Nothing subdued about this light display

Eighteen-thousand lights. A half mile of cables. Eleven months of work. The James family in Mooresville took Christmas spirit to the next level this year.

Wayne and Tresha James have decorated their home with more than the traditional twinkling lights. Instead, their colorful Christmas display keeps time and beat with modern, high-energy holiday music.

“I told (my husband) we wanted Christmas lights and this is what we got,” joked Tresha, a substitute school teacher.

The display runs continuously from 6 to 10:30 p.m. each evening until Dec. 31, at the James’ home at 133 Springtime Lane. Visitors must tune their car’s radio stations to 90.5 FM to hear the music as they view the animated lights – a project that shows time and effort can produce fascinating results.

A couple years ago, Wayne, a chassis fabricator with Roush Fenway Racing, said he saw a video on YouTube with an animated Christmas lights display and the idea piqued his interest.

“I said ‘there’s got to be a way to do this,’ ” he added.

After scouring the Internet for information last Christmas, Wayne said he found some do-it-yourself Web sites – primarily http://www.doityourselfchristmas.com – and free software, Vixen Lighting Automation, to help with his project.

Instead of going the commercial route, which would cost considerably more money, Wayne said he chose to construct the various pieces – cables, circuit boards, etc. – of the project himself.

“The expense is just the stuff you have to buy at the store,” he said, specifically noting the extension cords and thousands of lights. Despite setting a budget of $1,000, the James family spent $1,400 on their unique Christmas display. The effects on their electric bill, however, have yet to be seen, but the family does not expect a considerable change.

Tresha noted that the time, effort and money put into the project was “well worth it.”

“I’d do it all over again,” she added.

Each of the five songs, which include the Trans Siberian Orchestra’s “Wizards of Winter” and “Christmas Eve Sarajevo,” took several hours to program in sync with the lighting display.

“It was easy to invest 20 hours into one song programming the lights,” noted Wayne, who said each minute of music took between six and eight hours to program.

Throughout the year, Wayne spent his time soldering each Christmas tree and the “mega tree’s” star, enlisting the help of his family, which includes Tiffany, 5, and Jared, 11, to set up the display.

On Nov. 23, the James’ year-long project debuted and they have been receiving an average of five cars of visitors each night through word of mouth and fliers distributed to friends.

“It’s for the kids,” Tresha said, adding that her own children watch the display each night. “We just want everybody else to enjoy it as much as we do.”

Even their neighbors, who can view the lighting display from windows and nearby porches, appreciate the Christmas spirit.

“We’ve already talked to all our neighbors and they all love it,” noted Tresha. The use of an FM transmitter, which Wayne said he also built using a kit, was to keep the neighborhood quiet while still syncing the display to holiday tunes.

Wayne also spends each night passing out candy canes to children as they view the lights and after only one week of rest since the display was lit, he’s already beginning to plan next year’s Christmas animation.

“I’d like to double up (on the lights),” he said, mentioning the use of arches and leaping lights for a future display. “We’ll have to see where this one goes.”

By Melinda Skutnick

Messages (leave a message)

Beautifully done. Keep up the great work.God bless you and your family.

Most impressive!  Amazing job you have done.  Merry Christmas

I’m sure all he Team-Roush-Fenway people are very proud!
Mery Christmas to you and your family and all the Roush-Fenway Racing families and fans

Wow! You are quite talented and the display is a treat to watch. Merry Christmas!

wow good job
nicely done. great talent

WOW, I really enjoyed watching your light display.  Have a very Merr Christmas.
By Pat P

Cool. I wanted to get up and dance. Merry Christmas to you and the family. Delores

I have to take a trip tonight to see this!
Nice Job!