Wichita Christmas light displays so intense, they have their own Facebook pages, websites
Some Wichita Clark Griswolds are so serious about their craft, they aren’t satisfied just hanging up their thousands of Christmas lights, setting them to music and waiting for people to come.
These light specialists not only tend to give their creations a title, but they also get them their own Facebook and web pages.
If you take the time to “like” or bookmark said pages, you’ll never wonder again exactly where they are, exactly when they start and exactly how many lights they’re boasting each year. You’ll also get real-time updates on outages and rain closings, and most important, you’ll get a sense of the special, hardworking and interesting Wichitans who are driven to decorate.
Here’s a list of of those displays, followed by another list of of mega displays that don’t have web presences but are still worth visiting year after year. Know any we missed? E-mail dneil@wichitaeagle.com and we’ll get it added.
The Marshall Family Christmas Lights, 620 N. Stratford Lane, near Central and Rock: Mark Marshall and his big family have been putting up this big display since 2007, and it covers their large home with more than 140,000 dancing Christmas lights on 270 individually programmed channels, all choreographed to Christmas songs. The the Marshalls always set out a box at the curb to collect money for charities, and this year, they’re giving to The Lord’s Diner and St Anthony Family Shelter. The display runs from 5:30 p.m.t o 10 p.m. on weeknights and until 11 p.m. on weekends through Jan. 6.
Lights on Longview Lane, 3805 Longview Lane, near Kellogg and Hillside: This display, which Clayton Gosset has been putting up for the past 13 years, is made of more than 50,000-lights that dance set to music that can be found on the FM dial. You can usually see bits of it from Kellogg when you’re nearing Hillside, and the show is always set to some trippy electronica Christmas music. It’s open from 6 to midnight daily.
Christmas at the McKinneys, 1462 N. Coolidge: One of the most popular Christmas stops in Wichita is in North Riverside, where drivers can find a display that has been put up for the past 22 years by Steve McKinney. The display encompasses both McKinney’s and his next-door neighbor’s houses and features at least 100,000 lights that dance in sync to music you can hear by tuning in to a radio station on your FM dial. McKinney accepts donations at his display and gives them to HumanKind Ministries and the Kansas Humane Society.
Lights on Brummett Street, 3721 Brummett, near South Ridge Road and MacArthur: This homeowner not only puts up an annual Christmas display, he also decorates at Halloween. His holiday show, which has music being pumped through speakers or over a radio frequency, is turned on from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and 5:30 to 10:00 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
Christmas Lights on Gold Street, 5336 S. Gold, near 55th Street South and Seneca: This display, which has been going every year since 2009, gets a little bigger every Christmas. It has more than 13,000 dancing Christmas lights set to music on the FM dial. The display was first started by Matt Robertson when he was a senior in high school and is open from 5:30 to 10 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and 5:30 p.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturdays.
Lights on Texas, 11603 W. Texas, near 119th and Maple: Usually considered granddaddy of all Wichita Christmas displays, Lights on Texas is a little smaller this year but is still worth a visit. Homeowners Brad Short and Scott Lawrence are mourning a death in of Short’s father, Gary, who died of cancer in March and who was an especially intricate player in the Santa Claus part of the display. They’ve still put up around 200,000 lights, though, so it should still be visible from space.
Christmas on Crestline, 914 N. Crestline, near Central near Maize: This display, which started back in 2011, features a sweet mid-century modern home covered in more than 80,000 neon-colored lights that dance to music found on the FM dial. It also usually has a hologram projected onto it that makes it appear that Santa is busy at work inside, an 8-foot-long mural where people can stick their own faces where Santa’s and the elves’ should be, and a Kansas City Chief’s-themed show. New this year: Six giant glowing Christmas balls. It’s open from 6 to 10:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursdays and from 6 p.m. to midnight Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Candy Cane Lane, Azure Circle near Central and 119th: One of Wichita’s biggest displays is put together with the cooperation of a whole lot of people in one neighborhood. Candy Cane Lane features 18 neighboring houses on the cul-de-sac on North Azure Circle that are completely covered in lights. The display has been going on for 18 years, and getting through it can be a traffic hassle.
Lights of Matthew 5:16, 835 Longbranch Circle, Maize: The show at this house has been going on since 2016 and features dancing lights set to music. The Facebook page suggests, as does the name of the display, that the homeowners are driven to decorate from a place of religious worship.
