Campton Hills Christmas Light Show Expected to Draw Even More Crowds in Coming Weeks

In a matter of days, thousands of dollars in donations poured in to help pay for costs to allow a local family to keep their popular Christmas light display up and running.

Brian Larsen has been sharing his love for Christmas with the community since 2005 when he first opened up the Larsen's Christmas Light Show at his home along Beith Road in Campton Hills to the community. Since then, the over-the-top light display has grown in popularity. In 2013, the Larsen family won ABC’s reality TV show The Great Christmas Light Fight.

This year, Larsen requested help to pay for his light show through a GoFundMe page after the village of Campton Hills told Larsen he would need to hire off-duty police officers to direct traffic if he’d like to keep the show up and running. Village officials also said he would need to reduce the length of the show to 25 minutes, hire parking attendants and put up new signage.

The total costs to keep the show running, Larsen learned in October, would be $11,580.00, which included $5,800 to pay for off-duty officers.

“This has always been a free show open to the public and any donations received were voluntary,” Larsen wrote on a GoFundMe page set up in late October. “I also have links on my web sites for donations to charities, but the show itself is funded entirely out of my own pocket. Unfortunately, this $11,580.00 bill is too much for me to bear and I will be asking for donations this year to help with the cost.”

After posting the GoFundMe page, the response was immediate.

"I'm amazed at the response," Larsen told the Aurora Beacon-News. "People donated almost $5,500 in two days, which is enough to pay for the police officers.”

So far, the new plan to direct traffic has been going smoothly. Crowds were small in the first weeks of the show, when technical difficulties limited his show to just nine minutes, Larsen told the Daily Herald. But the show is back up to 25 minutes and Larsen said more people have been stopping out.

"It only picks up from here. During the week there's very little traffic if at all. Friday and Saturday there is traffic."

Why Campton Hills Interceded

The purpose behind forcing the changes had to do with the sheer amount of traffic coming down Beith Road during the holiday season as crowds stop out to watch the holiday light show.

The show in the past has run for 1.5 hours and is timed to music, according to the Aurora-Beacon News. People park along Beith Road, a two-lane rural highway with no shoulders, to see the show. This could cause safety issues if an ambulance needs to make its way through. It has also drawn complaints from neighbors who simply want to get to their homes but cannot after traffic gets backed up for blocks.

“We've had a lot of complaints from residents who can't reach their homes because of the traffic, as well as complaints about people peeing in lawns on the south side of Beith and illegally parking and turning around in private driveways,” police Chief Daniel Hoffman told the Aurora Beacon-News. “People get tired of waiting and drive east in the westbound lane, which increases the risk of head-on collisions."

The village initially proposed passing an ordinance last month to ticket cars that slow, stop or park along Beith and Anderson roads $75 to deal with the traffic woes, according to the Kane County Chronicle.

"We'd all like to avoid (issuing tickets) if possible. But we have safety concerns and we have to address them," Blecker told the Daily Herald in an Oct. 21 article. "We don't want to be the Grinch."

This is when Larsen met with village officials and came to a compromise of paying for the off-duty officers and installing new signage, hiring parking attendants and reducing the length of the show to 25 minutes, which will allow more families to see it with less lines and shorter wait times.

Larsen was initially appalled by the idea of the village issuing tickets to people stopping out to see his light show, according to the Daily Herald.

"That's the biggest Grinch Scrooge move. That's just wrong," Larsen told the Daily Herald last month. "It's not about the village. It's not about me. It's about the holiday season and people."

Since Larsen’s online appeal for cash, he not only received his goal of $5,000 to help pay for off-duty officers, but he also received a donation of a free scrolling sign from Paul Chicoine of TCP. Any additional donations,

Larsen said in a GoFundMe post, will be donated to to Alzheimer's Association and Blackhawks Charities.
And he said next year, he plans to save up for the full costs to fund the off-duty officers and other costs needed in order to keep his light show free to the community.

“I appreciate ALL THE HELP AND DONATIONS and we want to continue this for the community and enjoy making everybody's holiday special,” Larsen wrote on his GoFundMe page. “We hope to keep this FREE show going for all and for many years to come”

This Year’s Show

This year’s show opened on Thanksgiving and will continue through Jan. 1. The show will run from 5 to 10:30 p.m. on Monday through Thursday and from 5 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. on Friday through Sunday.

Those heading out to the show will be directed into a 50-car lot adjacent to the home at 42W891 Beith Road in Elburn where they can view the show.

“I hired a DJ to blend the songs together – everyone’s favorite songs,” Larsen told the Kane County Chronicle. “And Christmas movie quotes between each song. It’s a fun show; people really enjoy it.”

Larsen explained the logistics for those planning to stop out on his GoFundMe page:

Parking lot attendants will line people into the parking lot in rows which will hold 50-60 cars. The 25 minute show will play and at the end of show, all lights will turn off and the radio announcement will ask all cars to leave with the help of attendants. Then next batch of cars will enter. This will be done in a 10 minute time frame. The new show will be great! It still includes everybody’s favorite songs, but they have been cut down in time and blended together. This will definitely increase traffic flow and more people will be able to enjoy the show without long lines or wait times.

Here is a video snippet from Larsen’s light show last year.

Authorities are hopeful everything will run smoothly this year, but will be watching traffic issues in the area.
“Hopefully, this will clear some things up. This shortening of the show will alleviate a lot of the traffic jams, [but] I can’t verify that,” Hoffman told the Kane County Chronicle. “Our officers are going to monitor it.”

Photo credit: YouTube