Lighting up Langley City takes a lot of effort and starts fairly early in the holiday season.
Every year, starting on Nov. 12, crews from the City are out stringing lights and mounting decorations on lamp posts.
They have a lot to do, said Rick Bomhof, the city’s director of engineering, parks, and environment.
There are 57 pole-mounted decorations, plus 274 street trees that get wrapped in lights.
Then there are four civic facilities that are decorated with lights: City Hall, Timms Community Centre, Douglas Recreation Centre, and McBurney Lane, which also gets a Christmas tree in its garden beds.
In addition, the City rents some of its lamp standard decorations that are put up along the one-way section of Fraser Highway, and garland wraps some light poles.
“We start the day after Remembrance Day, and we have them completed by the first day of December, in time for our own Christmas parade,” said Bomhof.
Within that window of less than three weeks, five to seven parks workers have to get up the lights and garlands, all while doing their regular maintenance work, as well. The whole operation takes a bit of planning every year, Bomhof said.
Then there’s the annual attrition of lights.
“Every year you have to replace a certain amount,” Bomhof said.
Some decorations suffer more than others.
Last year a Nativity scene on the roof of City Hall suffered some damage in a windstorm. It was repaired and put back up this year, only for an early-December windstorm to damage it again, this time beyond repair.
The annual effort costs the City about $97,000, including $5,000 in electricity for the lights alone, said Bomhof.
The reward is to create a Christmas experience.
“I think people do appreciate the look and the feel that it gives,” Bomhof said.
Langley City puts up its seasonal displays, but Langley Township takes a different tack.
The Township leaves neighbourhood decorations to the various business and merchants associations in its neighbourhoods. Merchants can put up lights and decorations, and the Township covers the annual electrical bills.
The Township has also long supported Christmas in Williams Park, a largely volunteer-driven effort that creates a massive light display that visitors can drive or walk through, complete with inflatables and illuminated painted cut-outs.
Numerous Langley residents also light up their homes every season. Check out some of the prominent local homes below, and send us your own address if you have a brightly-lit home and yard as well, for inclusion in our last listing.
19646 49th Ave.
A Langley City home where the displays come with music and flashing lights. There are over 20,000 lights on the home.
Ron Farmer Family
Located at 23924 68th Ave. near Williams Park, the Farmer Family’s display includes 30,000 lights and more than 100 lawn figures. It has been running for over 20 years. The lights go on at 5 p.m. and off at 11 p.m. every night until Jan. 1.
206 St. and 91A Ave.
Several houses are lit up every night from Dec. 1 creating a street full of lights.
The Langley Advance will be sharing locations of decorated houses with readers through our December feature.
Here’s how to share cool display locations with our readers:
Send us details about the display.
Please note that the list is for publicly visible outdoor displays only.
Send us information including the address, times when the lights will be turned on, and any other pertinent details such as charity connections, to mclaxton@langleyadvance.com.
High resolution photos are also welcome and the Advance will publish as many as possible.