2006 Photos

Click HERE for the 2006 Slide Show

Jan 9, 2007 Cheque presentation to Duane Lawrence with the Canadian Cancer Society. This year we raised $5,652.24. (Left)

Dec 30, 2006 We handed out 400 pairs of 3D type Christmas light glasses during the month. Here's what the display looked like through them... (Right)

Dec 17, 2006 We had quite the storm on Thursday night. Winds around 100 km/h (60 mph), which did quite a lot of damage. Click here for the full story.

Dec 11, 2006 We did the gift drive this past weekend, and everyone had a great time. We broke our previous donation record both nights. Thanks to all who came out.

Drop off location all set up, and Chien with the van loaded with gifts on the way to the Christmas Bureau. >

Dec 7, 2006 We picked up the signage for the gift drive today. Thanks again to Steph at Northstar signs for all his work.

The gift drive is this weekend (Sat & Sun) from 5:30 - 9:00. Feel free to come by.

Dec 2, 2006 Well, it went off well. We had a slightly smaller crowd than last year (about 175 or so), but considering the snow, this was a great turnout.

We raised over $240 last night, so with the TELUS donation match, that is $480 in one night. THANKS!!!

Kyle & Kyle as elves this year, Lightup crowd, Santa, more crowd, and the neighborhood kids

Dec 2, 2006 (3:00 PM) Steph had to come by one more time with the bucket as we had problems repairing the star in the snow/dark/cold. (Left)

The view of the yard from Stephs bucket fully extended, and doing the last minute checks. (Right)

Nov 28, 2006 No pictures today...it still looks pretty much the same, but now we're expecting more snow tomorrow...After a family debate, we've decided to go ahead with lightup this Saturday, but we'll have to rethink some portions of the display.

Nov 26,2006 (2:30 pm) Well, we can't see the fence anymore for the shoveling, and we still have a heavy snowfall warning. We won't know what damage has occurred until after this mess is gone. Hopefully that will be within the next 6 days in time for lightup.

Nov 26, 2006 It snowed all night, and the forecast is more. Although a little snow can really add to the display, this much just damages it.

Nov 25, 2006 (11:00 pm) The snow is coming full force now. We've got about 8 inches in the last 4 hours, with no end in sight. We've been out twice already knocking snow off the display. The arches are always the most vulnerable.

Nov 25, 2006 We did a test run and noticed portions of the large star were not working. Steph from Northstar Signs was out with the bucket truck to try to work things out. Just our luck, the snow began about an hour before he arrived...

Nov 22, 2006 We brought the rest of the display from storage a couple days ago, and have got the lions share of the display up. Today we finished the large tree, arches, mini trees, and all the interactive circuits.

I've got a lot of garage work still to do. I need to build some more power cords, do a bit of a supply rewire, and a whack of repairs.

Still on schedule, though.

Kyle unloading, Kyle's friend Kyle, and Kyle working through all the arches >

Nov 13, 2006 It was a pretty wet weekend, but we got a fair bit accomplished. I figure we're right on track. I even got Cindy out in the yard for a day. :-)

Nov 1st 2006 With Hallowe'en over with, we can now get on with the setup. We got the East fence done today. The forecast is rain, so it will be a wet weekend. :-(

Oct 16, 2006 This is getting to be a seasonal photo. It seems every year Mom comes out and takes the same picture of Dad & I cutting pickets and drinking beer. ;-)

I got the FM transmitter working last night. It had a terrible hum, but after a bit of tweaking, it's crystal clear 2 blocks away.

All the sequencing is done now except for the show opener (it's still a secret). Everything is at the 'Hurry up and wait' stage, but once we get past Hallowe'en, the great push will be on.

Sept 5, 2006 And Dad's share of the work continues...He's been going strong for nearly a month now. Thanks.

Note: No socks with the Birkenstocks this year... ;-)

Sept 1, 2006 Everything is coming along well, just behind schedule. I just converted a couple of news stories. One is from CTV News on Boxing Day, and the other is a recent news story Global TV did on Camp Goodtimes.

June 28, 2006 The programming has begun...I'm a bit further behind with the software work from last year, but I don't have a panel to build, so I'm probably at the same point. Unfortunately, I'm not going to be able to use the sequencing from last year. I think it's going to be more trouble than it's worth. I might be able to salvage bits and pieces of it, so the show this year will be totally new.

Look close at the drawing on the left, and you'll get a sneak peak at the display layout this year. ;-)

June 26, 2006 We put power to it today, and it worked without a hitch. Talk about easier than building it yourself. My advice to anyone wanting a computerized display with minimal hassle...Don't monkey around with SSR's. Go to LOR and buy a board or 3.

LOR ADVANTAGES: Easy to build, easy to setup, additional features (shimmer, twinkle, fade, power level), troubleshooting may be easier (board works vs board doesn't work), looks cool as part of my panel. ;-)

LOR DISADVANTAGES: Not as satisfying to build (in my opinion - I think building it is half the fun, and this went way to quick), not as easy to repair (the board will have to be sent off), a board failure may end your display early for the year (unless you're like Norm, and keep spares), whereas an SSR failure can be repaired in about 10 minutes.

Bottom line, there are arguments for both sides, and if I was to start all over, I'd have both. You'll learn a lot more building one, and I think it's much more satisfying, however the extra features with an LOR product will add some WOW to your show.

Contrary to what you might think, the cost per setup is about the same.

June 18, 2006 Here's the first of the 2 LOR controllers I'm adding this year. I've just got to connect the 2 power leads and the data cables, and we're ready to go. Assuming it works, it was pretty painless.

April 13, 2006 I'm just starting to get the site caught up, and am now thinking about this years display. I'm determined to hit 50,000 lights. We're going to use all the songs we had last year, but we are going to have to rework them in LOR because the display will change. I have a few new songs picked out to add, but will probably not get to them until Sept or so. I tend to procrastinate... I'm going to deliver the fence to Dad in the next little bit. He is going to repaint the entire thing for us this year. Thanks.

January 6, 2006 What a start to the year...The call tonight was for HEAVY winds, so the large tree had to come down. We cut the guys, and while we were lowering it, I got hung up on some rebar. Long story short...the tree is not as straight as it once was. The lower portion of the mast was destroyed, and the star and lights will need some attention as it smashed the sidewalk from a height of 23 feet. All in all, it was a pretty successful season, as that was all the damage we had. I did have some photo's of the damage, but I think I lost them.

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