FAQ
***Our display is usually open from Thanksgiving Night to New Year's Eve night. Hours are 5:30-9:30 for Sunday thru Thursday and 5:30-10:30 on Friday & Saturday.
***We are a family, not a business. We enjoy sharing our hobby with the community.
***What is the address? 3505 NW Edgewood Ave, Bentonville.
***What is the radio station we tune to? 102.7 FM
***Is there parking if I don't w
ant to wait in the car line? Yes, park at the bus barn behind our house (3503 NW Marques Drive, Bentonville) and walk 600 feet around to the front of the house (yes, we have outdoor speakers).
***How much does it cost? It is free - always has been, always will be. Now that being said, we do raise money for Multiple Sclerosis research if you would like to spread some holiday cheer of your own. You can place money in the secured donation mailbox at the display or you can donate online at www.gofundme.com/bhl2020.
***How many lights do you have? Since we don't use traditional Walmart Christmas lights but rather specialized computer chip lights it's hard to compare but we estimate about 50,000 (we lost count several years ago).
***How much does your electricity bill go up during the holiday season? About $25 a month - the specialized computer chip lights are LED and low voltage (they run on only 5v of electricity vs the normal 110v electricity we all use).
***How long does it take you to set up? We start setting up in mid-September and are usually still finishing up the week of Thanksgiving.
***How long does it take you to program the lights to the music? This is an all-year-round hobby for us. We are always working on some aspect of the display throughout the year. Specifically for programming the lights to music it takes about 10 hours of programming for every 1 minute of song. So for a normal 20 minute set, it takes about 200 hours of work.
***How do I start my own display like yours? There are several resources available on the internet and once each year we do a Behind The Scenes tech talk where we demonstrate what we do, how we do it, and where to get started. What we do is a combination of electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, computer programming, and artistic creativity.
***Does the whole family get involved, really? Yes, absolutely - my wife is the artistry, my daughter is the song selector, my son is the muscle/prime helper, and I'm the one who helps it all work together.
***When did you start? We started learning about the hobby in 2013 and had our first display in 2014 (you can find the video on youtube if you know where to look- we were much smaller then :-) ).
***What inspired you to start doing this? I've always been into technology hobbies and in January 2012 my wife and I saw the Osborne Spectacle of Lights at Walt Disney World (it was originally located in Little Rock before Disney bought it).
***What keeps you doing this every year? Giving back to our community and sharing the true meaning of Christmas. We love seeing kids laugh and smile and dance. We also love seeing adults enjoying themselves. For a brief period of time, people forget all their struggles and either relive cherished memories from their childhood or create new memories. We have several families now that we know have made our display an annual tradition.
