Magical Lights of Milton 2021 (courtesy of The Magical Lights of Milton Facebook Page)
Another year is coming to a close for a local holiday tradition!
The Magical Lights of Milton is wrapping up its 13th year. Every year, David Geall raises money for the Milton District Hospital Foundation (MDHF) by covering his house in 35,000 Christmas lights. Then, along with a Christmas playlist aired over a hyper-focused radio frequency, he’s able to put on a memorable light show for residents to enjoy.
It’s a lot of work to put up that many lights and build the displays that go along with the show. He says the cold and wet days get to him sometimes, but he looks forward to doing it every year.
He doesn’t have an exact fundraising goal set for this year. He’s aiming for anything over $10,000, as that will keep him on pace with past years. He’d like to get close to $15,000 as that will put them around $100,000 raised in the 13 years of running the fundraiser.
He first got into doing the lights show because he saw a few on TV and knew someone in Georgetown who does a similar act. He laughs because the technology that Geall puts into his show today did not exist five years ago, let alone when he began a decade ago. The two still talk every single day.
Geall says it’s starting to hit him how long he’s been holding this fundraiser.
He adds that if you do attend, be mindful of the neighbourhood. He says that while his neighbours haven’t complained in the past, he still wants attendees to keep volumes at a reasonable level, stay off lawns, and be respectful to the people around them.
The first Magical Lights of Milton show was on Saturday, November 26th. Each year, Geall holds a raffle with the winner being allowed to press the button to kickstart the first show.
The show usually runs from 5:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Sundays to Thursdays; until 10:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. They will likely run later on Christmas Eve. The last show will be on Sunday, January 1st.
You’ll be able to watch it at 876 Willow Avenue in Milton. When you’re not jamming out to FM 101 Milton, you can tune into the show at 99.7 FM. They will have a donation box near their signal sign. If you’d like to donate, and you don’t carry cash around anymore, there will also be a tap machine out front that will accept card payments.
All of the money raised is donated to the MDHF, so make sure you check out the lights show this holiday season and give what you can to a good cause!
For more, check out their Facebook Page.
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(Originally published on Monday, November 14th at 1:25 p.m.)
