Making the season bright: Holiday light show shines at Naper Settlement
Before the lights even go on at Naper Settlement for the sixth annual Naper Lights celebration on Friday evening, passers-by can glimpse the holiday merriment in the making.
The outlines of shapes and figures can be discerned in daylight, revealing that light displays depicting penguins and igloos, elves, ice skaters and children building a snowman will be part of the show.
Presented by the Rotary Club of Naperville-Sunrise, the event boasts animated light displays synced to music, a new sound system and a 38-foot tree topped with a glittering star.
Naper Lights is open on Thursday through Sunday evenings, through Dec. 23, and Monday, Dec. 17, through Wednesday, Dec. 19, at 523 S. Webster St.
“It kind of reminds me of old Naperville,” said club member and event co-chairwoman Lynne Nolan. “It's really about getting out, kind of like it used to be, kind of a throwback to the days when you just walked around and had a good time.”
Nolan said new displays will decorate the side of the settlement that runs parallel to Aurora Road, near the Martin Mitchell mansion.
Club members gathered recently to set up the light displays, expanded this year to offer visitors who traverse the path around the museum's village green more views of holiday sights. They were assisted by about 30 teens from area service clubs.
“As you go around the walkway, you see different features, so you see different things from different vantage points,” Nolan said.
She said the polar bear light display, on loan from Brookfield Zoo, is back this year. And the lighted archway has been enhanced with animation. Visitors also will see what appear to be dancing tree trunks and a spiral tree that changes color, seemingly in response to music.
Commercially produced displays will be interspersed with homemade ones, she said.
“Scott Amundsen, who is my co-chair, is really the designer who is kind of the passion behind the animated displays,” Nolan said.
Admission to Naper Lights and Naper Settlement is free during the event. Naper Lights shares the settlement grounds with Christkindlmarket, an open-air European-style outdoor market where visitors will find vendors offering gifts, food and drink. Admission to Christkindlmarket is free.
Nolan said there will be several live art performances during the show's run, including dance companies, choral groups and theatrical performers.
While there is no charge for admission to Naper Lights, donations will be accepted.
“On-site donations will be shared with our local high school Interact service clubs, who help host the event, and with charities supported by the Rotary Club of Naperville-Sunrise,” Nolan said.
The club's philanthropic projects include an annual backpack drive, a holiday gift program, a winter clothing drive and a building renovation program. The club also supports international Rotary service initiatives, Nolan said.
Nolan said Naper Lights has enjoyed a loyal and growing following. Organizers said an estimated 208,000 people visited last season.
The lights create a memorable effect, she said.
“If you're there when the lights go on, there's a collective ‘Ah,'” she said. “It's a great outing with friends and family, which is what the holidays are all about.”
Naper Lights
<b>Where:</b> Naper Settlement, 523 S. Webster St., Naperville
<b>When:</b> 4 to 7 p.m. Thursdays, 4 to 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 4 to 6 p.m. Sundays, Nov. 23 through Dec. 23; 4 to 8 p.m. Monday, Dec. 17, through Wednesday, Dec. 19
<b>Admission:</b> Free
<b>Info:</b> <a href="http://www.naperlights.com">www.naperlights.com</a>
<b>Sponsored by:</b> Rotary Club of Naperville-Sunrise