When in quarantine, you have to find things to do to keep sane and socially distant! This is what I am doing with my parents now after driving (safely) up from Miami to New York to spend the holidays with them.
This past weekend, dad had a great idea to drive around looking at the Christmas lights neighbors put up around the area in upstate New York. One of these neighbors happens to be a Guinness World Record holder for their lights display.
In celebration of the holidays this week, I am sharing a few of the photos and a video I took while visiting this world famous light display. I also include a few tips for visiting in case you happen to be in the area and want to see it for yourself.
About ERDAJT
ERDAJT stands for the initials of Grace and Tim Gay‘s children - Emily Raejean, Daniel Arthur and John Timonthy. Their children were the motivation behind the lights display.
They describe the original intention behind the display as an expression of the love they have for their children. Aww!
Starting in 1995 with 600 lights the display grew 1000 times in size to over 600,000 by 2014. That was the year they broke the Guinness World Record for the most lights on a residential property, overtaking the previous record holders from Australia.
Although their children are now adults, they still come together as a family each year to put the display together. Starting in September, they get the display ready throughout the Fall for its annual debut right after Thanksgiving.
They now use the project as an opportunity to raise money for their local Union Dale Fire Department. Visitors to see the display are encouraged to make a donation of any amount they can. They are currently at over $400,000 raised.
Our Experience
Weekends in quarantine with my parents have been filled with different weekend activities and projects. This past weekend, dad decided to take us to see ERDAJT.
It’s funny how we sometimes often overlook or take for granted the fun activities we have right on our doorstep. Before this past weekend, I hadn’t heard about ERDAJT even though it is only 30 minutes from my parent’s home in LaGrangeville, New York. Maybe it’s because the year ERDAJT made big news for the world record was the year I was in New Zealand for the holidays?
Anyway, we drove over to 8 Patrick Drive on Sunday evening. We arrived at about 5:30pm and immediately realized just how big of a deal this was. A long line of cars was creeping along the rural back road leading up to the driveway.
We were grateful when one car allowed us to merge into the line at the stop sign we approached. Upstate New Yorkers are so friendly! The lesson here is to make sure you arrive early if you’re in a hurry or have other plans. But we are in quarantine and had nothing better to do—so wait we did!
The wait was only about 30 minutes. At around 6pm we could already see the lights dancing through leafless trees.
We could hear the music coming from the property, too. Using a Cat5e cable, 37 miles of wire, and Light-O-Rama software, the family manually sequenced the lights display to now over 250 songs!
We tuned our radio to 95.3 so we could watch the show sync up with the radio. Approaching the driveway, it felt like we were about to enter a tunnel of lights!
The driveway is a half circle. You have to keep it moving (drive slow) around the driveway. We stopped in front of the house where they were collecting the donations. This also gave us the chance to sit and take in the full display for a few extra seconds before moving on.
The entire experience only lasts a few minutes. But we went on one of the busy nights—Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays are popular especially in the weeks right before Christmas. They recommend coming earlier in the season or on Monday-Thursday to have the opportunity to spend a little more time enjoying the show.
The Video
There’s not much else to say about the experience. It’s best just to watch it! But one disclaimer – I couldn’t show you the video with the music synced up because of copyright laws on YouTube. I replaced the audio we actually heard with a royalty free Christmas song.
The real show is the lights, but just in case you’re curious about the song that was playing when we drove up, it was a heavy metal version of “Frosty the Snowman” by August Burns Red. This fast paced, guitar riffing rendition had the lights blinking rapid-fire like a billion little strobe lights on a stage. It was awesome! But definitely not great if you’re prone to seizures…
Check it out and maybe this will motivate you to make a trip to see it (safely) in person in the future!
In Conclusion
Quarantine sucks! But with a little research, you might be able to find fun and safe activities to do in your area this month. Look for fun light shows you can view from the safety and comfort of your car or even carefully by foot. If not, maybe there are other sights and sounds to take in this holiday season with social distancing measures in place.
Regardless, I truly hope you have a wonderful holiday and a very happy new year! I’ll see you next time for my annual New Year’s Reflection post! :)