Displays that have websites
Ninth Street Lights, 3821 W. Ninth St., near West Street and Ninth Street: This longtime display includes more than 35,000 lights running on 192 channels of computerized lighting. Like most, it features dancing light shows set to music, and the website each year even lists which songs will be included. (This year, there are 18, from “Amazing Grace” to “Joy to the World.”) An added bonus: The site also includes a tab offering a “how-to” for aspiring decorators. The website is https://9thstreetlights.weebly.com.
CLAUS, Inc. 1841 S. Glenn, near Harry and Seneca: These homeowners have set up a “North Pole Express Substation,” and their display features lights and a big sleigh in the yard. On certain nights, Santa himself is there to pose for pictures. It’s open 6 to 9 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays through Dec. 21 (though Santa will be absent this year on Dec. 14.) The website is www.clausinc.org.
Lights on David, 409 N. David St., near 119th and Central: This longtime show includes lights and inflatables and is open from dark until 9 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and from dark until 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. The website is lightsondavidstreet.webs.com.
No fancy web presence, but still worth a visit
Kirstie Alley’s Santa’s Village, 3725 E. Douglas: Most every year, movie star and Wichita native Kirstie Alley decorates her side-by-side houses on East Douglas with lights and puts up her prized Santa’s Village display. The village, a series of large panels painted with festive Christmas town scenes, was a memento Alley saved from the set of her 1993 movie “Look Who’s Talking Now,” and she’s been occasionally putting it up in front of her wood-shingled house since 2007. This year, both of her houses, including the one at 3751 E. Douglas, are fully decked out and the village is up.
Four-acre display at 10813 SW Tawakoni Road, Augusta: The Socha family has been putting up its giant Augusta display, which is spread out over about four acres, for the past 15 years. They’re up to 80,000 lights this year, which are used to create static and animated scenes, like Santa and his reindeer flying through the sky, a penguin slide and a fire-breathing sea monster. And the family has made some additions this year, including a life-sized horse hitch pulling a stagecoach and a life sized angel. To find it, head east on 54 toward Augusta and turn right onto Tawakoni Road, which is just past the Augusta Municipal Airport.
North and South Pershing in College Hill: Wichita’s College Hill neighborhood has a lot of festively decorated houses, and it’d be worth your time to drive around the area for an hour or so. But your drive should definitely include the 100 block of N. Pershing, which is always famously lined with multicolored sticks of lights in an array of colors planted in the ground. Just across Douglas, the 100 block of South Pershing is always lined with luminaria. Just follow the glowing curb-level lights until you’ve seen enough.
Christmas Story house at 818 N. Cedar Park: If you like the movie “A Christmas Story,” you’ll love this display at a house near Central and 119th. Put together by homeowner Alan Grossman, it always includes homemade scenes from the famous film, including Santa sitting on his throne at the top of the slide, Ralphie in his pink bunny suit, Flick with his tongue stuck to the frozen pole and the very “fragile” leg lamp.
Reindeer Road, Firefly Street, Central and 119th: Another popular neighborhood display is Reindeer Road, which is one street to the west of Candy Cane Lane. This display gets bigger each year too, and it features many houses with light-up, 16-foot-tall reindeer in their front yards.
Lights on Ocieo, 6726 W Ocieo, near Ridge and 49th Street North: Joshua and Mildred Clyborne are serious about their annual display, which includes 60,000 lights and (new this year) 17,000 LED lights and, 27-foot mega trees and an 8,000 lights creating a canopy in two trees. It’s open from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. daily.
Can’t-miss institutional displays
The lights at Kennedy Plaza: Saluting soldiers. A waving Santa. And swimming dragon that keep watch in front of Century II. All of the city’s classic, throwback lights are back this year along with the traditional giant decorated tree.
The Arc’s Lights, Douglas and St. Paul: This attraction, which suffered some recent vandalism, is now repaired and back to its full glory. It’s a drive-through display with more than a million lights that includes a rainbow tunnel, a nativity scene, a fire-breathing dragon and soldiers standing at attention. It’s open from 5:30-9 p.m. through Dec. 28, though it will stay open until 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 11 p.m. Christmas Eve). A $10 per-carload admission is required Fridays through Sundays, and free-will donations are accepted Mondays through Thursdays.
Illuminations at Botanica, 701 Amidon: This isn’t a drive-by display, but it’s one of Wichita’s most popular holiday light attractions and a true can’t-miss. It features more than 2 million lights and 19 glowing acres, and this year, the newly restored Joyland carousel is part of the show. Illuminations is open from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays through Jan. 4, though it’s closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Tickets are $12 for adults, $8 for members, military and children.
This story was originally published December 6, 2019 at 5:01 AM with the headline "Wichita Christmas light displays so intense, they have their own Facebook pages, websites."
.jpg)