Local News
Annual show lights up Christmas tradition
TBO.com
Published: November 27, 2012
SEBRING - For more than 25 years, Jon Spiegel has made Christmas jollier for Highlands County's children.Published: November 27, 2012
For those who don't know, he is the coordinator of Sebring's Christmas Carousel of Lights, the light and puppet show that illuminates Circle Park in downtown Sebring every December.
The Carousel of Lights starts this Saturday and runs through Dec. 28 from 6 to 9 p.m. every day.
Kids can get their photos taken with Santa every evening. The photo costs $6 and is enclosed in a display card.
"It's become a tradition, to get a picture, a folder," he said.
The staple comical puppet show, which has grown to 13 puppets, also returns this year. Light refreshments are available and kids can play miniature golf and fish pond.
What's new is a 15-minute-long computerized light show in between the puppet shows.
Spiegel said he wanted to add a "hi-tech" edge to the puppet show.
"I'm really happy with the way it has turned out," he added.
Monday, the lights looked like they were ready to go. Spiegel said he's still fine-tuning things but he's ready for opening night.
In years past, the light show has often opened the same week as Sebring's Christmas parade.
This year the parade has been scheduled for Dec. 7.
Sebring city officials wanted the Carousel of Lights to run for at least three weeks, so they gave Spiegel the go-ahead to move it up a week from the parade.
When the show first started, the goal was to see how many "Christmas lights we can get into Circle Park."
It has evolved a lot since its early years. Some time-tested elements have remained but Spiegel said he tries to add something new every year to keep it fresh.
The Sebring Christmas parade will begin at 7 p.m. Dec. 7.
The parade route will start on the Sebring Parkway at Shontee Avenue and will run south on North Ridgewood Drive, around the Circle, to South Commerce Avenue. It ends at McClain Lane by Firemen's Field.