Vinny and Maggie Bittinger are hard at work in Centennial Park in Seward ensuring that the second annual Magical Lights of Seward is bigger and brighter than ever.
“We have added more lights, more props,” Vinny said. “As you go around the circle, virtually everything has changed. Something has changed about every area, some areas are completely new.
“There are things that were never seen before last year.”
The Bittingers brought the light show to Seward for the first time last year after years of tinkering and practice at their Malcolm home. The response for the show, which ran from late November through the holidays, was stunning, Maggie said.
“In just one weekend, we counted 72 counties (license plates),” she said.
The sudden popularity of the event showed them the display had a home in Seward. They were determined to make this year's event even more memorable and have done so with larger, brighter displays.
Vinny said people will notice additional “lands,” with themed characters and features, as well as a 25-foot-long lighted piano that plays accurately along with music and a 35-foot-tall, 360-degree lighted tree. An amped up entrance, a four-panel lighted building and other bright touches can be seen on the journey through this year's display.
Their show last year earned them the title of the largest light display in Nebraska. They plan to keep that designation, with hopes of making it even larger next year.
“We had a lot of blank spots we wanted to fill in before we wanted to call the show full, and we're still not there, even this year,” Vinny said. “We need one more year before I say the park is full.”
And even when the park is full, Vinny guarantees the show will never be monotonous.
“We intend to change things every year,” he said. “We want people to come back year after year and be able to say it's not the same thing they saw last year.”
Along with the new displays will be operational changes to reduce wait times and ensure guests have a leisurely trip through the path. Guests are encouraged to purchase tickets in advance and reserve a time slot through the website, www.magicallightsofseward.com. Bookings are now available.
Tickets purchased online are cheaper than those purchased at the gate and guarantee a trip through the park.
“We're trying to increase the positive experience people have, and one way we can do that is reduce the wait time,” Vinny said. “If they just want to still come out on a whim, they can just show up, of course. If they take advantage of the timed ticket sales though, it should save time and money.”
The show kicks off on Black Friday, Nov. 26, and runs through Dec. 31. The show is open 7 days a week, 6 to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 6 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Until opening day, Vinny and Maggie will assemble, wire and plug-in the hundreds of thousands of lights necessary to bring the display to life. They began work at Centennial Park on Oct. 15 and estimated the display will take about a month to finish.
In order to ensure every single light is ready for guests, they'll test each section multiple times along the way.
“We test each zone as we go,” Vinny said. “We break the whole park into nine zones. As we build a zone, we plug computers into, test it, make sure that zone is ready and move on.”
Programming each display, especially the ones that move with music, can be a taxing task as well, Vinny added.
“You lose your mind,” he said, with a laugh. “You can't do one song for too long, because you listen to the same five second clip over and over again. You get so tired of it after an hour, you just have to move on.”
But Vinny knows the music is a big part of what gives the display its magic and what makes it appealing for all audiences. The mash-ups heard around the park combine new age, dub-step remixes of holiday favorites and classic renditions of popular tunes.
“I've always had the phrase that out here, at our show, the only people who come see our show are kids,” Vinny said. “They might be a 40-year-old kid or might be a 70-year-old kid, but they're all kids when they come see these lights.”
