LIGHT 'EM UP. The Eau Claire County Expo Center will be host to Lights In The Valley, a mile-long drive-through Christmas lights experience with 180,000 lights. (This computer rendering shows a proposed design.)

Eau Claire is about to experience what is probably its biggest holiday light show ever – a drive-through extravaganza featuring music and animated illumination called Lights in the Valley.

The huge show is being created by two longtime local Christmas light enthusiasts – Tim McManus and Brian Chaput – on the grounds of the Eau Claire County Expo Center (5530 Fairview Drive) on the city’s south side. The displays will include every kind of Christmassy element you can imagine – and more: snowflakes, candy canes, igloos, penguins, Christmas trees, reindeer, and even a Candyland full of cupcakes, lollipops, and gingerbread houses. 

After passing under an enormous archway, visitors will buy or present a ticket and proceed to wind their way through the massive display which will feature about 180,000 programmable LED pixel lights twinkling in time to a dynamic 20-minute musical soundtrack. In addition to oohing and aahing over hundreds of light-bedecked, custom-made props, visitors will travel through a 250-foot tunnel of lights, pay their respects at an illuminated veterans’ tribute, and more.

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I’m hoping this will now be their new Christmas tradition.

BRIAN CHAPUT

one of the creators of lights in the valley, ON HIS HOPES FOR THE LIGHT DISPLAY

Lights in the Valley, which will run each evening from Nov. 29 through Jan. 1, is open to drivers who pay the $20 ticket fee per vehicle. It will also be included on the Chippewa River Trolley Co.’s Holly Jolly Christmas Trolley tour. The show is an evolution of the award-winning displays that Tim and Brian have created over the years at their homes (on Maywood Drive on the north side and Redwood Drive just south of the city, respectively). They say their home displays have become annual destinations for many locals seeking some yuletide joy. Beginning this holiday season, “I’m hoping this will now be their new Christmas tradition,” Brian said of Lights in the Valley.

Lights in the Valley will feature hundreds of LED-light covered cutouts like these.

These guys are serious about their Christmas lights: Serious enough that they’ve made significant investment in equipment (though they measure the cost in “Christmas magic,” not dollars). Serious enough that Brian’s license plate reads “XLIGHTS.” Both have been creating Christmas displays at their residences for about 16 years. In that time, they’ve gotten to know each other, sharing tips and equipment, and even attending Christmas light conventions together. (If comic book fans can have conventions, why not lighting guys?) 

During the pandemic, Brian and Tim learned that some light displays around the country switched to a drive-through format in keeping with social distancing guidelines, and they pondered doing something similar themselves. This year, they finally took the leap, and are putting in hundreds of hours of work to transform the Expo Center grounds into a literal winter wonderland.

Tim said he found the site by studying satellite maps of Eau Claire. It’s well-suited for the display because of its size and location as well as the presence of electrical outlets to accommodate campers, he said.

In addition to spreading Christmas cheer, Tim said he’s fueled by his interest in both mechanics and music. “There’s quite a skill set you need for this kind of thing,” including engineer and computer programming. He’s learned how to use computer-controlled machine tools to cut shapes from cloroplast – corrugated plastic sheets – as well as how to use specialized computer programs to synchronize the light and sound displays.

Tim McManus and Brian Chaput.

For Tim and Brian, the results of all this effort have been award-winning home-based displays, which have now been retired in favor of Lights in the Valley, which promises to be a unique experience custom-made by the two enthusiasts. “Nothing we have can you go and buy at Walmart or Menards,” Brian said.

Tim is particularly excited about the musical component of the display, which will feature a 20-minute mashup of everything from Justin Bieber to Bing Crosby. The music will play continuously, and visitors will be able to listen on their car radios via an FM transmitter or through a smartphone app.
While it won’t be ready for visitors until the end of November, Tim and Brian are already hoping that Lights in the Valley will become an annual attraction. In fact, they’ve already got additional displays planned for the next two years!

“We’ll definitely be adding more next year because we don’t want to be stagnant,” Brian explains.

Buy Tickets »

Learn more about Lights in the Valley at lightsinthevalley.com or find tickets at VolumeOneTickets.org.