MINOT – Light shows have become more and more fancy as technology evolves.
One Christmas light show at 309 24th Street Northwest is put on by Dave Schlecht and his family, who described his show as computerized lights that are set to music.
“You can listen to it on your car radio,” Schlecht explained.
Schlecht has been putting on a Christmas light show for the public for about seven years. His whole family participates.
“My son-in-law is an electrician, so of course he helps to max out the amount of electrical boards we can use in the house,” said Schlecht. “My wife and my youngest daughter do a lot of the programming. My oldest daughter comes up with a lot of ideas and things to build.”
The Schlecht family also puts up Halloween decorations which take about a week to set up. They start setting up Christmas decorations November 1 in hopes to finish by Thanksgiving Day.
“Tear down depends on the weather,” Schlecht explained. “It’s going to be longer this year because now we have a foot and a half of snow on top of everything.”
Schlecht was inspired by his neighbors to do the show, and started off with a speaker for the music, but when the neighbors were bothered, he tried the radio station.
“We’re at limited capacity in the yard,” said Schlecht. “A lot of great ideas with no place to put them.”
The lights are on every night and will be shut off New Year’s Day. In some years in the past, Schelcht would dress as Santa, and one year the family put on a canned food drive.
“We try to do something for the community if we’re going to do something like that,” said Schlecht. “Everybody’s welcome and come on by.”
