Christmas Carnival of Lights:
How one man’s enduring holiday spirit strung its way into the hearts of so many families
Each year, starting in October, our hard-working team comes together for several weeks of building structures and stringing lights – all for a brief yet memorable window where families can come together and celebrate the joy of the season.
But before the first bulb was ever hung 16 seasons ago, it emerged from the inspired vision of one man.
Sixteen years ago, our dad, Randy Isaacson, took stock of the property’s gorgeous wooded path and its many electrical boxes located along the way and knew that it would make the perfect backdrop to host a family-centered light show.
In fact, he was adamant that we could create a Christmas light show in the winter months and use it to employ staff year-round, creating jobs for local workers.
Our first year was interesting, to say the least! I’ll never forget staying up until three o’clock in the morning. One family member had finally finished the first synchronization of lights to music and we all stood near the Yogi statue, watching the lights dance across the Ranger Station™.
There was definitely a learning curve, from properly trimming branches and decorating trees from a lift to understanding how to balance electrical loads, knowing how many strands of lights you can plug together without blowing a fuse, and how to best transform each tree to make it shine. It was a lot of work, but like many other things, our dad was correct. It worked.
Our dad never did anything halfway – he poured his heart into everything he did and we hope you feel that as you make your way through the Christmas Carnival of Lights this season.
Early this year, our family experienced the heartbreaking loss of our dad. And as our team continues to bring new elements and our lighting designs evolve with our collective imaginations, we all remember that at the core of our efforts is the hardworking family man whose love of Christmas and making people happy.
Our father created a holiday legacy that shines brightly every winter – and we bring his spirit into everything we create. So when you see the twinkling lights and hear the sounds of laughter, we hope your heart is filled with the same wonder and magic that our dad felt each Christmas. In the end, that is the greatest holiday gift of all.
