Holiday Festival of Lights Greeting Card Competition
Grab the paint, gather your students, and help bring a beloved Holiday Festival of Lights tradition to life! Applications are now open for the annual Giant Greeting Card Competition, inviting Charleston County school groups to get creative and join in on the magic.
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The Giant Greeting Card Competition gives students a fun and creative way to work together while becoming part of the Holiday Festival of Lights. Selected groups will receive a blank 4' x 8' plywood board to transform into their own giant holiday greeting card, along with 10 complimentary passes to the festival. There is no cost to participate, and school groups will be selected through a lottery process.
Applications are due no later than August 28, 2026. The selected applicants will receive additional details by email.
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1st Place - Trophy and $300 cash prize
2nd Place - Trophy and $200 cash prize
3rd Place - Trophy and $100 cash prize
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🎁Overall Design⭐Theme Development🧵Creative Use of Materials🛠️Craftsmanship❄️Durability
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August 28, 2026 - Application deadline.
September 8, 2026 - Early plywood pick-up (required for home schools; optional for all other schools) at the James Island County Park Light Show Compound from 12:00-1:30 p.m. (Look for sign).
September 9-10, 2026 - Plywood delivery to schools (excluding homeschools).
October 30, 2026 - Completed greeting cards delivered to James Island County Park between 12:00-4:00pm. All completed cards must be delivered and checked in with event staff at the intersection adjacent to the Dog Park; outside of the Picnic Center. Your light show passes will be presented to you at this time.
November 13, 2026 *OPENING NIGHT* - Awards Presentation at the James Island County Park Picnic Center Stage at 7:00 p.m.
January 4-8, 2027 - Retrieval of “saved” greeting cards (Cards will be recycled after January 11).
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PLEASE REVIEW CAREFULLY!
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Print the name of the school and grade level division in black permanent marker on the back of the card. Divisions include elementary, middle, and high. Production teams spanning divisions must enter into the higher grade division.
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This project is intended to be primarily the design and direct work of students. Cards that are obviously the craftsmanship of the adult organizer, may be disqualified from judging.
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Entries dropped off early or late without staff check-in by event coordinator will be disqualified. Participants who do not deliver a completed card will be disallowed from participation in the 2027 event.
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There is no set theme or tagline for the Festival of Lights this year. Entries must demonstrate development of a slogan or idea and not just list the name of the school and/or mascot.
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Do not include any natural plant or animal products such as seashells, pinecones, stone, sand, etc. Use of copyrighted logos, slogans, cartoon characters, super-heroes, book names, movies, etc. in the design is not allowed and entries will be disqualified. Your school mascot is allowed.
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Durability and Weather Concerns: All materials used must be durable, waterproof, and highly weather-resistant. Do not use hot glue. Do not use such fragile materials such as glitter, batting, garland, glass, balloons, or paper. The cards will be displayed OUTDOORS for eight weeks, and must be able to withstand sun, wind, rain, ice, animals, or whatever nature deems fit to introduce during that time.
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Any cards which do not withstand weather/environmental conditions may be removed at CCPRC’s discretion.
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Greeting Cards must be vertical in design, with the front side entirely painted/decorated, with no exposed wood. You should not paint the back side of the card. School logos, names, and/or crests may be included in the design.
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Do not “double-up” your plywood card with an additional sheet of plywood. They will not fit our lighting configuration and will be disqualified at check-in.
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Lights or other electrical or battery-operated equipment are not allowed. CCPRC provides adequate lighting for each entry.
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Print “SAVE” in black permanent marker on the back of the card if you plan to keep it after the close of the event.
Charleston County Park and Recreation Commission reserves the right to refuse any entry that is deemed inappropriate to display or not submitted according to construction or event guidelines.
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All greeting cards must be displayed in vertical (portrait) orientation. The top-center area must remain undecorated to accommodate the mounted light.Please leave an undecorated section 16" wide by 3" high at the top center of the Greeting Card to accommodate a mounted light provided by CCPRC. Paint this section, but do not affix any border or decoration in this area.16" × 3" zone✅ Vertical — CORRECT✕❌ Horizontal — INCORRECT
✓ DO
Orient your card vertically (portrait). Paint the top-center zone but leave it free of borders and decorations.
✕ DON'T
Do not orient your card horizontally (landscape). Do not add borders, embellishments, or decoration in the 16" × 3" light-mount zone.
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Contact Tonya Brown at 843-343-2153 or tonya.brown@ccprc.com with any questions you or your students may have!