WEST SENECA, N.Y. (WKBW) — A West Seneca man puts more than 1,000 hours of work into his holiday light display each year.
Ryan Graves says he puts on a holiday light show, Halloween through the New Year, because it just gives him joy. "Everyone enjoys it, from little kids to senior citizens. I get little kids drawing cartoons on thank you cards. Sometimes we have multiple generations of families coming together to see," says Graves.
Graves' home on Pinewood Drive in West Seneca drew more than 1,000 visitors last year. His 50,000 lights are synced to music within one-fifth of a second. His playlist of course has Christmas classics like 'Frosty the Snowman' and Trans Siberian Orchestra, but he incorporates a popular song each year too. This year he programmed a song from 'The Greatest Showman' and audio from Jack Eichel's first NHL goal. He'll also host a 'Star Wars' theme night.
Visitors can drive by, tune their radios into a designated frequency to pick up the music and enjoy the twinkling, flashing and pulsing of tens of thousands of lights. Graves doesn't make any money from his light show— he doesn't accept donations. The costs, which range from $400-$500 in electricity each month, pale in comparison to the feeling he gets from sharing his joy of lights.
"I've been hanging lights since kindergarten. I'd get money for Christmas, turn around and buy all the lights on sale afterwards," says Graves.
Maintaining a musical light show is no easy task. Especially when you don't have a background in coding, engineering, electrical work or music. "I've just learned along the way," says Graves. He stockpiles Christmas lights in his basement— just in case. He works with smart LEDs, your regular string of tree lights and everything inbetween.
Past themes for his holiday light show include Game of Thrones, rock music, Prince and Star Wars!
To learn more, check out his Facebook page.
