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North Queens Board of Trade · 2026

Christmas Light Competition
Full contest rules

Official 2026 contest rules · finalized November 11, 2026. Confirmed gift-certificate prizes and sponsor details will be added to the prizes page before voting opens. No prize value is promised until it is confirmed there.

1. Organizer and contact

The North Queens Board of Trade (NQBT) organizes this competition. Questions about entries, media decisions, voting, privacy or accessibility may be sent to nqbt.info@gmail.com. Entry and voting are free; no purchase or donation is required.

2. Contest schedule

All dates are in 2026 and all deadlines use Atlantic time.

Entries and entry updates close before voting begins. NQBT reviews timely submissions on December 14. Only entries with an approved photo and a confirmed category are eligible for voting. An incomplete or unapproved entry does not receive an automatic deadline extension; contact NQBT promptly about a review or technical problem. Any change to voting dates will be announced publicly for all participants. Receiving an upload does not mean it has been approved.

3. Display eligibility and categories

A display must be in the North Queens contest catchment. There is one entry per display. Residential displays compete in one of five residential zones. Business displays enter the separate Business category.

Entrants provide the display’s full address privately. NQBT assigns residential zones using its approved address list; entrants do not need to select a zone themselves. Choose your address from the confirmed list as you type. If your address is missing, select Other and enter it manually. NQBT assigns those addresses to a residential zone during approval. See the zone map below.

The entrant must have authority to enter the display and permission from the property or display owner. A business entrant must be authorized to represent the business. An adult must submit and manage the entry, including on behalf of a minor, and must be able to grant the required permissions. The online system permits one entry per verified email address. Someone authorized to enter both a residence and a business must use a separate accessible email address for each display; each display still has only one entry.

4. Submitting and updating an entry

Verify an email address and provide the display name, community, display type, full display address, media and a description for visitors using screen readers. Use an email address you can access for decisions and entry management.

Submit one to three photos and, optionally, one video clip no longer than 10 seconds. Photos may be JPG, PNG or WebP, up to 20 MB each; large photos are resized. The submitted video must be a supported H.264 MP4, up to 50 MB, with supported AAC audio if sound is included. When supported by the device, a longer source video can be used to select a 10-second clip before upload.

Phones can upload directly. Computer users can use the private phone-upload link or QR code to add media from a phone, then finish the entry on their computer. Transferring media does not submit the entry: wait for the submission receipt.

Entrants may reopen and update their entry until the submission deadline. Saving an edit currently removes the entire entry from the public gallery and driving tour until NQBT reapproves it, including when previously approved media are retained. Updated or replacement media require review. Approval and rejection emails include an entry-management link; keep that link private. New submissions and owner updates are not accepted after the deadline. Report an administrative error or technical problem to NQBT; reporting a problem does not itself extend the deadline or guarantee admission.

5. Media standards and approval

Submit media you created or have the copyright owner’s permission to submit and license. Media must represent the entered display. Avoid identifiable people, especially children, private contact details and vehicle licence plates. Do not submit unlawful, abusive or unrelated material.

NQBT reviews each photo and video separately and may approve or reject individual items. The entrant receives an email identifying each decision and any rejection reason. Only approved media are published; rejected media cannot be viewed publicly. A display must have an approved photo and a confirmed category before it is eligible for the public gallery and voting.

Cropping, resizing and ordinary brightness or colour correction are allowed when the media still accurately shows the actual display. Do not add invented lights or decorations, submit composite scenes, or use AI-generated displays or media that misrepresent the entered display. NQBT may request an unaltered image when reviewing eligibility.

6. Submission acknowledgements and media permission

After clicking Submit, the entrant must acknowledge all three statements in one consent card: they have read the rules; they agree to NQBT’s ongoing media permission; and they have authority to enter the display and permission to publish the media. The full rules remain available without submitting an entry.

This permission is a licence to use the submitted media; it does not transfer ownership of copyright to NQBT. Contact nqbt.info@gmail.com to request withdrawal from the competition, removal from the driving tour, or an end to future media reuse. NQBT may verify ownership before acting. NQBT will review the request and explain what it can remove from its own channels; copies already shared or printed by others may remain outside its control.

7. Optional Christmas lights driving tour

Joining the public driving tour is optional and is not required to enter or win. A separate checkbox authorizes publication of the display address and map or directions link. Only approved entries with this permission appear on the tour.

Without tour permission, the full address is used privately for eligibility and zone assignment. Display name, community, category and approved media remain public. Photos or display names may themselves identify a property, even when its address is not listed.

Entrants may withdraw tour permission by contacting NQBT. Visitors must remain on public roads, respect residents and property, and check road and weather conditions before travelling.

8. Community voting

Community votes determine the category awards, subject to eligibility and integrity review. Vote on the NQBT contest website; Facebook reactions and other social-media activity do not count.

One person may hold one ballot choice in each category. A voter may vote in more than one category and may change a choice before voting closes. Only that person’s latest valid ballot for an eligible entry in a category counts; repeated clicks or changes do not add votes.

