Stories add to displays' glow

From a father-and-son team who set out to quell pandemic dread to a family that boasts a hall-of-fame Santa among its inspirations, the stories behind Light Up McHenry County contestant displays are as captivating as the exhibits themselves.

“Right after all of the Covid stuff happened in March, everyone was just sort of down in the dumps,” said Sean Cleveland of Krenz Avenue in Cary. “So we decided to put our display back up in late March or early April. Our tagline was ‘conquer fear with cheer.’”

Don Goers of Lilac Lane in Woodstock has a love of Christmas steeped in memories of when his grandfather, also named Don, was a 17-year veteran Santa at Santa’s Village in East Dundee — ultimately landing the elder Goers in the International Santa Claus Hall of Fame in Santa Claus, Indiana.

The hall-of-famer has passed on, but his Christmas-inspired joy lives on. Both Don Goers and his father, who lives on Woodstock Street in Huntley, have entered their vintage blow-mold and hand-painted plywood cutout-bedecked displays in Visit McHenry County’s first holiday lights display contest: Light Up McHenry County.

Voting for the contest is open through 5 p.m. Dec. 20 at lightupmc.com, said Kristine Austin, sales and marketing manager for the Huntley-based nonprofit that markets McHenry County as a visitor destination, as well as enhancing experiences for visitors and residents alike.

“We are really excited about the enthusiasm for our contest,” Austin said. “We have 43 residential and business entries, with a map available on our Visit McHenry County IL! app that enables fans to make an outing of it and see them all.”

People can also download a note taker from lightupmc.com, where addresses and pictures of all of the displays — and the category or categories in which they are entered — are posted. Winners will be announced Dec. 21, and will receive gift baskets brimming with locally sourced, McHenry County MADE items.

“Light Up McHenry County is our way of closing this up-ending year on a bright note,” said Jaki Berggren, executive director of Visit McHenry County. “We’ve heard from many people who are thoroughly enjoying this free, socially distanced way to celebrate the season. And we hope those who are out checking out all of the tremendous displays also will make a stop or two to support our area’s unique shops and eateries.”

Austin added that those checking out the displays can post a photo of their adventure on social media with the hashtag #LightUPMC for a chance to win one of five $10 Julie Ann’s Frozen Custard gift cards.

“It’s all about putting smiles on people’s faces,” said Cary’s Cleveland, whose 12-year-old son, Kaden, this year became a chief collaborator in designing the Krenz Avenue display. It was taken down only briefly over the summer months so that dad could mow the lawn.

Craig Weber of Woodstock agreed the joy factor is paramount. He added that his family is thrilled that Light Up McHenry County is enabling more people to enjoy their off-the-beaten-path, pixel-driven and synchronized-to-music display. The family has made a 1.5-acre pasture on their 10.5-acre property available this year for motorists to park and enjoy the 15-minute show at 3501 Middlesex Drive.

“This has always been my favorite holiday,” Weber said. “I started building holiday display props when I was just a kid, at age 12 or 13.”

For more details, visit lightupmc.com, call Visit McHenry County at 815-893-6280 or send an email to kristine@visitmchenrycounty.com.