plasmadrive Posted December 22, 2017 Share Posted December 22, 2017 Lights at the Ranch has canceled the scheduled Saturday night display. It was supposed to be our last, but as it turns out, Thursday night was our swan song. Please pass the word to keep others from seeking out that which is no longer there. We were unable to find enough volunteers for traffic control that night due to the proximity of Christmas and the fact that it is a Saturday and so many have their own festivities to attend. We appreciate all those that have helped with the traffic for the last several display years. I also want to thank my wife for allowing me to pursue this hobby of mine and joining in to help as well. To the majority of my neighbors, I thank you as well for your patience and allowing me to share our Christmas spirit with so many others. For the tens of thousands of you that have come to visit us over the last 7 years, we hope you have taken away joyful memories which will last a lifetime. I have enjoyed meeting all of you that I had the chance to talk to over the years. Perhaps we will meet again. Merry Christmas from "Lights at the Ranch" and... that's a wrap! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jfuller8400 Posted December 22, 2017 Share Posted December 22, 2017 I'm sorry you had to close. Hopefully you'll be back again next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plasmadrive Posted December 22, 2017 Author Share Posted December 22, 2017 Thanks, but that is a wrap for us.. Last year we took a year off thinking it would slow the traffic a bit.. once word got out we were back, they came in droves and quickly.. So many it took 6 of us last night to control the traffic and it was still tough.. I love doing the display but I just can't keep asking volunteers to deal with my traffic.. ya know? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMurray Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 Dang.... Too many going dark this year. I'm glad I don't have traffic. Maybe 5-10 cars a night. Which is how I want it to stay. I have local neighbors who love the show and bring their kids often. I do this for my LOCAL community and for MYSELF. I enjoy building props, trouble shooting, the learning curve and advise from the "old timers" and those with waaay more technical skills than me. I hope too keep this going for many more years. I can't wait to see where the technology goes with this addictive hobby. Good luck. Maybe take more than a year off. Let people "forget" about your display and then come back and start off small... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Say watt?? Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 2 hours ago, BMurray said: Dang.... Too many going dark this year. I'm glad I don't have traffic. Maybe 5-10 cars a night. Which is how I want it to stay. I have local neighbors who love the show and bring their kids often. I do this for my LOCAL community and for MYSELF. I Same situation here. When I read your post, something occurred to me.......maybe it's time to asks the neighbors what songs THEY would like to see lights dancing to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a31ford Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 PLASMA............................ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Simmons Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 13 hours ago, Say watt?? said: Same situation here. When I read your post, something occurred to me.......maybe it's time to asks the neighbors what songs THEY would like to see lights dancing to. I suppose this would be considered by some as a friendly thing to do. (Although until my neighbors help pay for the lights or the electric they have zero influence on the music Sharon and I choose.) But what will it solve? Unless the neighbors have absolutely horrible taste in music and word of that gets around faster than the "speed of light", how will it affect traffic count or the orderly flow of vehicles? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plasmadrive Posted December 23, 2017 Author Share Posted December 23, 2017 My main issue was putting the burden on others for the traffic. Even though we only did three nights a week, that was a lot of work for every that helped out. I couldn't see asking them yet one more year to give up so much of their time. BTW, no matter what he thought, it was only one neighbor that was a PITA.. the rest loved the display and didn't mind putting up with the traffic because we were out there every single night keeping it under control. He was the only one that caused a traffic jam during the entire run this year... So truth be told.. he was really not the main reason we went dark. Thank you all for your support.. and I will still be involved in helping other lighters... I'm not going away.. I still have a big back yard.. ha ha ha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMurray Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 1 hour ago, plasmadrive said: I'm not going away.. I still have a big back yard.. ha ha ha I was just telling my wife last night about the many shows going dark this year. If it ever came down to shutting my show down for the general public I would still continue.... In my back yard??. No way I would stop completely because of others. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Say watt?? Posted December 23, 2017 Share Posted December 23, 2017 5 hours ago, George Simmons said: I suppose this would be considered by some as a friendly thing to do. (Although until my neighbors help pay for the lights or the electric they have zero influence on the music Sharon and I choose.) But what will it solve? Unless the neighbors have absolutely horrible taste in music and word of that gets around faster than the "speed of light", how will it affect traffic count or the orderly flow of vehicles? My comment had nothing to do with traffic flow or anything like that. I was just agreeing with what I quoted. I know my neighbors really enjoy our display, they've told us many times. I'm in a town of 2500 and we would have to drive at least a half an hour to see anything like what we do. I play songs I like, but I'm not opposed to using next door neighbors suggestions if they had any. After all, it is for other people to enjoy too. If it was just for us it would be in the basement or garage, where it's warm and my fingers and hands work better. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plasmadrive Posted December 26, 2017 Author Share Posted December 26, 2017 On 12/23/2017 at 10:38 AM, BMurray said: I was just telling my wife last night about the many shows going dark this year. If it ever came down to shutting my show down for the general public I would still continue.... In my back yard??. No way I would stop completely because of others. My wife is the one that came up with the backyard idea for family and friends.. it's about 30'x60' or so and has 40' tall redwoods on three sides.. I could make a nice walk thru display and since it won't be public, I can play with my laser gear maybe.. Just thinking.. Won't be until 2019 though. I have a new knee on order at Home Depot so that will slow me down for a few months.. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a31ford Posted December 26, 2017 Share Posted December 26, 2017 LMAO At HD, too funny. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffF Posted December 26, 2017 Share Posted December 26, 2017 5 hours ago, plasmadrive said: My wife is the one that came up with the backyard idea for family and friends.. it's about 30'x60' or so and has 40' tall redwoods on three sides.. I could make a nice walk thru display and since it won't be public, I can play with my laser gear maybe.. Just thinking.. Won't be until 2019 though. I have a new knee on order at Home Depot so that will slow me down for a few months.. I have been dreaming of a backyard walkthrough display... so many possibilities! You can do WAY more than a public display! We are stopping our front yard display after this year and I was supposed to take 2018 off but... who knows... maybe our backyard will be bright next year. Good luck with the new knee! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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