Christmas Spectacular on Main Street LAST SHOW TONIGHT NEW YEARS EVE!

[iamawino]

Our last shows will be New Years Eve, 6,7,8 and 9:00pm.
We will be collecting non perishable food through those last shows,
anyone who can help out in this last day would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you again from the Shaw Family.

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We are also collecting Food for the 5 local food banks through the rest of the month, those who are able to drop off non perishable food It would be greatly appreciated. Bins are located in the front of our property, 128 north Main Street Cranbury.

Shows run on the hour, 6,7,8 and 9:00pm and last 40 minutes through December 31st.

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We would like to invite all to our “Christmas Spectacular on Main Street” starting Friday December the 4th. The address is 128 North Main Street Cranbury NJ 08512.

Our shows will run on the hour starting at 6pm and the last at 9pm. Each show runs approximately 40 minutes with all the lights on after each show.

Our show this year is made up of over 25,000 lights, 11,000 feet of extension cords and 10 songs ranging from the traditional to the “whimsical” Christmas songs for the kids. NEW THIS YEAR, a 20 foot tree with over 5,000 lights!

Besides the hope of giving much needed Joy to those in the area we have partnered up with the Princeton Alliance Church in Plainsboro this year to collect Non-Perishable food for those who may need help throughout the holiday. There will be a collection bins located at the front of our property. For those who can help it would be greatly appreciated by many, there will be four area food banks that will benefit from the collection

FAQ’S and Etiquette

Display Etiquette

We are happy to have you as a guest to view our display. As we and our neighbors have to live here all season (and not just visit it once or twice), we are asking you to help us out by abiding by the following -- and please pass this information on to anyone you might refer our display to:

Please do not block the street, or any driveways.

Please keep all litter in your vehicle

Please do not use driveways to turn around.

If you'd like to stay and watch the show for awhile, that's great. Just make sure you pull off the road. If you have a particularly noisy vehicle, it would really help us keep neighborhood peace if you didn't idle it for long periods of time. If you can shut it off for awhile, that would make our neighbors happy.

Similarly, please avoid honking horns (whether to show appreciation, or other reasons). If you'd like to leave us feedback we'd love to hear from you at theplanet@planetofwine.com

FAQ’s

How many lights do you have?

There were about 10,000 lights for 2007 for 2008 we had around 15,000 and for 2009 we have over 25,000!

How much power does it take? How much is your electric bill?

90% of our lights are LED which provides a much brighter display while at the same time conserving energy.

Most of the time only 30% of the display is on because it is animated which helps conserve power. A lot of smaller displays actually use more power than mine, because they are always "ON". The power bill for 2008 was only about $90 more than normal.

Do you have your own Radio Station? How are you transmitting to my radio?

We use a small FM transmitter the broadcasts on 89.9 FM. It only goes a short distance which allows people to listen to the music within sight of our display.

How much time does it take?

We start our Christmas light display on November the 1st. This year I hire four people to help me put up the lights on the roof. The front of the house and the yard I do myself with the help of friends.

For the 2009 season I spent about 100 hours or so designing the display which most is spent in programming the lights to the music.

How do you control the lights?

Everything is controlled with software and hardware from Light-O-Rama. For 2009 we are using 96 channels of music, our 20 foot tree uses 48 just for that. Our display for 2007 used 36 different channels, 2008 was 48. This allows us to control almost every element in our display between Red, White, and Green and blue. The stars you see on the right side of the property takes up 14 channels just for them. Because of how the display has to be set up, we use 11,000' of extension cords.

How much did this cost?

???

Good question, but you can’t put a price on the amount of joy our light display brings.

What do you do for a living, are you an electrician or in the theatrical business?

No, I am a Wine Consultant. I am also the founder of www.planetofwine.com I started this November 2007 with zero knowledge of how to do a display like this. I read a lot on the internet, and had a lot of trial and error but within 30 days had 10 songs up and running!

[Guest]

We saw the article in the Cranbury Press tonight on your light show and the mothers club Toys for Tots drive. It is so nice to see the different organizations in Cranbury that are helping the community. Thank you for what you do, we are looking forward to see your show!

[Jay T.]

Good post.

Also:

The Lions Club is asking for the donation of new or gently used coats for the needy. They will be collected at the pancake breakfast.

The Police department is participating in Toys for Tots and has a box at the station.

Lastly, I want to thank The Women's Club for another wonderful Tree Lighting and evening of Caroling. It is good to see and brings back memories from when I was a kid.

[Guest]

We saw your show last night, it was very nice. The kids loved the chipmunk and hippo song.

[Guest1]

Just a note to Jay T.'s post above, I went to the police station yesterday (December 8th) to drop off toys and was told they were already picked up and they are no longer accepting any more at the police station.

[Guest]

[Guest]

The Cranbury Lions Club has been participating with the Toys for Tots Program for over 10 years. Unwrapped Toys can be dropped off at the Post Office or the Main Street Branch of 1st Constutution Bank.

[Guest]

Last call for toys will be Thursday - December 17th

[Guest]

How is the food drive going?

[iamawino]

Thank you for asking, it is going just ok, quite honestly last year at this time we had collected a couple hundred cans, this year we are at less than 50. I am hoping the weather will be better this weekend and people will start bringing food.

[kwr1018]

I read in the press that you are doing some kind of hot chocolate thing to encourage your food drive. I forgot to write down the day and time. Is it tonight or next Saturday and what time?

Katherine

[iamawino]

Hi Katherine,

We are having the Caroling with Hot Chocolate and cookies Saturday the 19th at 7:00pm.

Hope to see you then!

Keith

[Guest]

Great cause we will drop off a couple cases of soup should we leave them in front?

[iamawino]

Hello,

Thank you, that is very generous and greatly appreciated. You can call me at 609-636-6870, I can either pick it up or let you know where to leave it.

Keith

[Guest]

Great show, the kids loves the donkey song can you tell us the name? Ps we left food in the middle container.

[Guest]

Will the show be continuing through the week after Christmas?