FRANKLIN TWP — The first Christmas light show at the Big Butler Fairgrounds was a shining success, organizers said.

It was the first northern light show for the Tennessee-based Shadrack Christmas Wonderland, which has five other events in the South.

“With the feedback we got from the folks who attended it, everyone was extremely pleased,” said Shannon Glover, general manager for Shadrack.

The show will be back at the fairgrounds the next four years.

“Based on the attendance and feedback we received, we'll be here at least for four more years and hopefully beyond that,” Glover said.

Crews have been tearing down the set of the show, which featured lights synchronized to music and animated displays in the theme of Santa's Beach Party.

The show brought thousands of spectators to the fairgrounds from early December to Jan. 3.

The weekend before Christmas was the busiest with 1,749 vehicles passing through the show, Glover said.

“That's vehicles, not people,” he said. “Each car averaged three or four people, and there were several buses and vans.”

Glover said he did not have final tallies for each of the shows, but he said the first Butler event may have been the most attended.

“We didn't know what to expect going into it,” he said. “It started out well and continued to get better as it went. It turned out to be one of the largest of the six shows we've had.”

Glover said many spectators told him it was a good replacement for another light show that was previously held in Allegheny County for a number of years.

Jack Cohen, president of the county's Tourism and Convention Bureau, said the show was a nice event for the holiday season.

“It was something the community certainly welcomed,” he said. “We were lucky to see a light display like this around the holidays.”

Cohen said the only complaint he heard about the show was the traffic backups it caused.

But Cohen said he thought the accessibility to major roads, particularly Interstate 79 and Route 422, made the location perfect for the event.

“Think about all the major highways that give it easy access from Butler, from Cranberry — from all parts of the county,” he said.

Adam Roenigk, a member of the fairgrounds board, said he hopes traffic improvements can be made by next year's event.

“We hope to come up with plans to help alleviate the traffic,” he said, adding a larger queue area may help.

Roenigk said the fairgrounds was pleased with the success of the show.

“It's our only event during the winter months,” he said. “For the first year, it was a good turnout. In our eyes, it couldn't have gone better.”

Brian Taylor, owner of the Fairground Market across from the fairgrounds said traffic was certainly noticeable, but was ultimately a minor headache for the good of the community.

“Traffic was terrible,” he said. “But it was good for the area. It brought a substantial amount of people to the area.”

Taylor said the extra traffic didn't do much for business because it scared off some of his regular customers.

However, those attending the show made up for some of that lost business.

“People parked their cars on Route 422 and walked to the store,” he said. “By the time they got back traffic still hadn't moved.”

Jim Brueggeman, manager of Kwik Fill on Route 422, said the show led to a spike in business.

“It brought a lot of business in later at night,” he said, adding he spoke with customers from New York, West Virginia and Ohio. “We're usually dead by 8 p.m., but it got to the point some nights we had to tell people we were closed.”

Brueggeman said traffic was backed up for miles during the heaviest backups.

“I live in Prospect and got stuck in traffic for 2 hours one night trying to get back from I-79,” he said. “Normally it takes five minutes.”

Brueggeman said aside from the traffic delays, the event was a good time.

“My 4-year-old enjoyed it,” he said. “It was fun for the whole family.”