Haul out the Holly! Christmas Lights Dazzle in Clark County
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, all over Clark County! Several Vancouver residents and neighborhoods are rivaling Portland’s famous Peacock Lane for private Christmas light displays that are worth the drive.
Daryl Travis and his neighbors have been perfecting their Hearthwood area Christmas display for five years. Their precious few rain-free days each November are filled with setting up a wonderland that includes a Candyland theme of giant gumdrops, candy canes, and gingerbread men, as well as five 14-foot trees and thousands of lights that are animated and musically choreographed. This year will feature two new 10-foot tall pixel trees.
Besides the magic of it all, safety is a top concern for Travis and his neighbors. “We try to have traffic control every night to ensure traffic snarls are few,” he says.
While the display is free to enjoy, this year Travis is accepting donations for Evergreen High School Band, Orchestra and Color Guard.
When asked about his electric bill each December, he defers to the labor rather than the monetary investment. “We start building for the next year the day after we take down the display. A lot of the things we use need repair every year and it does take time to put it all away. It takes a month of setup and a month of take down to get everything to the right place.”
His advice for enjoying the fruits of their labor? “It is better to come after December 10th till about the 20th and then after December 26th till January 1st,” Travis says. “Traffic is at the lowest on those days. Please be kind enough to pull over and dim your headlights while you watch the show.”
The effort is intensive, but Travis says it is worth it. The most rewarding part is “people coming by every year and making us part of their Christmas tradition. Seeing their faces light up with the display and the looks of awe with their smiles it gives us even more reason to do it every year.”
Check out Travis’s display at Hearthwood Blvd and 9th St in Vancouver. In a different neighborhood less than a mile to the east of Travis’s display is another house fully decked out: on 7th St and 153rd Ave across from Countryside Park.
Other traditionally festive private light displays can be found at Riverridge Dr. in Vancouver
Do you know of more particularly festive neighborhood Christmas light displays in Clark County? Comment below!
