Walla Walla Valley holiday light contest and Jingle Bus route return in December | Business

With silver lanes aglow, Walla Walla Valley homes will shine bright this holiday season for the Provost Real Estate Team’s holiday light map and contest.

The annual contest began accepting applications on Friday, Nov. 14, and will continue to accept submissions until Saturday, Dec. 20. Entries submitted before Saturday, Dec. 6, are eligible for the Jingle Bus route and receive the most visibility during the voting period.

Jenna Provost, a real estate agent for Provost Real Estate, said houses that submit applications early have the best chance of winning first, second or third place in the contest. This year, the contest is using a mix of community votes and final reviews from the real estate team.

“The voting is new this year. It was so hard to choose last year, and there were so many different things (and) we’re very excited to have the public’s input on (the contest),” Provost said.

Participants are encouraged to share their entry and decorations to gather votes. Voting can be done once in a 24-hour period per IP address. 

The three finalists of the 2025 contest are awarded $100 each. First place is given a trophy, and second and third place are given a certificate. Finalists will be announced on Wednesday, Dec. 24.

Submissions must be from residents of the Walla Walla Valley or surrounding areas. Applicants should also provide photos of their decorations and information about the site, such as radio channels or light shows.

Each submission will be included in the holiday light map, which helps visitors and residents find festive properties. 

Alongside changes to the voting process, the coordinated Jingle Bus route is also expanding this year to match the demand from 2024.

Valley Transit buses will leave at 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Dec. 16, 17, 19, 20 and 22 at the transfer center, 1401 W. Rose St. The free bus rides are capped at 28 passengers and will go in two directions, east and west.

Angie Peters, Valley Transit’s general manager, said last year the Jingle Bus route was a singular route that was around two hours long. This year, the route will be about an hour in length.

“For kiddos riding the (two-hour) route is a really long time to be in just one spot and not have access to a bathroom,” Peters said.

The decision to only allow 28 riders per bus also came down to the amount of seating available on the bus. Each night, about 224 riders can enjoy the holiday light bus route.

Peters said the bus rides are first-come, first-served, and reservations are not available.

“If they line up and they don’t make it on the first run, they could go on the second one. But it would also be acceptable if they wanted to follow the buses in their car,” she said. “We did have that happen last year because there was just so much interest and not enough seats, and that’s perfectly fine, as long as everyone’s following all the traffic laws.”

Valley Transit also has a say in which houses are selected for the Jingle Bus route as the buses must have enough time to reach each stop.

Riders of the Jingle Bus route are asked not to bring food or beverages on the Valley Transit buses, but festive apparel is encouraged. 

In addition to the Jingle Bus route, the Provost Real Estate Team is putting together a driving tour for each section of Walla Walla.

Provost said, “When we do our routes, we’re limited to how many stops we can put on the route and so that’s why we end up breaking them into different sections.”