Looking A Lot Like Christmas at The Dansereau House
To watch the video, click the photo
Every night a lone man sits on the front lawn of The Dansereau House. When darkness falls, and Saint Philip Street is quiet, he appears. One chair, one small table, and a laptop. It has happened almost every night since the beginning of November. An occasional person passing may notice that Christmas lights go on and off in a silent dance. If they look closer at the man, they may notice that, beneath his beanie, headphones pulse out a song they cannot hear. “Boughs of Holly” by Trans Siberian Orchestra. That man is Paul, and he had a deadline: December 4, 2011. He can imagine the sound of the floats from the Thibodaux Christmas Parade as they come closer, Santa arrives at The Dansereau House, and the Christmas lights go on for the first time this year.
We love Christmas! The lights, the music, the excitement, but especially the ‘Reason for the Season.” The owner of The Dansereau House, Damon Baldone, loves Christmas too, so when it comes to decorating, we have his blessing. Christmas 2010 was the beginning. Of course, the lighting was the biggest push, and the snow machines were the lagniappe. This year our goal was to create movement and add music to the light show, something too big to attempt last year. In addition, we were honored to be asked to be the ending site of the Thibodaux Christmas Parade this year, to light up the house for the first time that night, and let Santa use the front lawn to listen to the Christmas wishes of the children. We had a mission!
Of course, research was the first step, and we began ours in the Fall of 2010! No longer just strings of lights operating on timers, but computer programs, controllers, and channels became a part of our Christmas vocabulary. After looking at endless options, Paul settled on a system from Revival Control Systems, and has been so pleased with his choice. Their motto is Matthew5:16.. Look it up; it will make you smile. Also added this year is what we fondly call The Mega Tree, which stands twenty feet tall in the front yard, and boasts over 6,000 lights. Again this year our friends from Florida offered us a week of their time to help. Between David and Paul, the Mega Tree went up, and the controller and all of it’s electrical installed. We could not have made it happen without David and Andrea’s help.
During the day Paul and I continued with the decorating, along with our regular routine of operating a Bed & Breakfast, with some weddings and special events as well. While Paul remained the Lighting and Technical Expert, I became the Chief Procurement Officer and Head of Moral Support. Many thanks to the wonderful people at Lowes for all their help and encouragement. I will never forget the look on one gentleman’s face when I nabbed him late in the evening and said, “Your website says you have 23 boxes of light stakes in this store, and I can’t find them!” He found them and asked how many I wanted. “All of them,” I said. I don’t know his name, but I hope he and all the helpful employees can come enjoy the show one night, and know they were a part!
The physical part of the project continued throughout November, and December came quickly. By day, Paul placed light strings with the meticulousness of an architect, and continued his nightly sojourns into the dark to program the lights to the music. In our initial research we read that it can take hours to program a single minute of music, and this is true. Note by note, light strand by light strand. We appreciate the patience of our neighbors!
So many people lent a helping hand, and we thank you all! What may have seemed to you like a small task was to us like extra hours in the day. We are blessed by each one of you!
Please come by to enjoy our gift to you! You can tune into the music with your car radio on FM 98.9. Please give your feedback on our website, our Facebook page, or by email. We would love to hear from you!
Most importantly: Merry Christmas!
Here’s a few photos. More to come!
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