Annual Patriotic Home Contest Accepting Entries

By SARAH SHMERLING | Editor-in-Chief

Community members in all neighborhoods of Pacific Palisades—from Castellammare to The Riviera—are once again invited to show off their Fourth of July-themed decorations in this year’s Patriotic Home Contest.

The 2022 iteration of the contest is sponsored by local Sotheby’s Realtor Susan Montgomery, who is helping continue on the tradition after the passing of longtime Palisadian Joan Sather earlier this year. Sather, also a Realtor with Sotheby’s, had sponsored the contest since 2010, shared Montgomery, who has been involved for about five years.

“There was no way we were going to stop because this was very close to her heart,” Montgomery explained.

Joan’s husband, Kent, worked with Montgomery and Palisades Americanism Parade Association to sponsor her share of the contest, Montgomery explained, adding that by sponsoring the contest, they help to defray the costs of Fourth of July festivities in the Palisades, which include security, fireworks and so much more.

“She loved this day so much,” Montgomery shared of Sather and the Fourth of July. “She was such a pillar of the community, she loved the neighbors, the homes, the whole process of decorating … she just loved it.”

Montgomery and a team of judges, including one surprise celebrity guest, who, as the Palisadian-Post went to print was not yet revealed, will select the “Most Patriotic Home,” “Runner-Up Most Patriotic Home” and, in honor of Sather, the “Joan Sather Memorial Sponsor’s Award,” which will be given to the home that judges deem the best use of homemade decorations.

“The PAPA committee and I will feel her absence in perpetuity and will honor her contributions going forward,” Montgomery shared. “She was such a bright spark in this world and touched the lives of so many.”

Prizes for this year’s winners include gifts donated from local businesses: Anawalt Palisades Hardware, Black Ink, Cafe Vida, Casa Nostra, Modo Mio, Ogden’s Dry Cleaners, Palisades Barber Shop, Palisades Garden Cafe, Pearl Dragon, Taj Palace and Viktor Benes.

Judging is slated to be conducted on July 3 with a team traversing the Palisades in golf carts to view the entries. Winners will be notified, and then their homes will be displayed on the PAPA website, as well as Facebook and Instagram.

Montgomery recalled some of her favorite decorations over the years, including one home on Via De La Paz that featured a homemade Statue of Liberty, which she described as “so fabulous.” Another memory that stood out was one home where a young daughter helped decorate, year after year.

One of the years the home won, the family came out to accept the prize and had welcomed a newborn.

“It ties into what we do as Realtors,” Montgomery shared. “We move so many families because they’ve outgrown their house, they’re expanding and need to find a bigger house … just seeing a family grow, it just wrapped it all up with a bow. They had a new baby but they still decorated, it was just so cute.”

Registration for this year’s contest will close on July 2 at 5 p.m. To enter, fill out the form at palisades4th.com/parade/home-contest or post a photo on Instagram with #Palisades4thHomeContest.