MERIDIAN, Idaho — The Golen Family has brought light and joy to this Meridian neighborhood for decades.
- You can check out their Christmas light display at 1348 E. Tourmaline St.
- Tune into 97.3FM to watch thousands of lights dance to holiday hit songs.
- If you attend the light show, please turn off your car lights and be respectful of neighbors.
(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)
The Golen Family has been bringing light to winter nights in this Meridian Neighborhood for decades.
“It’s just who we are,” said Jennifer Golen.
“I think it’s been fun to see people who didn’t really go to a lot of lights, all of a sudden they’re going out looking at Christmas lights again,” said Steve Golen.
Providing a fun, festive and free way for parents and kids alike to get in the holiday spirit has been their reason for the season.
“Now I see families coming and hanging out, listening to [the] music, and watching the show, it’s been great. We’ve had kids of kids come," said Steve Golen.
Get your radio ready, this year's display goes beyond static lights.
Neighbors can watch hundreds of thousands of pixel lights dance to holiday hit songs, all through a little Christmas magic — and, of course, some coding.
“It takes about 40 hours to program one song,” said Steve Golen.
“So when do you start?” asked Triepke.
“January 1st, it’s an all-year process,” said the Golens.
Steve Golen tells me he builds the pixel structures by hand, soldering joy into each design.
“The show runs on about 26 computers that are all networked around my house, there is a little bit shy of about 2 miles of extension and data cables. I have a huge spreadsheet that keeps track of where everything is.”
The Meridian couple says this is a tradition they hope to keep doing for many more years to come, "We’ve already started planning next year. We got some new stuff to put out. Every year we try and change it a little bit, make it new."
