Rochester prepares for third annual Big, Bright Light Show By Jennifer S. McDonald ROCHESTER — While the Christmas holiday season is still a couple of months away, it’s burning bright in the heart of Rochester, which began installation of the third annual Big, Bright Light Show Oct. 1. Employees from Winterland Inc., a decoration installation company in Indiana, started the month-long process of stringing more than 1 million lights, bringing the first signs of the season to the city. “The Big, Bright Light Show inspires people of all ages to feel like children again, and has truly become a downtown Rochester holiday tradition,” Rochester Downtown Development Authority Executive Director Kristi Trevarrow said. “The show has proven to be the key to the economic success of our merchants during the holiday season.” Nothing has been scaled back from the two previous years, Trevarrow said, and every 4 inches of the buildings in Rochester will be covered in different colored LED lights. The show features the return of the Snowflake Spectacular on Water Street, the Dancing Tree of Lights on East University Drive and the Candy Cane Lane on Walnut Boulevard. “A couple of changes we did make included quadrupling the amount of lights and adding motion to the Dancing Tree of Lights. It will be vastly different from last year,” Trevarrow said. “Last year, our Candy Cane Lane featured toys. This year it will feature sleighs from the 12 Days of Christmas.” This year the DDA invested in a weatherproofing system. Trevarrow said that in years past, any slight amount of moisture that got into the lights would cause problems, but that won’t be an issue this year, she added. According to Trevarrow, the display will take about seven weeks to install. Last year’s show cost around $250,000 for installation, maintenance, removal and storage. This year’s spectacle is being funded by the DDA, sponsorships and the DDA’s membership program. Although Mayor Stuart Bikson isn’t looking forward to the cold weather, he’s definitely eager for Christmas and the light show, he said. Each year, Rochester’s mayor has the privilege of lighting the Big, Bright Light Show for the first time during the city’s annual Lagniappe Festival. “It’s exciting,” Bikson said. “The Big, Bright Light Show is now an institution. When you see them doing it, it’s kind of exciting to think Christmas is around the corner.” At no cost to the city, the Big, Bright Light Show will be featured in a holiday billboard campaign by Travel Michigan, Trevarrow said. Billboards highlighting photographs of the show will be up all around the state and in lower Ontario to promote holiday shopping in metro Detroit. “We’re international now,” Trevarrow added. “Having billboards was obviously something we haven’t been able to invest in, so it’s a great opportunity for us.” For people who’d like to send a little piece of the big, bright lights, free postcards highlighting a section of the Big, Bright Light Show are available at the Rochester DDA office. The official lighting ceremony of the Big, Bright Light Show will occur during the 36th annual Lagniappe event starting at 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 1. The lights will be on display every night from 6 p.m. to midnight until Jan. 4. “When I was a kid, I remember Christmas lights and driving through neighborhoods to see them,” Trevarrow said. “I think that’s one thing that people can do here. Also, being able to drive through your own neighborhood and see it makes it very special.” For more information, contact the Rochester DDA at (248) 656-0060 or visit www.downtownrochestermi.com. You can reach Staff Writer Jennifer S. McDonald at jmcdonald@candgnews.com or at (586) 279-1112. |
