Why People Are Traveling To Iowa To View Christmas Lights

by Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger

11 Dec 2006 06:35 PM

I grew up in a small city on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Needless to say, our family's annual car ride to view local Christmas lights lasted approximately... oh, about, 7 minutes. Of course that was decades ago... long before the advent of icicle lights and inflatable waving Santas. And as for driving to other cities or (gasp) states, well that was simply not an option.

Thirty years after my first car ride to view Christmas lights my situation has changed rather dramatically. I currently live in the frozen tundra (Wisconsin) where holiday light displays are a BIG deal. In fact, long before we married, my husband and I would make an annual pilgrimage to Madison (about 90 miles to our south) to view a unique holiday light display the city hosts each year. Given that we spent 3 hours on the road in the middle of winter to view a bunch of strategically strung lights you could say we were rather dedicated.

However, I'm reconsidering our status after hearing about people who are driving hundreds of miles to central Iowa to view elaborate holiday light displays there. Following the lead of some ambitious Ohio homeowners, a few Iowans (in Marshalltown and Ankeny) are now wowing visitors with spectacular light displays set to music. One homeowner said his display has been a year in the making. I believe it. According to news reports, the man's home is covered with more than 40,000 blinking lights, which are all synchronized to music and involve using 176 individual timers.

Another Iowa homeowner's holiday masterpiece puts his neighbors to shame. Eric Rodemeyer of Marshalltown, Iowa told local newspaper reporters he decided that simply driving by and looking at holiday lights was not enough so he added a sound component. Rodemeyer reportedly spent more than 1000 hours to get 96 separate channels in his computer to flip on and off 14,500 bulbs. Visitors to his Seventh Avenue home can hear the seven songs that synch up to his light display on their FM radios. Rodemeyer runs his display from 5 to 10 p.m. each night and it has become such a popular attraction that local police have been called out to direct traffic on his street.

Like I said, I love looking at Christmas light displays, but I don't think I love them enough to drive to Iowa to watch them twinkle to music. How about you?

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Learn more about Michele Cheplic

Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism.

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Jeff Bogle (1022) 21 Dec 2006 01:11 PM

Wow, that is crazy! People are getting a bit out of control with the lawn decorations (inflatable and illuminated). I still prefer some wreaths, candles and the glow of the tree through the window. Although we, last year, added a big wodden rudolph with a red light on his nose.

I think every state or region has it's "beacon of light" Christmas light house to visit. There is one about a 1/2 hour away from us that features a big map of the world with a little bulb lit if someone from the states (or country) has stopped by and signed the guestbook.