CRESTVIEW — The Neville family has a free gift for the community. Their nightly synchronized light show not only lights up their Shoal Lake neighborhood, but also the faces of all who gather in their cul-de-sac to watch the display.
Amy Neville gives all the credit to her husband Mike, a weapons standardization supervisor at Hurlburt Field, and their daughter Kaelyn, 8, who inspired the project.
“We always had a static display and I finally let him go animated,” she said. “He and my oldest daughter built most of the stuff in the front yard.”
“The stuff” features the 20-foot “mega-tree,” a dazzling 13,000-light beacon for the neighborhood, with four 6-foot brothers (2,400 lights each) and 11, 400-light “smaller brothers” clustered around it. In all, 30,000 lights, counting extraneous stars and other sparklies, dance synchronized to half-hour programs of eclectic music.
“It appeals to a wide range of tastes,” Matt Neville said. “We keep it family friendly. Our show definitely runs the gamut, from big band to jazz to hard rock. Each song is edited down to two minutes, so if you pull up and it’s not a song you like, the next one will come along quickly.”
Kaelyn provided inspiration for the display when, soon after the family arrived in Crestview seven years ago, saw a lavish lights display while the family drove home from the city’s Christmas parade. “Big lights, Daddy!” she exclaimed. “Big lights” became the goal, and this summer, the family started planning the show they call “Watts Up Crestview.”
The day after Thanksgiving, Watts Up Crestview lit up the sky over Renee Court. The show does more than give pleasure to folks who find the street a few blocks off John King Road. A box at the end of the driveway also allows viewers to give a donation to Special Olympics, a cause which Matt Neville supported while the family was stationed in Alaska.
What Matt calls “mission control” is his laptop computer out in the garage running a program called Light-O-Rama. Hours of programming time, with new songs being added every couple of days, synched the many strands of lights to the rhythm of the music.
When the bass of Run DMC’s “Christmas in Hollis” starts playing, the lights start blasting to the beat. But when the U.S. Navy Band’s “Dueling Jingle Bells,” a catchy tune á la Flatt and Scruggs’ “Dueling Banjos,” plays, the lights start chasing each other around the lawn.
“When I heard that song, I said, ‘That’s going in,’” Matt said. “You really can play all the trees with it.”
The Neville’s neighbors welcome the show.
“The neighbors have been really supportive,” Amy Neville said. “We checked with them before we made this step. In fact, the closest neighbor’s daughter has been helping Matt this year.”
Because the music is broadcast on viewers’ car radios and not over outdoor speakers, there’s no noise concerns on Renee Court — until the neighbors themselves turn up their own radios, that is.
“I have two neighbors that actually turn on the radios in their garages and come out and watch,” Matt said.
Also watching are the Kaelyn and her younger sisters, Alyson, 4, and Meghyn, 2.
“They sit in the window,” Amy said. “They try to fight to get the best spot to see the lights.”
Watching a recent evening’s show was Tina McCormick, who drove up with her neighbor’s daughters Jolie and Lane Jessen.
“This is awesome!” McCormick said as she held her iPhone out the window so she could broadcast the show to her daughter in Philadelphia. “What a nice thing to do for the community.”
“We’re glad we could do something for the community,” Matt said. “And with the donations for Special Olympics, we’ll be having an impact all year long.”
Want to go?
The Watts Up Crestview synchronized Christmas lights display is 6-9 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and 6-10:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays at 3004 Renee Ct. off John King Road. Tune to 94.5 FM to hear the music.
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This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: CHRISTMAS ENTERTAINMENT: Watts Up lights up neighborhood
