MASON, Ohio - Devoted fans of dazzling Christmas lights can take heart.
The man whose computer-synchronized lights and music show gained international attention before he pulled the plug on it - when eager spectators jammed the streets around his home - is making sure the show goes on.
Computer engineer Carson Williams found a way to recreate the light and music extravaganza that made his home a holiday showplace in 2005 and became an Internet sensation, this time without traffic jams.
The 25,000 lights that winked and blinked to the strains of Christmas music at his house last year - landing him interviews on NBC's The Today Show and the British Broadcasting Corporation and getting his show into a Miller Lite beer commercial - have increased to 80,000 this year at a city park.
The move allows Williams to avoid the safety concerns stemming from traffic tie-ups and a fender-bender near his home. The display in the park in this Cincinnati suburb is operated like a drive-in theater.
It was a lot of work, and it took longer than I expected, said Williams, 41. But seeing the enjoyment it brings to people - especially kids - makes it all worthwhile.
In partnership with the nonprofit Festivals of Mason Inc.
that produces family events for the community, Williams designed a display on two wooden structures resembling the facade of his home and featuring aluminum and wire trees and wreaths, corrugated plastic candy canes and a 16-foot-wide Happy Holidays sign.
Cars enter the park through an arch with multicolored lights and are lined up side-by-side facing the facades. Motorists then tune to an FM radio channel to hear the Trans-Siberian Orchestra's Wizards in Winter, a medley of songs from The Polar Express soundtrack and traditional Christmas music synchronized to the flashing of the lights.
Williams, who spent two months working nights and weekends around his day job to create last year's show, began planning this year's display in January. Each minute of the 15-minute show required about six hours of work to program the lights and time them to the musical beat.
Williams paid about $12,000 for the display, and the Festivals of Mason, with the help of donations, covered the additional $192,000 for labor, construction, generators, fuel and display employees.
A $15 charge per car will help defray Williams' and the Festival group's costs, with any profits going back to the group.
This year's Christmas in Lights spectacle has been drawing rave reviews.
It was awesome, said Cortney Harris, 8, of nearby Goshen, her eyes still sparkling after one of the nightly shows.
Vince and Chris Centofanti, of Mason, brought their 3-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter.
It was fantastic, and my kids loved every minute of it, Chris Centofanti said. My son danced all the way through it.
Her husband heard about last year's show through the Internet when someone from Baltimore sent him a link to Williams' Web site.
By the time I found out it was practically around the corner, it had already shut down, Vince Centofanti said.
I really would have liked to have seen his house, but I'm glad it wasn't on my street, he added with a laugh.
Williams' neighbor Pete Vecchio, 38, said the traffic last year didn't bother him.
Everyone was respectful, and I thought it was fun, Vecchio said. I miss it, but it does give the rest of us a chance to win the subdivision's Christmas light contest.
A couple hundred or more cars show up at the park many weeknights, and more than 600 came last Saturday with the numbers increasing as Christmas nears. Repeat visitors are common.
The creator of PlanetChristmas, a group of about 4,000 Christmas light enthusiasts around the world who share display ideas on the group's Web site, said Williams' work has helped.
It's helped draw attention to the computerized process that is starting to catch on, said Chuck Smith, of Franklin, Tenn.
Williams says he's often introduced as the light guy. The publicity led to paid jobs helping design a synchronized light display at an outdoor shopping center in Denver and one at a Wheeling, W.
Va., park's zoo.
Ironically, the man who started out just wanting a memorable decoration for his wife Sherry and their two daughters didn't get any home lights up this year until he strung some icicle lights around the roof a few days ago.
I just haven't had time, he said.
If You Go..
.
Christmas in Lights: Carson Williams' show will run through Dec. 31 at Heritage Oak Park, 4601 U.
S. 42 in Mason, north of Cincinnati; , or (513) 398-4593. Open 6-9:30 p.
m. Sunday-Thursday (Closed Sunday, Dec. 24 for Christmas Eve), 6 p.
m.-10 30 p.m.
Friday-Saturday; $15 per car. Cars must have an FM radio for the music to be heard.
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