Festival Of Lighthouses Contest At Maritime Aquarium

NORWALK — Lighthouse builders: start your minds racing. Entry forms are being accepted now for The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk’s tenth annual Festival of Lighthouses Contest, which awards an aquarium family membership for each accepted entry and $3,300 in prizes, including $1,500 for first place.

The special exhibit will place 24 lighthouses throughout the aquarium during the holiday season and beyond: November 12 through January 16. Aquarium visitors will follow these handcrafted beacons through the galleries and then may cast a vote for their favorite.

The builder of the lighthouse with the most votes will receive $1,500 at an awards ceremony on January 19. Other prizes to be awarded are $750 for second, $375 for third, $300 for fourth, $225 for fifth, and $150 for sixth.

To qualify, lighthouses must be three to six feet tall and have a working light. Beyond that, it is up to the creators’ imaginations. Previous years’ entries have been crafted out of wood, metal, stone, paper mache, plastic, glass, and paper, string, sea glass, candy, furnace filters, trash, and even paper clips. Prohibited are animal remains, including shells.

Entry forms are being accepted until October 21. The number of entries is limited to 24. All subsequent entrants will be placed on a waiting list.

Lighthouses must be delivered to the Aquarium between November 4 and 7.

For a Festival of Lighthouses entry form and a copy of the official rules, visit www.maritimeaquarium.org or call The Maritime Aquarium at 203-852-0700, ext 2248.