 851 L C Pope Road in East Dublin opens for the 2026 season that same Saturday, from 10 a.m. until dark, about 5:30 p.m. The farm has been family owned and operated since 2016. Its fields grow Murray Cypress, Carolina Sapphire, Fraser firs, and pines, and its listing describes it as one of a few Christmas tree farms with a drive-thru option, so you can load a tree straight onto a truck or trailer. On event days there's also Santa, hot chocolate, and s'mores. Santa visits are free, with an optional donation that goes to help a local family or families in need. The farm says hours and events change from weekend to weekend, so check with them before you drive out. Their number is (478) 279-2528.
Community Market. Santa is also expected at the Community Market on November 21.
That Saturday falls five days after registration closes and ten days before the lights come on. For a family entering the residential category, it's a sensible day to pick out a tree at Southern Cypress in the morning and finish at the Rentz tree lighting in the evening.
Santa's Stops From Here to Mid-December
Visit Dublin GA keeps a running list of Santa appearances in its Santa's Coming to Town roundup and plans to add dates through the season. Here is what's on the calendar from publication day through the end of voting:
- Saturday, November 14: Holiday Craft Fair, with Santa from 11 a.m. to noon.
- Saturday, November 21: Rentz Park, Southern Cypress opening day, and the Community Market.
- November 27 through 29: Santa at Southern Cypress over Thanksgiving weekend.
- Tuesday, December 1: Holly Jolly Welcome at the Dublin Visitors Center, starting at 4 p.m. Voting opens the same day.
- Friday, December 4: Jingle & Mingle and the downtown tree lighting, followed by Santa photos at the historic Dublin Carnegie with Betta Focus Photography. The public contest map goes live.
- Saturday, December 5: The Exchange Club of Dublin's Christmas Parade, 6 to 8 p.m., through the Bellevue and Downtown Historic districts. Santa is back at Southern Cypress that day too.
- Saturday, December 12: Another Santa day at Southern Cypress, three days before voting closes.
The parade route goes right through Bellevue and the Downtown Historic District, the same historic streets many people will be driving on map in hand. Parade night falls on the first weekend after the map goes public, so it's an easy evening to see the parade and then drive past a few entries before voting heads into its last ten days.
To keep up with changes, Visit Dublin GA, the Dublin-Laurens County Chamber of Commerce, and the Merry & Bright Nights Facebook pages are the official places for updates.
I love seeing Laurens County lit up, and I'll be out with the map in December like everyone else. If you're thinking about entering your home and want to talk through the registration form before November 16, or you just want to compare notes on which streets to drive, give me a call. You can reach me through Pamela Lee. Let's Connect.
