By Daily Press staff
A downtown merchant will head to the beach as a result of his decorative holiday flair.
Alan Bermejo, who created the “Tis the Season to be Reishi” for Ron Teeguarden’s Dragon Herbs at 315 Wilshire Blvd., has won a five-night stay in Cancun.
This year merchants in the downtown business district got into the spirit of the season with the first annual “Winterlit Holiday Window Display Contest.”
Eleven stores, ranging from restaurants to clothing, jewelry and photo shops, entered the contest. The winning display features reishi mushrooms formed into trees and decorated for the holiday season. It will be up for one more week.
“The Winterlit holiday window contest is another new tradition that will continue for years,” said Marivi Valcourt, marketing manager for the Bayside District Corp., which manages downtown with City Hall. “The creativity and uniqueness of our merchants came through this year. I hope locals and visitors will come to see the windows.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 31, 2003. Read the original PDF.