272. Say Thanks to the "Colored Lights Champion"

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365 Barrington Holiday Lights Contest

We found our Colored Lights Champion! His name is Troy Wiseman and, if you’ve driven west of Barrington High School on Lake Cook Road, there’s no way you could have missed his family’s bright and beautiful home.

365 Barrington Holiday Lights Contest

The Wisemans are a family of six. Troy and his wife have four boys and moved to Barrington from California in 1994 to be closer to relatives. Troy says he’s always been a “Christmas guy” and he opts for colored lights over white lights because “They’re more festive and kid-friendly”. But he doesn’t just stop at a few strands of lights. Oh no. He has 96,000 lights hanging on his home, trees and the gate surrounding his property.

The Wisemans have been lighting up Barrington Hills since 1998, the year they blew the transformer on the pole across the street and knocked the neighborhood’s power out! ComEd had to come out and install a much bigger transformer to handle the Wiseman’s holiday lights load. And, when I first saw his lights, I’ll admit, I swerved to the side of the road, parked my car and went a little camera crazy.

Troy has a team of electricians hang the lights, balance the load and complete the display each year. They keep the lights on through January 2nd and his holiday electrical bill is pretty steep. But Troy says it’s worth every penny because people come from far and wide just to see his lights, kids think his is Santa’s home and he receives anonymous letters in the mail each year from people saying thanks. “I love the holidays and the Christmas spirit. And it’s just to get people focused on the holiday and family and less on their day-to-day grind. If you can get someone to drive by and smile, it’s a pretty good thing.” You’ll find the Wiseman’s home at the corner of Lake Cook and Old Hart Roads, just west of Barrington High School.

365Barrington.com Holiday Lights Contest

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