“Painted Ladies” in Chautauqua’s new Garden District. (Submitted Photo)

CHAUTAUQUA, NY - Chautauqua is one of hundreds of attractive towns and neighborhoods that will compete this summer in a national contest to find the “Prettiest Painted Places in America”.

The competition, which is sponsored by the Paint Quality Institute, a leading source of information on paints and coatings, was last conducted in 2000 when towns such as Cape May, New Jersey; Lake Charles, Louisiana; and Telluride, Colorado won top honors.

“The purpose of Prettiest Painted Places is to identify and recognize those towns and neighborhoods that best demonstrate how exterior paint can enhance the appearance of an entire community,” according to Debbie Zimmer, paint and color expert for the Paint Quality Institute in Spring House, PA.

“By honoring the most aesthetically-pleasing places, we believe our competition will give everyone an appreciation for the role that exterior paint can play in protecting and enhancing the appearance of any home or building,” she says.

Throughout the summer, cities, towns, historical districts, and neighborhoods will be permitted to enter the competition. In September, a panel of judges will choose 60 places as finalists, 10 each from six geographic regions of the U.S.

After further research, a panel of judges from major media outlets will select one small place and one large town or city from each region as the 12 Prettiest Painted Places in America. The winners will be extensively promoted in a national publicity campaign conducted by the Paint Quality Institute.

For a glimpse of some of the places nominated in the competition, the public is invited to visit the Paint Quality Institute website at blog.paintquality.com over the course of the summer. Selected towns will be profiled from time to time, and photo galleries on the 60 finalists will be posted in September.