2021 Light Show!

How is it already Christmas season?! Where did the time go?

With the year quickly coming to an end it is time to get the new show up and running, and that we have! We went into this year wanting to have a sequenced show with multiple songs and new props. We are still working on the songs, but have all the props setup and the show is live (though currently limited on songs).

New Props!

For 2021 we wanted to extend our props from the very simple display we had in 2020 to something more! We added a matrix display with 1,296 total pixels in a 36×36 grid. Each pixel in the matrix is set 2 inches apart making the matrix 6’ tall by 6’ wide! Mounting it was a challenge, but we came up with a solution using rebar, electrical conduit, straps, and some metal fence posts. This new matrix allows us to show singing faces and gifs/pictures/videos with ease!

To go along with the matrix we also added a couple arches along the road and a total of twelve 3’ tall poles split in 2 groups of 6 on either side of the matrix. These poles add some lower light elements to the yard to help with the balance with the rest of the house.

To make more vertical interest and to help round out the show we ended up moving the mini trees to the right side of the driveway near the house and moved the snowflakes up to the face of the house. With all of these changes and new props we finally have a full display… or at least full enough for 2021! As always, we are already coming up with plans for more props in the future!

Music!

Last year we had a very simple animation playing on loop for the props. Though it looked nice we knew we wanted there to be a purpose to the animation and the only way to do that is with music!

At the time of writing this post we only have a single song (All I Want For Christmas Is You – Mariah Carey) but are actively working on adding additional songs to the playlist. These songs are being sequenced by my beautiful wife and added to the show as soon as we feel they are ready. Our goal is to have at least 3-4 songs in the playlist by 12/1/2021 and will make another post detailing the song choices once complete. So be sure to check out the show multiple times so you can see the progress live!

Obviously you have to have a way to listen to the music though, so we are broadcasting on 88.7 FM so you can listen in your car. Listening in the car is great because you can stay warm and don’t have to get out, however it can be somewhat challenging to see with the roof of the car in the way, and some people just prefer to walk, so we also have a speaker setup outside to allow anyone to listen while on foot! So no matter how you choose to view the show, you should be able to enjoy it completely.

Show Schedule

The show will start daily at 5:00 PM and run until 9:00 PM.

4 Replies to “2021 Light Show!”

  1. Awesome light show. We live in LR and were pleasantly surprised to drive by your home on our tour of the neighborhood lights. Loved the music station. Thanks for putting in all this effort!

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