Richardson Light Show returns
MADISON — The popular Richardson Light Show has returned to Sundial Road here after two years of cancellations due to Hoy Road construction.
The show, put on by Mike and Carol Richardson along with their son Hayden, boasts a huge amount of colorful Christmas decorations that flash and twinkle along with music from 99.3 FM.
Hayden Richardson said he was first interested in the Christmas decorations when he was around eight years old, back when his family still lived in North Bay.
“Back then, we had an inflatable snowman and Santa Claus, along with a Nativity Scene,” Richardson said. “I really enjoyed putting that stuff out and seeing people come by the house and look at it. We moved to Sundial Road around 20 years ago and continued our decorations there, where it just started evolving.”
Richardson said the popularity of the decorations really started to take off in 2012, and since then it’s gotten bigger and bigger every year.
The show was voted third best light display in the nation by USA Today in 2014 and was featured on ABC’s “The Great Christmas Light Fight” in 2018.
He said the show nowadays takes around 800 hours of total labor to set up and his family starts the process as early as September each year. This year they added a brand new 25-foot tall red, blue and green mega Christmas tree.
“It’s a lot of long days and late nights, but when we finally get everything done and get the show started, it’s a relaxing feeling that we get to enjoy the decorations and show them off to people,” he said. “We enjoy seeing all the smiling faces, people young and old, as they come by and enjoy the display. They can come free of charge and enjoy the experience as a family. We’ve been given a gift and opportunity to do something special and give back to the community.”
Richardson said to make sure to tune your car radio in to 99.3 FM as you approach the display.
Carol Richardson said the first Christmas decorations her family ever bought were an inflatable snowman and Santa Claus for 50 percent off at Kroger.
“That’s where it started,” Richardson said. “We kept adding to the decorations little by little and we could tell people who drove by would enjoy what we had out. Hayden was excited people were enjoying our decorations and he wanted to keep adding to it. We told him he would need to pay for the decorations we added, so he started cutting lawns and using the money he earned from that to buy more decorations.”
She said although her son lives in Starkville now, he comes back every weekend to help with the display, and her husband Mike assists in taking the decorations out of storage and in putting them back up when the show is over.
The Richardson Light Show is located at 219 Sundial Road, which viewers must access from Tisdale Road off Hwy. 51 or Tisdale Road off Hoy Road. Access to enter the neighborhood from the intersection of Sundial and Hoy Road is for residents only.
The show began on Dec. 2 and runs through Dec. 27. Show times include:
• Dec. 2-24, 5:30-10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and 5:30-9 p.m. on Sundays through Thursdays.
• Dec. 25, 5:30-10 p.m.
• Dec. 26-27, 5:30-9 p.m.
Weather-related closings will be posted on the Richardson Light Show Facebook page, and all additional information can be found on www.richardsonlightshow.com.