Bel Air Christmas Light Display Features Towering Addition

BEL AIR, MD — The incredible light display in one of Bel Air's neighborhoods is back and has a new addition this year. A 50-foot pine tree has been decorated with large old-fashioned bulbs.

"It is amazingly beautiful..." said Jim Kurtz, the Amyclae resident who engineered a choreographed light-sound show that includes the towering tree. It is visible from the Starbucks on Route 22 at Route 543, according to Kurtz.

"We are pretty sure this is the tallest tree in Harford County decorated with lights," Kurtz said.

This year's Kurtz Christmas light display includes three houses in Amyclae, including one that was sold this year to new neighbors, and more than 20,000 LEDs that Kurtz controls through a laptop in his dining room.

The light show includes familiar favorites like Christmas Vacation, Minions, Star Wars and the Nutcracker Dubstep, with new additions. (See the schedule and videos at the end of the article.)

"We think there is something for everyone, and you will leave with a smile on your face," Kurtz said.

Kurtz, who is also behind the 100,000-LED display at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, attracted media attention when he dedicated his Christmas light show to addicts in 2015 in honor of his daughter, Caroline, and in 2012 for his spirited rendition of "Call Me Maybe."

This year Kurtz's daughter included her own sequence of songs with a message of hope for those struggling with addiction.

"I used to live in this house. Now I live in a sober house in Pennsylvania," Caroline Kurtz said at the start of her part in the light show. "If you are an addict, recovery is possible. You can get your life back. You're a lot stronger than you think you are."

Among her selections are songs that she said were helpful in her recovery: "Fear" by Blue October, "Praying" by Kesha and "Rise Up" by Andra Day. "Maybe they can help you too," Caroline Kurtz said.

2017 Kurtz Christmas Lights Schedule

Where: 1205 Corinthian Court, Bel Air, MD

When: Friday, Dec. 8, to Sunday, Dec. 31

Hours: 5-9 p.m. from Sunday to Thursday; 5-10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday

How to tune in: Listen to 87.9 FM for the music.

Guests are asked to drive slowly, and to refrain from blocking driveways in the neighborhood.

See a "fly-by" view of the Kurtz Christmas lights show:

To decorate the 50-foot pine next to his house in Amyclae, Kurtz said that he and his new neighbors rented a boom lift to get to the top of the tree. Then they dropped 32 strings of lights around it

"It was crazy because we had never operated a boom lift, but we really like the way it turned out," Jim Kurtz said. "I think the old fashioned C9 bulbs make a difference."

What did you think of the lights? Tell us if you go!

"A Mad Russian's Christmas," a new selection for 2017:

Photo by Jim Kurtz/Flickr.