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Read the press release here.

Wicker Chamber Wants To Perk Up Storefront Displays By Giving Out Lights

By Alisa Hauser | November 12, 2015 9:10am
 Snowflakes on street poles add a special flair to city streets during the holiday season.
Snowflakes on street poles add a special flair to city streets during the holiday season.
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DNAinfo/Alisa Hauser

WICKER PARK —  The Wicker Park Bucktown Chamber of Commerce wants business owners to participate in a holiday storefront decoration contest and is offering up free strands of lights.

"We want to encourage as many businesses as possible to put these lights up in their storefronts, so we can create a unique and fun holiday look to drive holiday shoppers to our neighborhood," said Erik Harmon, executive director of the Wicker Park Bucktown Chamber of Commerce.

The white light strands are 20 feet long and paid for with money from the Special Service Area Taxpayer District No. 33's holiday decor budget. The Special Service Area, which levies a special tax on property owners for communal services such as snow removal, uses the tax dollars to improve commercial districts.

Chamber members as well as any business owner in the Special Service Area No. 33 District  (see a map here) can pick up two free strands of lights while supplies last beginning Thursday at the chamber's office, 1414 N. Ashland Ave. 

Harmon said the office has 200 light strands in stock, which could make 100 storefronts look more festive.

During the month of December, fans of decorated storefronts will be encouraged to vote online for their favorite window by taking a "selfie" featuring themselves and the decorated storefront.

The business owner whose storefront gets the most "selfie votes" at the end of the contest on Dec. 21 will win a stocking stuffer of prizes and anyone that snaps a selfie could win prizes donated by local businesses, Harmon said.

For more info, call the chamber's office at 773-384-2672.

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