Wall Christmas Light Show Has New Home After 2 Years In Dark

WALL, NJ — A Christmas light show that was dark for two years amid wrangling with local officials is back for the 2019 Christmas season — in a new home.

The Christmas Light Show will be making its return at the All-New McCanns at Spring Meadow Golf Course, with three performances currently scheduled, beginning Saturday.

The show, which got its start in 2005, drew crowds to the Epp family home, first on Patrick Place and later on Woolley Road over the course of its existence. As the crowds increased, conflicts arose between the organizers and Wall Township officials, who were concerned about safety and traffic issues.

In 2017, the show was shut down after the organizers and township officials could not come to a compromise over concerns about pedestrians crossing Belmar Boulevard in the dark, because the area is poorly lit. The volume of visitors also posed a problem.

Dan Brateris, the director of experiential learning at New Jersey Institute of Technology, who started the show, said in a Patch event post the show again will have computer-controlled lights, pyrotechnic and robotic effects, and live Christmas music.

"Don't miss this one-of-a-kind, concert like, free event," he writes.

There is no admission fee but donations are suggested to RallyCap Sports, a Monmouth County organization that sponsors sports programs and builds facilities for children with disabilities. The suggested donation is $25 for a family and $10 for an individual.

The shows are about 25 minutes long and are set for two showings on three nights at the golf course, 4185 Atlantic Ave., Wall:

• Saturday, Dec. 7, 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.
• Saturday, Dec. 14, 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.
• Sunday, Dec. 15, 5:45 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

In past years visitors have donated tens of thousands of dollars to RallyCap Sports each year, Brateris said.

The fundraising is handled by Raising4, the nonprofit Brateris, his brother Brian, and friend Trevor Ferguson formed to run events to raise funds for charities. The show itself is run by Atlanticus Innovations, a company formed by Dan Brateris, Ferguson, Paul Diercksen and Michael Golias, to put on a variety of shows for charity events.

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