The holiday season will once again feature a unique light show for people across Wood Buffalo.
“Lights at Royal Garden” gets underway next week in Thickwood and will include a show every night for several weeks.
Creator Jon Tupper tells Mix News the setup has gotten very complicated to ensure people are getting a new show every year.
“We use digital RGB Christmas lights, over 4,800 of them, we hook them up to a whole bunch of complicated circuits and electronics and we use that to control the lights and to essentially make the house dance to music.”
The free show has been an annual tradition over the past few years, created as a way to help brighten up everyone’s mental health after the Horse River wildfire.
It has advanced from lights moving to full on animations being included.
“We’re at the point where you can literally play a game of Tetris on the side of our house using your phone through our Christmas lights,” added Tupper.
The “Lights at Royal Garden” gets underway on November 27 and will include shows every half an hour from 6 p.m. – 10 p.m. everyday until January 1.
Despite the big work order, Tupper says he hasn’t had a single day where he’s wished he could just take the day off.
“Seeing the smiles and the faces of the families and children is really why we do it – it brings a lot of Christmas joy for us.”
The light show takes place at 128 Royal Garden in Thickwood.
Meanwhile, donations for the Northern Lights Health Foundation will also be accepted.
Last year, they raised around $2,000. Tupper notes this year they’re hoping to get around $6,000 with every donation being matched by Flett Manning Moore Law Firm.