Villagers who missed the massive Christmas light display on Dunkirk Trail in the Village of Hadley are in luck – it will continue every night through New Year’s Eve.
But after Dec. 31, the show that has been a mainstay in Florida’s Friendliest Hometown for the past several years and has drawn thousands of amazed spectators will be a thing of the past, to be remembered in years to come as part of the lore of The Villages.
That’s because the neighborhood has decided to discontinue it, largely because it takes almost three months of set-up time to get the hundreds of thousands of blinking Christmas lights synced to music and ready to go.
Over the years, Villagers attending the show – it’s the brainchild of Hadley resident Hans Mantel – have been quite charitable, donating money to benefit the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office and local food banks. For instance, in January 2017, the neighborhood collected $23,004 for the sheriff’s office, which benefited its Kids, Cops and Christmas program. And the Beyond the Walls Food Pantry in Fruitland Park was the beneficiary of two and a half tons of food.
The light show was in jeopardy of ending last year after thieves broke into Fruitland Park Mini Storage in wee hours of the morning on Feb. 19 and stole an enclosed trailer containing the bulk of the custom lights and displays that had made the annual light show a holiday favorite.
But Mantel, a former Air Force lieutenant colonel and American Airlines pilot, replaced the lights – along with help from Villagers who made donations – and the show roared back to life in December 2017 bigger and better than ever.
Those wishing to see the show can do so any night through Dec. 31. It runs from 6 to 9 p.m. and will be extended 30 minutes on Friday and Saturday nights. Parking is available at the Hadley Postal Station or the nearby Odell Recreation Center for those who want to walk down Dunkirk Trail for an up-close view of the display.
Those attending should plan on being in heavy traffic, as Villagers and area residents clearly are coming out in droves for a last look at the unique show. The past two nights alone, the line of traffic has backed all the way up to the Odell Circle gate and onto Morse Boulevard. And it’s required Sumter County sheriff’s deputies and members of the neighborhood to help direct traffic as vehicles slowly make their way through the display on a one-way route and visitors on foot use a closed lane of the roadway.
