Which chairs won awards at Deck The Chairs 2023?

More than 58 lifeguard chairs were decorated by small businesses and nonprofits and 18 chairs were decorated by local middle and high school art programs this year.

JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. — Deck The Chairs organizers say the disassembly process for chairs will start Monday, as awards have been announced on the popular holiday displays that “attracted record crowds for the 11th season.”

The display at Jacksonville Beach will take a week to take down while the Jacksonville display at James Weldon Johnson Park, will take three days to remove, Deck The Chairs organizers said in a news release.

More than 58 lifeguard chairs were decorated by small businesses and nonprofits, according to the release, and 18 chairs were decorated by local middle and high school art programs. And despite multiple dates of the weeks-long event being impacted by weather, organizers say the event was able to successfully showcase more children’s programming.

The four student awards given by Deck The Chairs judges and packs of crowds who attended the event are:

Judges Award Beaches Display – Fletcher High School
Crowd Favorite Beaches Display – First Coast Military Homeschoolers
Judges Award James Weldon Johnson Park Display – The Bolles School
Crowd Favorite James Weldon Johnson Park Display – AMI Kids Jacksonville

Here are the ‘Jacksonville Beach Deck The Chairs Awards’ given by attendees who visited the park over three weekends:

Best of Show Beaches Display – Publix
Founder’s Chair – Expert Glassworks
Blue Chair – American Legion Post 129
Yellow Chair – Saint Paul’s Catholic School
Red Chair – City of Jacksonville Beach

Honorable Mentions: Angel’s Construction, Jacksonville Country Day School, Fleet landing, Margaritaville, Make-A-Wish Foundation

“We are so proud of the hundreds of students and teachers who participated in the 2023 DTC Chair Decorating Challenge,” Deck The Chairs Founder and Executive Director Kurtis Loftus said in the release. “The Unite With Lights Theme was embraced by all our student artists. Their expressions of unity through creativity and storytelling were inspiring.”