EVERETT — It’s a night where the best-kept houses in each of Everett’s 19 neighborhoods shine.
The annual Monte Cristo Awards start at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 10 at the Historic Everett Theater, 2911 Colby Ave. An opening reception is at 6:30 p.m. that night.
The event is free and people are encouraged to come.
The city has honored the best-kept properties for 25 years.
Residents nominate the best homes from within Everett. Landscaping, lawn care, and appearance and upkeep of the house itself are all considered in the selection process.
The night’s hosts will be Tyler Chism and Garret Hunt of “Live in Everett,” and Mayor Cassie Franklin will present the awards.
Volunteers are giving hundreds of hours of labor to make the Monte Cristos a success. Last year, the city determined the $5,000 event was no longer financially feasible; Franklin cut the awards as one of the many budget-balancing changes in this year’s budget.
The volunteers — a cadre of neighborhood leaders and supporters — made sure to resurrect the event.
The city scaled back, but did not eliminate support. It provides funding for invitations and award plaques as well as some administrative assistance.
Homeowners can win in four categories; green gardening; Pride of the Neighborhood; Rejuvenation and Transformation and The Marian Krell Award. The last honors a prior award recipient who has maintained Monte Cristo standards for many years. Businesses can also win in a Neighborhood Friendly Business category.
The Marian Krell Award honors a prior Monte Cristo winner for keeping up their property.
There’s a winner from every neighborhood this year.
It’s believed the awards got their name from the Monte Cristo mine in Snohomish County.
No reservation is needed to attend the Monte Cristo Awards.
Volunteer leader Linda War Bonnet said that "It has been a great year for the Monte Cristo Awards. Two years ago the awards ceremony was cut from the city budget and the Council of Neighborhoods took over running the event. There was a small but mighty group of neighborhood leaders that made the event happen last year. This year we were able to find more community volunteers and had over 15 neighbors helping with everything from press releases to planning the reception and event presentation. 106 nominations were processed and photographed, and a nominations committee voted on 43 winners. Use of the Historic Everett Theater was donated by Curt Shriner and catering labor was donated by Sunshine Productions."
