This neighborhood really wants to spread the Christmas cheer.
In the Waikele neighborhood on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, Keith Yoshida enlisted the help of eight of his neighbors in his quest for a tropical winter wonderland. The result? An hour-long light show which, as Yoshida told HuffPost, attracts thousands of people to its dazzling display.
Every night from now until Jan. 6, 2015, Yoshida and his neighbors put on four different light shows. Audiences sit in the center of the street as 14 different holiday songs blare from outdoor speakers and an estimated 60,000 fixtures, all wirelessly controlled from Yoshida's home, transform the neighborhood into a flashing, swaying, spinning world of lights.
On some nights, Yoshida and his family even hand out candy canes.
"It's quite an investment," said Yoshida, who has been decorating his home with his wife every year for the past 20 years. "Every year, we wanted to do something bigger and from there, it just kept growing."
Four years ago, Yoshida began synchronizing his lights to music with professional-grade fixtures. Last year was the first time other households -- three of them -- asked to join him. For this year's show, five additional homes volunteered -- his biggest production ever -- and more neighbors have already volunteered for next year's production. Surprisingly, Yoshida said only one person in his neighborhood has ever called in a noise complaint.
And the shows offer much more than good cheer.
"We started a donation box, and every year the money that is donated is used to purchase toys, gift baskets and food for the Next Step Homeless Shelter," Yoshida told HuffPost. Last year, Yoshida says, the show's donations provided holiday food and presents for 50 families staying at the Honolulu shelter. This year, he plans on adding the Hawaiian Humane Society as a beneficiary.
"It started off really for my family and for the kids, but when everybody started coming by, we noticed how grateful people were to have this kind of experience to share with their families," he added. "Now we do it for the community."
Videos were filmed by Terry Reis of KahiwaKiwi Media Production.
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/09/waikele-christmas-light-show_n_6292070.html?utm_hp_ref=travel&ir=Travel and provided by entertainment-movie-news.com
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