North Stafford, Va. — It’s taken five electrical breakers, years of effort, 138 extension cords, and more than 30 hours of programing to bring a holiday lights display to Springlake Drive.
Randy Shumate, a building engineer, decked the halls and his entire house on Springlake Drive in North Stafford with Christmas lights all programed to nine holiday songs by the Mad Russian Orchestra. It’s the 10th year he’s put on the synched light show at his home, and the show has gotten bigger and bigger each year, he said.
As the orchestral Christmas music progresses during the show, so do the flashing lights that have awed audiences not only in his neighborhood but now on YouTube, too.
“This is something I grew up with, so we try to keep the tradition going each year because it makes the kids smile,” said Shumate.
A family affair, Shumate, his wife, 13-year-old son, 8-year-old daughter, and his brother all began working on the light display on Black Friday. Sure, it’s a chore – or more like a labor of love — to string the Christmas lights and post the light fixtures on the roof, but the real work comes when Schumate spends about 30 hours programming the lights to the music with his lap top and what seems like miles of Ethernet cables.
Shumate, who’s doesn’t have a background in computer programming, says he first got the idea when he saw a similar light display. Afterward, he went online, found a website where he could ask questions, and later became a self-taught holiday lights-to-music magic maker.
“My brother estimates we have at least 80,000 lights on the house,” said Shumate.
While they don’t leave the lights up all year, Schumate’s son already have some ideas on what next year’s display will look like.
“He wants to make the stars even bigger next year,” said Shumate.
The light show will remain up until New Year’s Day.
