Deltaville Lights back for 20th year

Someday there might be a road in Deltaville named after Stephen Blue. Until then, his name is known by the Deltaville Lights. For half his life Stephen Blue, 39, has built Christmas displays that keep getting bigger and better every year.

This year marks the 20th display of “Deltaville Lights,” by Stephen Blue, with help from his friends. 

The mammoth display with music has been a community beacon every December since 2007. But, the Deltaville Lights story begins in 1996. Stephen, then 12 years old, always wanted colored lights. His mother, Carol Blue, told him that he could make a display in the backyard and do whatever he wanted. She was keeping her twinkling white lights in the front of her house. “She would go out in front of the house to be sure colored lights could not be seen,” Stephen recalled.

His father, Randy Blue, said, “I thought it was a phase.” You could call his displays a “phase” as long as they were in the backyard where they were set up from 1996-2001. In 2002, needing more space, Stephen set up the lights at Mason Realty at 16598 General Puller Highway in Deltaville, where it’s been ever since, except for 2003 and 2006, when he was in college.  

Now his father and mother help him stage 176,000 lights. “She is the master of fixing wire frame characters when they go dark,” said Stephen, adding that Randy “puts in as many hours as I do.”

Volunteers

It’s become a community project.

At the end of the 2022 holiday season, a powerful storm with winds clocked at more than 70 miles per hour devastated the display, destroying the mega tree and damaging many components. “An army of volunteers showed up this November to help rebuild the tree, and to help put up tons of poles and lights so that the 2023 display could happen. With their help I could knock out in a day things that would take me a week to do,” Stephen said. “They were invaluable.” 

The lights are on nightly from 5-11 p.m., and run through New Year’s Day, Jan. 1, 2024. Deltaville Lights display does not operate on nights with significant rain (closings are announced on the Deltaville Lights Facebook page). The display is 100% free to visit.

Special events coming up at ‘Lights’

This weekend is full of special events at Deltaville Lights. On Friday and Sunday nights at 6 p.m., Zoar Baptist Church will have a choir singing Christmas Carols.

On Saturday it’s the annual “Deltaville Ballpark Cookies, Cocoa, and Friends Night.” Plenty of treats for all will be on hand, and numerous characters such as Gingy, the Grinch, Elves, Snow Queen, and others will be at the display starting about 5:30 p.m.