10/03/2018
All Lights on Robert Street fans,
This is the most difficult post we have ever had to make on this page and quite frankly brings tears to our eyes. It is with mixed emotions that we post this announcement, so we will just let it out by saying that 2017 was the LAST year for our Halloween and Christmas displays. I think we just heard the screams through the internet. Unfortunately, it is true, difficult as it is for us and disappointing to many of you that look forward to our displays as tradition.
Rather than just saying we are done and leaving it at that, we thought we would let you know why. We always had a dream of someday owning a home in the country surrounded by forest and nature. That dream has finally become reality and we are in the process of building a new home on our new property. We were uncertain as to when we would sell our current residence, thus we were unsure if we would still be able to setup and run the displays this year. However, we were fortunate to have sold our current residence quickly and with that came the determining factor. We are anxious to begin this new chapter in our lives, so this is bittersweet to us, as we also enjoyed doing the displays as much as you enjoyed visiting.
What started out, in January of 2011, as a small venture into animated and choreographed Halloween and Christmas displays, we never imagined that the displays would grow to nearly 100,000 lights and generate the following of thousands of people.
After a year of planning we open our first Halloween display in 2012 followed by our first Christmas display. Even though this is a very expensive and time consuming hobby, we never asked or accepted donations, not that there is anything wrong with those in this hobby that do for various honorable causes. We did our displays to share our enjoyment and spirit of the holidays with others, in a sense, to give back and provide something to the community, that we have called home, to provide an opportunity for those to see in person what they otherwise would only be able to see similar or even more spectacular displays by watching on television or by paying to visit a local attraction. There have been countless hours involved in planning, sequencing of songs, acquiring materials and building props. In addition, it took a couple weeks to setup Halloween and most of the month of November to setup Christmas, typically working at it from daylight well into dark, good weather and bad. Quite frankly we gave up a lot from our personal lives and family to attend to the displays. Much of our family time and holiday get-togethers were modified to allow us to be here while the lights were on, not only to monitor traffic, but to greet many of you. However, we don’t regret one minute of it and relish the pleasure it has brought to others.
We want to sincerely thank our neighbors for putting up with and tolerating our display as well as the influx of traffic, noise and congestion it generated over the years. You all have supported us throughout. Thank you!
Thank you to all of you that had the kindest things to say to us when we were passing out Halloween candy during the Halloween Shows and candy canes during the Christmas Shows. Believe it or not, we’d leave those conversations many times with teary eyes over how much joy and happiness our work brought to others. That is what truly makes this so difficult. What we will miss most is watching those who danced in the streets and on the sidewalks to the lights, the mesmerizing affect the lights had on the children, young and old alike, the pictures hand drawn and hand delivered to us from so many children and all who looked forward to our displays every year and made us part of their Halloween and Christmas family traditions.
Each and every one of you has made this all worth doing. Thank you for the emotional rush, the memories and a fantastic ride!
As a final note, there are several animated display hobbyists within a 10 to 15 mile radius of our location, those individuals put as much time and effort into their displays and graciously share their displays with the public, we hope that you will seek them out and enjoy their lightshows.
As we say farewell, may God bless each and every one of you, please continue to do your part to keep the Holiday Spirit alive throughout the year to make this world a better place, and always BELIEVE.
