The Lakelights Tradition — the light show on Lake MacIntosh familiar to many in Longmont — began with Garek Desch's high school math class.
"Lakelights started as a high school project for me. In my senior year, I had to do a basic electronic/circuit project as part of a math class. I went online and found guys who did Christmas light controllers — basically dimmer switches. The reason I chose that was that when I lived in San Diego, I had a friend in a neighborhood where everyone in the whole cul-de-sac did this type of Christmas light show," he said.
What began as a simple project with one 16-channel light controller now has many more features. The show incorporates GIFs/Images, an FM Radio transmitter and an app where the community can vote for which song comes up next. While Desch owns the Lakelights.net domain name, the program runs through Light-0-Rama.
"They make the boards, and they also make the sequencing software I use. I can use any sort of sequencing they offer. Nutcracker is very popular. I've chosen Light-O-Rama because that's what the people in San Diego used," Desch said.
There's a lot that goes on behind the scenes. He said, "For every minute you see, there's an additional eight hours of programming work that goes on behind the scenes." What people may not realize is that it's a community effort.
Light-O-Rama forums have an exchange of ideas and items. "There's a big community of people on the forums. I'll say, 'Hey, I've got part of this song from Polar Express. Does anyone have anything that would go with it?' Unless you're a part of it, you wouldn't know it exists," Desch said.
The light show itself is a highlight for the Longmont community. It became an annual tradition for Longmont residents, the McFarland family, after their son, now 5-years-old, was born. "He loved when the Trans-Siberian Orchestra's Christmas in Sarajevo would come on." While they had their favorite, Kristie McFarland, said they didn't use the voting option. "We did realize they had that option, but we would spend up to 45 minutes there watching."
Desch said he loves the overwhelmingly positive response Longmont residents have to the show.
"I love the smiles. I've loved going out and being able to take a walk through the park, walking up and down all the cars to see all the people watching the show." He said, "some kids love the drummer, some the reindeer, and some love the tree. It's fun to see what different people like. Most people don't recognize me or realize that I'm the guy that puts it on. It's really fun to people-watch incognito."
Lakelights has grown in popularity over the nine years it has run. In the last few years, Desch said, he estimates they've seen an average of 300 cars per night. This year saw an even more significant number as people were looking for something to do.
"It was definitely a more popular activity this year. This year it seemed like people needed something to do and did not have as much time with family,” Desch said. "So when they were together, they were looking for family activities versus sitting in front of the TV. They couldn't go to arcades, movies, shopping and so on."
The Desch family has sold their house on Lake MacIntosh as they move on to the next chapter of their lives. Desch said his parents have retired and are moving to South Dakota, searching for a slower pace than Longmont offers. Desch has graduated college and is now living and working in Loveland.
Although his family will no longer live near Lake MacIntosh, Desch has offered the new family the opportunity to keep the tradition going. There's no word yet on whether they've accepted.
Even if the family declines the offer, Desch hopes the surrounding community will take on the lightshow.
Anyone interested to learn how the show is run can reach out through the Lakelights Facebook Page
"This is not necessarily the end for Lakelights. I'd still love to sell or even give the lights to the next person and to help them install them and teach them the ropes, so to speak," Desch said in a Reddit post labeled "A Goodbye from Lakelights."
