Shawnee Luminary Night 2022

by Mike & Nora Beerline, Luminary Event Organizers

In the 1970’s, a new Christmas tradition was started in the Indianbrook subdivision by lining the streets with weighted bags with candles. At that time, the tradition was twofold: 1 - It allowed the residents of Indianbrook to show off their Christmas decorations to more people in the area, and 2 - It allowed the developers to show off the neighborhood to potential buyers.

holiday lighting competition for Indianbrook residents called, Deck Your House. This contest has prizes for the top 10 contestants that are voted on by resident judges. The HOA has adopted the idea of encouraging people to decorate their properties more with the incentive of a friendly competition. Mike Beerline, HOA treasurer and a luminary event organizer, said “During the process of the competition, we had neighbors helping neighbors decorate their homes. It’s great to see people responding by decorating more, and the more homes that decorate, the more money that can be raised for charity.”

Unfortunately, the luminary event died out after several years because it required so many volunteers. After a 20year hiatus, the tradition was revived by Jodie Robinson in her role as the owner of Shawnee Living Magazine. Jodie ran the luminary event for five years and grew the event into five Shawnee neighborhoods with over 500 homes participating. In 2022, Jodie stepped down as luminary event organizer, and the Indianbrook HOA ran the event for Indianbrook, and the Wildbrook HOA coordinated the Wildbrook and Timberfield neighborhoods. On December 13th, over 5000 luminaries were lit throughout the three neighborhoods, thanks to the organizers, street captains and sponsors. The evening was a huge success, as the event raised $1067.00 and 1374 pounds of food for the West Ohio Food Bank.

The Indianbrook side of the event is sponsored by local businesses and the HOA. Before the event, there is a

One example of how Shawnee Luminary Night positively impacts the community, in addition to raising funds for the food bank, is the number of local nursing home buses that come to see the lights on Luminary Night. John Clements from the Basement Doctor interacted with all of the residents on the bus as he passed out candy. The riders all had donations for the food bank. Then after they made their donations, they all started to thank John and the Luminary Night event organizers because it made them remember similar events from when they were young. “To see the smiles and joy on their faces was gratifying and that made the Shawnee Luminary Night worth all the hard work,” said Mike Beerline (Indianbrook HOA Treasurer).

The Shawnee Luminary Night will continue in 2023 with improvements, and hopefully more homes competing for the coveted “Deck Your House” trophy that stays in the home of the first place winner until the following year. Thank you to all who participated and contributed.