Holiday Road: Musical light show ready to roll
Tue, Nov 24, 2009 
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BY BECKY VARGO
bvargo@grandhaventribune.com
SPRING LAKE TOWNSHIP — If the preview crowd's reaction was any indication, this year's Holiday Road lights show will be a huge success, according to organizer Brad Boyink.
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"I talked to a lot of people last (Saturday) night and everyone thought it was amazing," he said.
A couple hundred neighbors, friends and volunteers filled Heather Court Saturday evening for a preview of the musical holiday light show, which will take place Thursday through Dec. 26, on 14 homes in this residential neighborhood located off West Spring Lake Road.
All of the 200,000 lights (minus a couple of displays expected for delivery today) were on in static display while the preview crowd circulated around tables filled with potluck delights.
"We had three tables filled with desserts," Boyink said. "There was nothing left at the end of the night."
At 7 p.m. Saturday, the musical light show was started and all 12 songs on the playlist were performed with just a few minor glitches, which Boyink said will be corrected before Thursday's 6 p.m. opening.
"Get this — the fog was interfering with the radio signal," he said, referring to the static caused by unseasonably warm weather.
The Holiday Road lights show will run nightly beginning Thursday (Thanksgiving Day) and continue through Dec. 26. Show hours are 6-9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Shows on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Eve will run from 6-10 p.m.
Boyink said he used the audience reaction Saturday to help determine what were the most popular songs. Based on their reaction, those songs are: "Wizards in Winter," "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas," "Mr. Heat Miser" and a new Trans Siberian Orchestra piece, "Nutrocker."
One of these songs will be part of a three-song performance each night of the show.
There will be four different shows rotating on the different nights. Boyink said the playlist for each night is available on the Holiday Road Web site at www.holidayroadlights.com
Traffic will be brought into the neighborhood from the north off West Spring Lake Road. Visitors coming from U.S. 31 will go to the VanWagoner Road exit, head east to West Spring Lake Road (about a mile), then south almost a quarter mile to Heather Court where volunteers will direct the traffic.
The music will be broadcast at 88.1 FM and people should be able to pick it up a mile away.
Three songs will be played each night, with those same three songs repeating the entire evening. To hear all 12 songs, one would have to attend the show four different times, Boyink said.
Once on Heather Court, drivers will be directed to the first zone for the first song, then will move to a different zone for the next song. During this transition, all of the lights on all of the houses will be on.
"It gets really bright then," Boyink said.
The Holiday Road lights show is returning to Heather Court after a two-year hiatus on Harbor Island.
The show started on Heather Court in 2005 when Boyink responded to a bet that he couldn't do a better light show than one shown on a beer commercial. That year Boyink decorated only his own home. The response to his light show resulted in traffic back-ups and $10,000 in donations for Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Because of the traffic problems and requests for more people to be able to see the show, Boyink joined forces with the Grand Haven Rotary for two years of shows on Harbor Island.
While that was fairly successful, Boyink said it didn't have the impact like the one in his neighborhood, and there were lots of problems with the weather and vandalism.
By bringing the display back home, Boyink and the neighborhood can keep a watch on things to make sure nothing bad happens.
The organizer has also met with the Ottawa County Sheriff's Department and Spring Lake Township to make sure all traffic and safety concerns have been addressed.
Three local charities have been selected as the beneficiaries of the proceeds from this year's show — Tri-Cities Area Habitat for Humanity, Spread the Music Foundation and Harbor Humane Society. While the show is free to watch, a free-will donation will be collected from those who are able to contribute. Officials hope to be able to raise $60,000 to split evenly among the organizations, Boyink said.
"This is a great opportunity for us. We are extremely excited and grateful to Mr. Boyink to be a part of this fun holiday tradition" said Abbei Monroe, marketing director for Harbor Humane Society.
On the Net:
www.holidayroadlights.com.
www.spread-the-music.org
www.tricitieshabitat.org
www.harborhumane.org
