TEMPLE TERRACE \u2014 Is it really starting to look a lot like Christmas until Lucas Hutchins says so?<\/p>\n
For nearly two decades, Hutchins has transformed River Ridge Drive in Temple Terrace into the city\u2019s most dazzling Christmas destination, dubbed the Temple Terrace Light Show.<\/p>\n
It is a flourish of twinkling lights, synchronized music and a towering oak tree wrapped from trunk to treetop. What started as a one-man, one-home show has grown into a neighborhood tradition that draws thousands of visitors each December to the River Run subdivision.<\/p>\n
Mostly, it is a mission.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think a lot of it is I\u2019m very sad that Christmas kind of seems to be phasing out and not as many people are decorating,\u201d he said. \u201cThe less I see of other people\u2019s neighborhoods, the more I want to add here.\u201d<\/p>\n
And add he has.<\/p>\n
Eighteen years ago, Hutchins moved into his current home, which came with a sprawling oak. That oak became part of his festive vision when the holidays rolled around, which he turned into a winter wonderland.<\/p>\n
With each passing year, he added new touches: more lights, elaborate garlands, glowing arches, a snow machine and a full light show choreographed to Christmas music broadcast on 95.5 for people driving the loop.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had smaller displays at my previous house,\u201d he said, \u201cbut since I\u2019ve moved into this house, I really upped my game.\u201d<\/p>\n
From a kid who used to decorate and put a big Christmas tree up in his bedroom, to the maestro of the now-infamous Temple Terrace Light Show, Hutchins is keeping the holiday spirit alive and well lit.<\/p>\n
The show will run through the first week in January.<\/p>\n
\u201cChristmas has always been my thing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Once Hutchins created his merry masterpiece, his neighbors soon started to follow. Some did it on their own; other paid Hutchins to decorate their homes for them, and some of those who can\u2019t afford it, he does theirs anyway.<\/p>\n
Today, he decorates roughly half the street himself. Hutchins also handles most of the lights stretching across the roadway and the d\u00e9cor on the street\u2019s entranceway lamp posts, including a digital sign telling you how many days are left before Santa arrives.<\/p>\n
Word has spread beyond Temple Terrace, too. Over the years, neighbors, and neighbors of neighbors, hired him to decorate homes in New Tampa, Land O\u2019 Lakes and even Ruskin.<\/p>\n
It’s a side hustle \u2014 by day he runs Lucas Lawn Care \u2014 but he isn\u2019t taking any more customers.<\/p>\n
Back in River Run, the scale of the operation is wondrous. Lights and props occupy a 1,600-sqaure-foot split-level storage unit. Trailers shuttle decorations back and forth. Hutchins rents a lift four or five times a season \u2014 first to wrap the oak tree, which alone takes three days of sunrise-to-sundown work over Labor Day weekend, and then again to hang street spanning lights, install garlands and later take everything back down.<\/p>\n
The result is an elaborate display featuring 60,000 lights, many now smart pixels he can control from a computer. Pixels allow him to shift colors easily and choreograph sequences to songs, even though he still relies heavily on traditional LEDs for trees and rooftops.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s great to still see these big displays, especially with the music on the radio\u201d said Jay Norden, who lives in Tampa and said he and his wife has been down River Ridge Drive many times over the years. \u201cIt does seem to get better and better every year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hutchins\u2019 decorating schedule is tenacious: a few hours before landscaping, more hours afterwards \u2014 \u201cSometimes I’ll be outside till like midnight,\u201d he says \u2014 and full days on weekends. The build begins in September. Homes start getting bedecked the first week of November, with the intention of having everyone lit up by Thanksgiving.<\/p>\n
Hutchins finished up early this season, so he could have time to enjoy the holidays himself. He wants to visit the light displays at Disney, Jollyland and Gaylord Palms. There is still the occasional fire to put out. On a recent drive through, you could see Hutchins trot across the street to make a minor repair to two displays, then disappear again.<\/p>\n
Because of the extra effort, the Temple Terrace Light Show is always a hit. A snow machine runs Thursday through Sunday. Kids lean out car windows, pointing and smiling. Others park nearby and stroll the street, stopping under archways or glowing trees for photos.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat’s why I really like what I do, because people, they don’t have to worry about buying anything. They can just drive through and see the lights,\u201d Hutchins said.<\/p>\n
And the giant inflatable reindeer, the army of Frosty the Snowmen, an entire Grinch display \u2014 even the house is lit up by green lights \u2014 and the cul-de-sac on Hidden Ridge Place that looks like you\u2019re walking into a wintery state fair.<\/p>\n
\u201cI say you can drive or walk, but it’s better to walk, because then you can take a good glance at everything,\u201d Hutchins said.<\/p>\n
And the show isn\u2019t cheap. Last year, Hutchin\u2019s December electric bill hit $600, nearly double previous years, and he expects this season\u2019s to climb even higher.<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s all worth it.<\/p>\n
The payoff comes late in December, on Christmas Eve. Santa, Mrs. Claus, Rudolph, elves \u2014 even the dastardly Grinch \u2014 make appearances and Hutchins hands out cookies and hot chocolate to the couple thousand visitors who walk or drive the street.<\/p>\n
Neighbors call him Mr. Christmas. Some tip him. Fans leave appreciate comments online. Every year he hosts a block party to celebrate with his neighbors another job well done.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a lot of work. But it\u2019s worth it,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are not many places they go anymore to see Christmas lights. There are not many neighborhoods that do things like what we do here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now that Hutchins is done, it\u2019s official: it really is starting to look a lot like Christmas.<\/p>\n
The Temple Terrace Light Show can be visited at 7804 River Ridge Drive in Temple Terrace each night until 11 p.m. For more information, search \u201cTemple Terrace Light Show\u201d on Facebook or Instagram.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TEMPLE TERRACE \u2014 Is it really starting to look a lot like Christmas until Lucas Hutchins says so?…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":83954,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[1191,35382,276,46251,135,137,136,8609],"class_list":["post-83953","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-christmas","tag-christmas-lights","tag-hillsborough-county","tag-river-ridge","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news","tag-temple-terrace"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83953","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83953"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83953\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/83954"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}