Colorful Christmas lights decorating house fronts and gardens are all over Riverbank at this time of the year and many blink, flash and run through patterns. But Daryl Redmon of Lipizzan Court has an improvement on that. His lights dance to music.
You are invited to park opposite 5831 Lipizzan Court off Belgian Drive near Eighth Street opposite Castleberg Park, tune the radio to FM 94.9 and you can watch the lights in his front yard run through patterns synchronized to music. The display will run 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. until New Year's Eve.
Other homeowners in the city took part in a contest for the best holiday display, with many decorated yards and colorful displays also featured in that event.
This is the sixth year Redmon, however, has put on a light display and this year he's featuring "dancing Christmas ornaments in my magnolia tree, marching Christmas trees and lawn art."
Redmon was formerly an electronics engineer and now works on installing wiring for American Telephone and Telegraph Company. He also puts on light shows at his church in Modesto and at Modesto Christian School where his daughter-in-law is a teacher.
He has a new display this year on the far side of the driveway. A slew of bright blue lights runs up and down rods set at a 45 degree angle. Next to that there's a tree built of tomato plant wire mesh around which lights twirl almost as a pirouette. But his pride and joy are his "marching Christmas trees," he said, 21 of them set behind as many plastic Santa's and gnomes lit from within.
Surprisingly, the cost of running the show is not that high, according to Redmon.
"It's probably an extra $50 per month on my normal electricity bill," he said. "That's nothing nowadays. I'm running about 8,000 lights. Every year it grows. But this is about as big as I can make it, for my size of yard and without going over the top."
Not that many people have come by to watch, said his wife Julie, but she met a city employee watching the lights the other day so she sent a publicity flier to City Hall and put a message on the Lights of the Valley website.
The music this year is "more Christian type," she said, "with one tune from Santana, very lively."
"A neighbor told us our display looks ugly by day but is pretty at night. We've got more into the Christmas spirit this year because we've had a two-year grandchild around and she has a ball watching the lights."
You are invited to park opposite 5831 Lipizzan Court off Belgian Drive near Eighth Street opposite Castleberg Park, tune the radio to FM 94.9 and you can watch the lights in his front yard run through patterns synchronized to music. The display will run 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. until New Year's Eve.
Other homeowners in the city took part in a contest for the best holiday display, with many decorated yards and colorful displays also featured in that event.
This is the sixth year Redmon, however, has put on a light display and this year he's featuring "dancing Christmas ornaments in my magnolia tree, marching Christmas trees and lawn art."
Redmon was formerly an electronics engineer and now works on installing wiring for American Telephone and Telegraph Company. He also puts on light shows at his church in Modesto and at Modesto Christian School where his daughter-in-law is a teacher.
He has a new display this year on the far side of the driveway. A slew of bright blue lights runs up and down rods set at a 45 degree angle. Next to that there's a tree built of tomato plant wire mesh around which lights twirl almost as a pirouette. But his pride and joy are his "marching Christmas trees," he said, 21 of them set behind as many plastic Santa's and gnomes lit from within.
Surprisingly, the cost of running the show is not that high, according to Redmon.
"It's probably an extra $50 per month on my normal electricity bill," he said. "That's nothing nowadays. I'm running about 8,000 lights. Every year it grows. But this is about as big as I can make it, for my size of yard and without going over the top."
Not that many people have come by to watch, said his wife Julie, but she met a city employee watching the lights the other day so she sent a publicity flier to City Hall and put a message on the Lights of the Valley website.
The music this year is "more Christian type," she said, "with one tune from Santana, very lively."
"A neighbor told us our display looks ugly by day but is pretty at night. We've got more into the Christmas spirit this year because we've had a two-year grandchild around and she has a ball watching the lights."