Multiple email addresses do not give one person additional ballots. Several eligible people in the same household may each vote individually. A shared internet connection or device is not, by itself, proof of wrongdoing.

Voters must verify an accessible email address, complete required bot checks and confirm that they are voting as themselves. Email confirmation verifies access to an inbox; it does not prove a unique person. Voting is open to individuals using their own accessible, verified email address; voters do not need to live within the display catchment. Entrants may vote for their own display. A minor may participate with a parent or guardian’s permission and assistance, but no one may create extra identities or vote on behalf of additional invented people.

No live vote totals are shown publicly. Sharing an entry link and encouraging genuine individual participation are allowed.

9. Prohibited voting and integrity review

Do not use bots, scripts, paid or purchased votes, impersonation, or several accounts to cast additional ballots as the same person. Known disposable-email services are screened. Equivalent Gmail aliases are treated as the same voting identity.

NQBT uses email verification, Cloudflare Turnstile, request limits, browser checks and pattern review to reduce abuse. These safeguards cannot guarantee that every address represents a different person. IP addresses, browser references, timing and voting patterns are investigation evidence, not automatic household bans.

Suspicious ballots may be held for review. Held and invalid ballots are excluded from award totals; a held ballot may be accepted following review. Administrators record a reason for accepting, holding or invalidating ballots. Every ballot still held at final review must receive a documented decision before awards are finalized. Results must be reviewed before winners are announced.

A suspicious pattern alone must not be described publicly as proof of cheating. A reviewer considers the available evidence and records the reason for excluding a ballot; a shared connection or device alone is insufficient. Contact nqbt.info@gmail.com promptly to question an entry or ballot decision and provide relevant details privately. NQBT will review the concern before confirming affected awards where practical. Unresolved material concerns may delay the affected result, with a public timing update rather than a public allegation.

10. Awards and prizes

Category placings are determined by reviewed valid votes for eligible entries in each of the five residential zones and the separate Business category. Gift certificates from local businesses are the intended prizes. The final number, approximate value, category allocation, sponsors and certificate restrictions will be published on the prizes page before voting opens. Until confirmed there, no prize amount or certificate is guaranteed. A best overall award applies only if its eligibility, selection method, value and combination with category prizes are confirmed before voting.

Entries with the same reviewed vote total share the same placing. Any gift-certificate allocation for tied placings will be confirmed before voting opens. NQBT will not invent a random tie-break after voting. A category with fewer eligible entries than confirmed awards can award only the available eligible placings; prizes for unfilled places are not automatically transferred to another category.

Winners will be contacted through their verified entry email. NQBT will explain the confirmed certificate conditions and collection arrangements directly. Results are planned for December 19 after review; a delay needed to resolve a material concern will be announced. No payment or disclosure of a sign-in code is required to claim a prize.

11. Personal information and records

NQBT privately records entry contact details, display addresses, decisions and consent acknowledgements. Voting records include the verified email, IP address, entry choice, category, time and previous choice; browser references and review evidence help investigate repeated activity. Access to private records and exports is restricted to authorized administration.

Cloudflare processes bot-check information to operate Turnstile. Opted-in public tour addresses are sent to OpenStreetMap’s Nominatim service to locate map pins. The map tile provider receives usual browser and network information when visitors view the tour map. Contest verification does not subscribe participants to marketing. Public information consists of approved display details and media, plus the address only when separately permitted for the tour.

Private records are used for contest administration, verification, prize delivery and handling questions or disputes. NQBT restricts access and reviews continued retention against those purposes. Consent evidence and records needed for an unresolved dispute may be retained longer than routine working records; approved media may continue to be used under the recorded media permission. To request access, correction, withdrawal or deletion, contact nqbt.info@gmail.com. NQBT will verify the request and explain any records it must retain and why. Verification does not add anyone to a marketing mailing list.

12. Corrections, withdrawal and contest changes

Contact NQBT promptly about an incorrect address or category, an inaccessible entry, an upload problem, a withdrawal request or a voting concern. Do not resubmit a duplicate display to correct an existing entry.

A withdrawn or disqualified entry is removed from the gallery and tour and is ineligible for awards. Ballots for an unavailable or ineligible display do not count toward an award. During voting, voters may replace their choice with an eligible display before the deadline. Categories are assigned before voting; an entry cannot transfer votes into another category after voting begins. Report a category error promptly for NQBT’s review. Any material schedule or rules correction will need clear public notice. A technical interruption is not an automatic deadline extension.

13. Facebook and social sharing

This competition is organized by NQBT and is not sponsored, endorsed or administered by Facebook. Entry and voting take place on the NQBT website. Likes, shares, follows, tags and comments do not earn entries or votes. Sharing an approved public entry link is optional. Never share an entry-management link, verification code or private contact details publicly.

Questions or corrections: nqbt.info@gmail.com.