Why?
It started, for the kids.
Gratitude – we feel very fortunate for many things, including the opportunity to do something like our Holiday Light Show.
It’s a fun way to spend quality time with the family.
Being somewhat compulsive I've enjoyed quite a few hobbies. The light display has become my favorite and has lasted more than a decade and is still 'growing'. I expect when the kids lose interest, it will be time to move on to other things.
My favorite answer came from my sister Ellie back in 2003, the year we really started to expand the light show. She called me around 6:00am on Christmas morning. I was in the family room, looking at the lights. I was describing them to Ellie and said, “Ellie, I wish you could see this, it’s pretty funny and I’m not sure why I did this.” She replied, “It’s just an expression of your love, Tim.”
How much
does the electricity cost?
Less than it did in 2006, even though we have over 4 times as many lights. This is because about 70% of the lights are LED now, and consume 5% - 10% of the energy of incandescent lights.
How many
lights do you use?
Here is the light count history:
| Year |
Total
Lights |
Increase |
%
Increase |
| 2011 est |
311,112 |
27,831 |
|
| 2010 |
277,169 |
63,878 |
|
| 2009 |
213,291 |
41,719 |
24.0% |
| 2008 |
171,572 |
55,457 |
48.0% |
| 2007 |
116,115 |
43,109 |
59.0% |
| 2006 |
73,006 |
26,876 |
58.3% |
| 2005 |
46,130 |
11,168 |
31.9% |
| 2004 |
34,962 |
10,062 |
40.4% |
| 2003 |
24,900 |
17,100 |
219.2% |
| 2002 |
7,800 |
1,100 |
16.4% |
| 2001 |
6,700 |
400 |
6.3% |
| 2000 |
6,300 |
500 |
8.6% |
| 1999 |
5,800 |
1,800 |
45.0% |
| 1998 |
4,000 |
1,800 |
81.8% |
| 1997 |
2,200 |
1,200 |
120.0% |
| 1996 |
1,000 |
400 |
66.7% |
| 1995 |
600 |
|
|
How many extension cords do you use?
We don’t have an exact count, but this year I estimate over 1,700 with a total length of over 6 ½ miles. If you add in the length of all the light strands, there will be over 29 miles of wire outside. On top of all that, there is at least another mile of rope, wire rope and Cat5e cable outside!
How do
you synchronize the lights to music?
We use software and hardware from Light-O-Rama. The computer software allows you to sequence the music to 1/20th of a second or less. The process is manual, and can take anywhere from about 5-30 hours depending on the complexity of the song and display.
How
long does it take you?
This is the most frequent question we get asked and in order to provide an accurate answer we kept records in 2010.
The display is worked on through out the calendar Year.
| 2010 Actual |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Creation of New |
Display |
Display |
|
|
| In Hours |
Display Design |
Music Choreographing |
Display Elements |
Put Up |
Take Down |
Total |
|
| Tim |
26 |
367 |
36 |
144 |
55 |
628 |
|
| Daniel |
|
72 |
44 |
129 |
55 |
300 |
|
| John |
|
20 |
44 |
135 |
55 |
254 |
|
| Grace |
|
|
6 |
22 |
10 |
38 |
|
| Emily |
|
|
6 |
14 |
10 |
30 |
|
| Brian |
|
|
18 |
17 |
55 |
90 |
|
| Guest |
|
|
|
12 |
|
12 |
|
| Total |
26 |
459 |
154 |
473 |
240 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total Man Hours ==> |
1,352 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Some
of your songs are not holiday songs?
U2's song, ‘City of Blinding Lights’ was an inspiration to animate our display. It is always the first song played each night.
Since that time, we have added songs that we feel are uplifting and a reflection of what the holidays are really about, and this does include many holiday songs.
How come you don’t leave it up until after New Years?
I appreciate the interest, but it just isn't possible. We have to take advantage of the time off from work and school.
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