Famous Widmer-World Holiday Light Display Open In Pleasanton

PLEASANTON, CA — Despite the stormy weather, one of East Bay's most popular holiday light displays opened in Pleasanton on Dec. 1. More than 10,000 people stop by Widmer-World each season to bask in the festive glow of hundreds of thousands of holiday lights, according to owner Bob Widmer.

The display is a labor of love and has been a family affair since 1981 when Widmer first started decorating his yard. Widmer said his family put in extra blood, sweat and tears this year to help prepare the famous holiday display in time for opening night.

Widmer, who usually starts working on his yard in August, instead spent much of the month recovering from heart surgery. In November, his son-in-law and music-and-lights programmer extraordinaire, Craig Eicher, was appointed interim police chief at the Pleasanton Police Department.

“Santa visits and pictures will not be happening this year because of my recovery and staffing as we just could not get it done,” Widmer told Patch.

Widmer said he bought most of Bob Stanley’s decorations after Stanley retired to travel in 2018 and closed Bob’s World, which was another iconic, holiday light display in town.

In 2015, Widmer-World was featured on the popular television series "The Great Christmas Light Fight" on ABC. Widmer-World is located at 3671 Chelsea Court in Pleasanton.

The display will be open nightly from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. until Jan. 5. Check the Facebook page for weather updates.

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