Christmas lights boogie to the beat

Last updated 13:00 22/12/2009

COLIN SMITH/ The Nelson Mail

SON ET LUMIERE: The Christmas lights at Harcourts Light Up Nelson supreme winner Graham Holdaway's Panorama Dr home are synchronised to music.

Relevant offers

Graham and Keitha Holdaway's Stoke home captures the sights and sounds of Christmas like no other.

The Holdaways' Panorama Dr home is adorned with nearly 6000 Christmas lights, which go on and off in synchronisation with Christmas music.

The intricate display has made them the supreme winners in this year's Harcourts Light Up Nelson competition, run by Classic Hits radio station. Thirty-one homes adorned with Christmas lights, from Nelson city to Motueka, are taking part in the event.

Mr Holdaway said they were chuffed to win the competition, but winning wasn't the reason they entered. For him, the challenge of achieving the music and light synchronisation was the driving factor, after he first saw the concept four years ago.

"It was something that captured my imagination. I wanted to give it a go to see if I could do it."

The display is in stark contrast to his last entry in the contest two years ago, at a different property, when he hung some lights on the house "on a small scale".

This time around, the lights are driven by computer as music from the Pogues, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra and more traditional tunes play.

"It's Christmas songs, but upbeat. We haven't got Jingle Bells or Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer," Mr Holdaway laughed.

He insists he's "not a computer geek or IT person" but "just a DIY guy" who, for the past year, has made a hobby out of achieving his Christmas light display, which he said took a great deal of planning.

"I started on this 12 months ago, deciding what I wanted.

"Hopefully, people have enjoyed it."

The Christmas lights will be on display at the Holdaways' house between 9pm and 11pm until just after New Year.

A map of the homes involved in the Harcourts Light Up Nelson trail is online at lightupnelson.co.nz

Ad Feedback

- © Fairfax NZ News

Nelson Mail Homepage

Post comment

Name:	Required
Email:	Required. Will not be published.

Registration is not required to post a comment but if you , you will not have to enter your details each time you comment. Registered members also have access to extra features. Create an account now.

Maximum of 1750 characters (about 300 words)

I have read and accepted the terms and conditions
These comments are moderated. Your comment, if approved, may not appear immediately. Please direct any queries about comment moderation to the Opinion Editor at blogs@stuff.co.nz

Ad Feedback

News Headlines

RSS