Nearly one million lights were turned on Friday to mark the beginning of Shadrack's Christmas Wonderland at the Big Butler Fairgrounds.

The event will run through Jan. 3 to mark the holiday. Because of coronavirus concerns, there will be no Santa's Village, a feature from past years.

The display invites people to drive through a 2.5-mile tunnel covered in custom-built light displays blinking in synchronization with festive music that people can play on their car radios.

Tickets can be purchased at shadrackchristmas.com/pittsburgh-pa. A spokesperson with the display declined to comment for this story.

The show runs seven days a week from 6 to 10 p.m.

Peoples, an Essential Utilities company, is supporting local volunteer fire departments that work side-by-side with employees.In 2019, Peoples created S.A.F.E. — Sharing Appreciation for Fire Department Excellence — to support these volunteers.S.A.F.E. is a recognition program for volunteer fire departments located in the Peoples' service territory that is intended to provide funding to keep departments strong and fully functioning for their communities.Since the start of the program, Peoples has awarded $85,000 to 34 volunteer fire departments in its service territory.“Peoples wants to give volunteer fire departments across the region the recognition they deserve, and the resources they need, to continue to keep people safe every day,” said Mike Turzai, vice president and general counsel of Peoples. “The volunteer work that firefighters do plays an essential role in protecting communities.”To learn more about the Peoples S.A.F.E. Program or to learn how to nominate your local volunteer fire department, visit www.peoples-gas.com/safe.

The Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh has announced James Lucot Jr. is the 2020-21 Holocaust Educator of the Year.Lucot has taught AP US government and Honors US history for the last 20 years at Seneca Valley High School. Lucot also created a Holocaust studies course at Butler County Community College.When school is not in session, Lucot volunteers at his children's school and multiple veterans programs including Honor Flight Pittsburgh. He has coordinated a history roundtable, bringing history makers, military veterans and Holocaust survivors to his community.Lucot's personal academic research on the Holocaust has taken him to Poland, Israel, Greece and across the United States on educational studies and research trips.He is active with the Holocaust Center of Pittsburgh and Classrooms Without Borders.The Holocaust Educator of the Year award was established by an anonymous donor in the interest of recognizing and encouraging excellence in Holocaust education in the tri-state area.This is the fifth year the award has been given. Usually, the winner of the award is announced in the spring after a competitive application process. This year was different, due to COVID-19.The center will resume the usual application and award process in fall 2021.