St. Albert is no stranger to Christmas decorations, what with spots like Elliot Place sporting more lights than a small galaxy at this time of year.
But it's hard not to notice Jason Andrew's home at 6 Embassy Place, with its illuminated arches, floating hoops, flashbulbs, lasers and thousands of LEDs, all flashing and blinking in hundreds of different colours.
And then you tune your radio to 107.9 FM, as the nearby sign suggests, and watch and listen in awe as you realize that the whole display has been choreographed to a rockin' Christmas music station, complete with fake ads and a faux DJ.
And it all started as a joke.
Andrews, a fire protection designer and computer expert, says the Embassy Light Extravaganza started about five years ago in October – a time when the whole block, especially the famous Halloween family at 64 Embassy Pl., goes crazy with Halloween decorations. A new neighbour, upon seeing the displays for the first time, had joked to Andrews that, "I suppose you guys go all out at Christmas time, too."
They didn't, actually, but for a gag, Andrews put up an elaborate $1,500 display of computer-controlled LED lights that he set to music.
"There were a lot of people who really seemed to enjoy it," he says.
He was hooked.
The show now features about $25,000 worth of equipment, he says, as well as custom songs and commercials.
"It kind of becomes a little bit of an addiction slash hobby," he said.
He'd seen similar shows online that involved about $500,000 worth of gear.
Although he had originally planned to double the size of the show this year, he wound up doing a repeat of last year's show because his new equipment got held up by hurricane Sandy's assault on New York.
The show uses software and controllers made by the New York-based company Light-O-Rama, Andrews says. He knows of two or three homes in Edmonton that also used the gear.
The outside of the home features everything from ordinary icicle-style light strings to laser projectors and a "cosmic colour ribbon" capable of producing about a million colours.
The whole works is hung on aluminium frames provided by St. Albert's Proclad Enterprises, Andrews says, and takes about two weeks to set up.
"It's pretty tough to do when your hands are all numb and you're standing on a 30-foot ladder in the snow."
These lights are hooked to about a dozen control boxes that are networked to a laptop.
Once he dumps his songs into the laptop, he uses an interface similar to a musical score to tell the lights when to turn on and off. (The faux DJ, voiced by an American known as The Demented Elf, claims it's really run by "lots of monkeys with on and off switches.")
Since it's all LED lights, Andrews says the power drain is negligible.
"Probably the biggest power pig out of the whole system is the laptop running it," he said.
Each of the 16 songs takes about 70 hours to code, Andrews says. Most of them are metal or dubstep versions of Christmas carols re-mixed by a Calgary group called the None Hit Wonders, but there is a polka version of Joy to the World as well.
The music is broadcast on an FM transmitter with a range of about a block, Andrews says – any more, and he risks running afoul of broadcast regulations. He'll have to get a new frequency next year, as a station in Fort Saskatchewan recently claimed this part of the FM band.
The finished show runs for about 45 minutes. Flashbulbs twinkle, trees sparkle, and five rings flash gold at exactly the right moment during The 12 Days of Christmas. It looks and sounds a lot like a Yuletide rave, or, at point-blank range, a fireworks show to the face.
It can get pretty dazzling, Andrews says, especially when you're shovelling snow.
"The mother-in-law has fallen down a couple of times when she's standing out there when everything goes all blinky!"
The show's been a big hit with the neighbours, says wife Candice Andrews, although she's personally not a fan of all the cables it involves running through the house.
"The only complaint the neighbours have is they can't seem to get out of the block without their kids saying, 'We have to watch the Christmas show!'" she said.
They probably get about 25 cars a night, Andrews says. Last Christmas Eve, they had about a dozen cars in the area with their doors open, radios blasting, and a mob of kids dancing in the driveway.
Neighbour Jorden Hoffort says he's excited to see the new show each year.
"A lot of people don't do Christmas around here, so it brought a whole different feel to the neighbourhood," he said.
Andrews says he's already started work on next year's show. He's coy on the details, but hinted that it might involve pink and a large pig.
The show runs from about 5 to 11 p.m. until Jan. 1. Andrews encourages visitors to not block traffic and to donate to the Salvation Army.
About the Author: Kevin Ma
Kevin Ma joined the St. Albert Gazette in 2006. He writes about Sturgeon County, education, the environment, agriculture, science and aboriginal affairs. He also contributes features, photographs and video.
