The tech-iest holiday light show

19.12.2008
One of the simplest is packing the kids in the minivan with a thermos of hot cocoa and a plate of cookies and driving by a holiday light display.

Most of these displays -- like the at Rockefeller Center in New York or the in Chicago  -- are electrical extravaganzas, with basic white or colored lights blinking on and off.

But a few of these have enough computer power behind them to put even the Grinch-iest geek in a Christmas frame of mind.

Outside Disney's theme parks -- which are in a class by themselves when it comes to holiday spectacles -- one of the biggest and most sophisticated holiday light shows in the country is at in Pine Mountain, Ga. 

Callaway Gardens' Fantasy in Lights show features 8 million sparkling lights, synchronized in time to music and narration along a seven-mile wooded drive. Behind the marching nutcrackers and swimming swans are computerized show controllers that use powerful networking protocols to turn lights on and off digitally and to operate analog light dimmers. Some of these cell-phone-sized controllers have the ability to use GPS technology to sync up light and music.

Visitors to Callaway Gardens ride on a "Jolly Trolley" or their own cars through a dozen lighted scenes, including Snowflake Valley, Magical Christmas Garden and Santa's Workshop. The show's highlights are electrical interpretations of two famous Christmas stories: 'Twas the Night Before Christmas and The Nativity. (See a of the Callaway Gardens Fantasy in Lights 2008 show.)