Goodbye Pumpkins, Hello Bright Lights

While area families were preparing for passing out candy and taking their children trick-or-treating Monday, electricians from were preparing downtown Rochester for the Christmas season.

For the sixth year in a row, downtown Rochester will host a fabulous display of lights — 1.5 million LED lights, to be exact — ranging from purples to oranges, greens, blues, reds and more. Kristi Trevarrow, executive director for the (DDA), noted that the crew started the first week of October and has until Thanksgiving to get the job done.

Soon after Thanksgiving, residents will be able to gaze at these lights for the Big, Bright Light Show all through the Christmas season. The Big, Bright Light Show is a holiday display of lights that are turned on from 6 p.m.-midnight from Nov. 28 through Jan. 1. Money for the large display is raised by the DDA through fundraising efforts, including the .

“I think what’s nice about the lights in Rochester is we’re in our sixth year, and it’s really become a part of people’s holidays traditions,” Trevarrow said. “They bring friends, family to see the lights, and that’s really what makes the event special.”

When the workers are finished stringing the lights, each building from the South Bridge to Romeo Road in downtown along Main Street and many along Fourth Street will be covered with lights. The electricians are sure to cover much of the exterior of the buildings, aside from the windows.

Trevarrow said more than 130 buildings will be adorned with the colorful lights.

Josh Lambert, one of the J. Ranck Electric workers stringing the lights, said the trees are harder to cover with lights than the much taller, larger buildings. Lambert noted that he and the rest of the crew are working hard this year to get the lights up much faster than they did last year, which was their first year tackling the project.

He noted that they were so far ahead of the game because the wiring was still hung from last year, cutting down on the amount of maintenance needed in preparation for lining the buildings. Also, he said, all of the lights were in boxes and packages last year; but this year, they were easily accessible, already coiled onto large wooden spools.

“I’d say we are a little more than three-fourths of the way done; it’s going a lot faster than last year,” Lambert said