A little friendly competition is helping people in Roanoke kick off the holidays, and it’s all for a good cause.
Nearly 40 groups are decorating Christmas trees at Hotel Roanoke for the 19th annual Fashions for Evergreens contest.
Once all the trees are decorated, judging starts on Thursday.
Anyone can take a look at all the trees and vote on the best one by donating as little as a penny.
For the past eight years, the contest has raised more than $43,000 for The United Way of the Roanoke Valley.
“People are really generous with what they give towards the trees," said Michael Quonce, the public relations manager for Hotel Roanoke “It’s really a great event. We love the holidays here and we invite everyone to come down and celebrate with us.”
This is the biggest year yet with 39 trees. Judging runs through January 1.