Holiday Lights Show Brightens up the Season

Over at 107 Harvest Run Road North, the holiday season is looking pretty bright, as Eric Stoner and some of his neighbors once again have turned his home into the popular State College Holiday Lights Show.

The light show is set to music, and Stoner has been putting it on since 2014 when he decided to become “Clark Griswold and decorate to a T” for the holiday season. Since then, the show has become a neighborhood tradition. 

He changes it up year to year, and it is free and open to anyone, but he also takes donations for different charities every year for anyone moved to give.

And it would be hard not to be moved, after all. Stoner estimates that he uses more than 25,000 lights, noting that it is difficult to keep count though.

“25,000 is what qualifies you to be Clark Griswold,” he said.

He creates this light show along with the help of his neighbors Dave Edwards, Peyton Edwards and Joe Kelly.

“We start in the beginning of October. Do a small show for Halloween and then transition from November 1 up to Thanksgiving,” said Stoner. “Then, from Thanksgiving to New Years, the holiday light show runs every night.”

Inspiration comes from his helpers.

“Dave Edwards is the motivator. He calls every morning to find out what we need to setup and when to do it. His son is Peyton. Joe is new to helping. They moved in across the street and when he (Joe) found out he was living across from the lights, he was excited to help,” said Stoner. “While we provide the show free of charge for the enjoyment of all, if you are inspired to give back during the season, we also support a charity each year. Our charity this year is the Jared Box Project.”

The goal of the Jared Box Project is to lift the spirits of children in the hospital. The boxes symbolize the importance of play and are filled with well wishes, hope and love. More than 200,000 Jared Boxes have been delivered across the United States.

A Jared Box is a plastic storage box filled with small gifts, toys, games and fun activities. Each box contains items selected for a specific age and gender. The boxes are delivered to hospitals. Jared Boxes provide a special diversion for young patients in emergency rooms, patient rooms, surgical centers and clinics as they receive chemotherapy and other medical treatments. Jared Boxes bring smiles and laughter and lift the spirits of children in the hospital

Show times are 5:30 to 9 p.m. Sundays to Thursdays and 5 to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. This years’ show is a continuous montage of songs and lights lasting approximately nine minutes.

After Christmas, the playlist will change a bit, but until then, the songs included in this years’ show are “Santa Claus is Coming To Town” (Boston Pops), “Heroes United” (Jonathan Wright), “Emmanuel” (Geoff Zanelli), “The Nutcracker Suite” (James Dooley), “Candy Cane Lane” (Sia), “Wonderful Christmastime” (Dub Step Remix) (Paul McCartney), “It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” (Andy Williams), “All I Do Is Win” (DJ Kalid) and “Penn State Remix 2019.”

IF YOU GO

To help you maximize the viewing experience, and to keep things enjoyable for everyone, Stone asks that viewers observe the following precaution:

• Park only on the right side of Harvest Run Road, across from the house, to allow traffic to continue through the neighborhood;

• Be respectful of the neighbors and do not block the road or any driveways;

• Do not park in any driveways unless you specifically have permission from the homeowners;

• Keep the volume of your radios at a reasonable level — there are young children in the neighborhood who go to bed early; and

• In order to leave the neighborhood after viewing the show, there is no need to turn around — simply continue straight along Harvest Run Road and you will loop around to exit the neighborhood.

Stoner said he cannot start the show again after the scheduled ending time and there are reasons they set the end times for when they are. If it is very crowded, they will do their best to keep the show going to finish off the line, but especially on weeknights, they can’t promise they will be able to extend the show, and they absolutely cannot restart the show after it has officially shut off.