Clarion Lights for a Cause by The Tom Frantz Family

This display features Christmas decorations and lights that "dance" to music. Feel free to relax in the warmth of your vehicle and tune to our radio station to watch the show! WHY WE DO IT

As a US Army Soldier, I spent the Christmases of 2006 and 2007 in Iraq. Our unit lost several Soldiers on Christmas day 2007. It was not until the Christmas of 2008 that I realized how much I was affected by th

e loss of those Soldiers. I had a new baby boy (2 weeks old). I was depressed and going through a myriad of emotions and got very little joy from the holidays. Fast forward to Christmas of 2009. My wife and I took the kids out to look at Christmas lights in the Minneapolis area. That is when I saw the Fischer's light display (www.plymouthlights.com). I looked at my wife and said "I am going to do that!" I remember she gave me "the look", rolled her eyes at me, and said "whatever". The challenge was on! I contacted Tim Fischer and got pointed in the right direction. Some people call it “an obsession”… I call it “Therapy!”

Throughout the year, I scoured the after Christmas sales, local garage sales, and Craigslist and came up with enough lights and blow-molds to put on what I thought was an "acceptable first attempt". The result was a display (see "First attempt" video) that ran about 15 minutes and had 16 channels. This meant I could have 16 different decorations (or sets of decorations) programmed to do whatever I wanted them to do whenever I wanted them to do it. Although my neighbors enjoyed it, I was not satisfied with it. I vowed to improve it year after year. Looking back at that first display shows just how far we have truly come. We now have a total of 96 channels and over 10,000 lights! We have also upgraded most of our lights to LED to conserve energy. We moved to Clarion in August of 2012 and brought the lights with us! We have received nothing but the best support from the community and we truly love living here. Many people have tried to give us money “for our electric bill”. Every penny anyone has given us as a result of our display has gone to support a local charity or cause. There is always a locked donation pole for you to deposit any donations or you can contact us via Facebook messenger. We are always looking for suggestions for recipients of donations for future light displays!