Augusta home with inflatable wonderland wins readers’ choice Christmas lights contest

Voting is now closed and the Augusta Chronicle’s readers’ choice Christmas lights contest winner has been decided.

With more than 120 votes, readers awarded the crown to the Marchmans’ display at 3208 Wheeler Rd. in Augusta.

The husband-and-wife team of Matt and Sara Marchman have a whimsical wonderland of inflatables on their front yard. There are a variety of characters, but Santa Claus has the most presence, with inflatables of him flying a helicopter, driving a monster truck, and even a team of Santas scaling the Marchmans’ house.

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The couple was told Thursday, and while this was just for bragging rights, the news was made even more special as they were celebrating Matt Marchman’s birthday.

“We do it for the community and the kids,” he said.

Tyler Hair was a very close runner-up with his dazzling display at 1112 Oxpens Rd. in Warrenville. Readers loved the meticulous LED candy-cane design along the house’s walls and the tropical Christmas scene in front.

“I appreciate all the people that came out, checked it out and voted for it,” Hair said. “We noticed quite a bit more visitors this year than usual.”

Check out the Augusta Chronicle’s gallery of all 14 displays that competed in this year’s contest.

In other news, Columbia County announced Light Fight winner

Another fun and festive display was recognized this week.

The Flugan home at 4512 Coldwater St. in Grovetown was named the winner of the Columbia County Light Fight on Wednesday. The house provides a bright, dynamic show called “Coldwater Lights” where fixtures and display-screens are synched to a variety of holiday tunes. One special touch: A guest can be the show’s DJ by using their smart phone to select the song that plays.

“We really enjoyed being in the competition,” said Bill Flugan. “Everybody had a really nice display. I thought it was lucky that I had won.”

Previews of all eight competitors are available on christmas-in-columbia-county-columbiagagis.hub.arcgis.com