GERMANTOWN, Wis. — For years, Lone Oaks Drive in Germantown has been graced with an impressive seasonal light display synced to Halloween music, known as Lightmare Before Christmas.
But that almost didn’t happen this year, after Brian Sweet, the man responsible for the display, underwent hip surgery.
What was once a simple and small project between Sweet, his husband and a few neighbors quickly became a bigger challenge.
And Sweet said he wasn’t sure he could do it this year.
Then, help came in numbers. On Saturday, people from around the state — many of whom have their own light displays — made the journey to Sweet’s home.
“On July 6th, I had a total hip replacement and so even though it was a fantastic and good outcome, I am a little fatigued easier so it was nice… that everyone is reaching out because some of that low ground effort is kinda hard for me,” said Sweet.
Brody Enli of Oshkosh was one of the many people who came out to help. The 13-year-old said he’s always been a big fan of the lights; he saw Sweet’s display last year.
Watching displays like Sweet’s is what Enli said inspired him to create a show of his own.
“Every year my family went to Christmas light displays for fun and I always loved it, and I thought it would be really cool to do something like that myself,” said Enli. “I have always been into electronics and computers, so I did some research on how to start a Christmas light display, and I talked to some of these people and now, we are here three years later and I’m still doing it.”
Enli said he’s planning to put on his own light show in Oshkosh for Christmas.
“Last couple of years I have come to them [Sweet] for questions and they have helped me out a lot. So, when I saw they needed help setting up their show, I figured it was the least I could do to help,” said Brody.
Sweet said he’s happy that kids like Enli are taking up the hobby of programming light shows.
“He’s such a youngster, and such drive and compassion from this young man is just incredible and not only does he love his hobby, he does it for charity,” said Sweet.
As Enli continued to set up the Germantown show, he said it just reinforced why he loves doing this.
“I really just love seeing people smile… it’s just awesome,” said Enli.
Lightmare Before Christmas is expected to start on Oct. 1 at dusk and will continue through the entire month of October.
And as for what you can expect this year, Sweet had a clever answer.
“People keep asking me, ‘Is there anything new for the show?’ And my answer is my new left hip,” laughed Sweet.