Passion behind best Christmas window display

Planning and passion paid off for this year’s Manjimup Cherry Harmony Festival Best Dressed Window Competition winner.

Utopia Movieworld on Brockman Street was announced as the competition winner at the festival on Saturday and will receive an advertising campaign from the Manjimup-Bridgetown Times worth $1500.

Shirley Lazarov was the mastermind behind the shop’s window display and said she had planned it for four weeks before setting it up.

“I’ve been doing windows for about 40 years,” she said.

“Decorating is my passion, I love creating artwork through displays.”

Some of the pieces in her window display are on loan from Manjimup Homemakers, but many are from her own collection.

Pieces include glasses that were about 60 years old, a doll she received during the first Manjimup Cherry Harmony Festival and two ceramic figurines that formed the centrepiece of the display’s theme.

“The two figurines gave it a romantic feel, so I continued that with the flowers, crockery and other pieces in the display.”

Mrs Lazarov congratulated the other participants in the competition on their own ideas and how great other windows looked.

“Thank you to the Manjimup Cherry Harmony Festival volunteers, you put on a great event each year,” she said.

“Thank you also to the Manjimup-Bridgetown Times for the generous prize, it’s a great prize for a local business.”