'North Pole' theme of annual light show
A holiday favorite drive-thru Christmas light show returns to Prospect for the season this Friday.
The annual light show — Shadrack's Christmas Wonderland — is hosted at the Big Butler Fairgrounds, 1127 New Castle Road.
Ben Kaiser, the show's project manager, said his crew has been working late into the evenings to set up the lights.
The theme of this year's theme is “The North Pole.”
The company runs light shows in six towns throughout the country, and Kaiser had high praise for this particular setup.
“It's a new show we built just in the last year,” Kaiser said. “It's definitely our best.”
The show features two miles of Christmas light displays that flash in sync with music broadcast over radio waves. Visitors tune their car to the correct station, then roll through the display.
He said snow earlier this week disrupted the setup, but crews have been working overnight to get everything ready for Friday. A team of six to 10 people has been at the fairgrounds every night since Oct. 1 setting up the show. They have to work mostly overnight as the lights can't be seen well in daylight.
Last year, the show was delayed by a large storm in November, Kaiser said, adding how the display is faring better this year.
“We're getting it done,” Kaiser said Thursday. “We've got some fine tuning and tweaks to make tonight, but we'll be ready.”
This year's show includes a light tunnel. Attendees will drive through the tunnel and find themselves surrounded by moving lights on all sides. Kaiser said it's their big eye-catching piece of the year.
Santa's Village is also open nightly during the show and available for participants. Hot cocoa and family-friendly activities are available there.
Entry for a car holding eight passengers or fewer costs $25 from Sundays through Thursdays or $30 on Fridays and Saturdays. The show is letting visitors pay an extra $20 to see it from an express lane that bypasses the general admission, if it's overly busy.
The show will run through Jan. 5.
It's open from 6 to 10 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, and usually later in the evenings on Saturdays and Sundays, depending on traffic.
