Collingwood Lights, 2018
Collingwood Lights, a world-famous holiday lights display in the Collingwood neighborhood by Bill and Jan Vaughan, will not light up in 2019.
Collingwood Lights will not open this winter, ending a tradition for thousands of local residents.
Elaborate, music-synched light displays have given joy to many people for more than two decades at Bill and Jan Vaughan’s home at 1601 Collingwood Road. In 2018, the couple won $50,000 in ABC television's "The Great Christmas Light Fight."
For health reasons, the Vaughan family will not light up Collingwood this year.
In a Facebook event post, Bill Vaughan wrote:
I haven’t posted in forever, not because decorating hasn’t been on my mind. It has been pretty much all I have thought about these last 7 or 8 months. I haven’t posted because of my fear of the finality of what I need to say. With Dec. 1st and Collingwood Lights traditional light up right around the corner I really can’t put this off any longer. Due to health I will not be doing my display this year. As for the future, I have come to terms with the fact that this December will be dark but I just can’t bring myself to say 2018 was our last, I just can’t.
I want to thank everyone for their support and encouragement over these many years. I feel blessed. I have so many memories that span the last 25+ years, the smiles, the laughter, the kid’s squeals and the joy of knowing it was of my doing. Collingwood Lights truly was my Christmas present to myself. I will cherish those memories for the rest of my life and as my wife has reminded me more than once, if 2018 was indeed Collingwood Lights swan song. What a way to turn off the lights!
Warmest Regards,
Bill Vaughan
The Vaughans’ display was all homegrown by Bill Vaughan, a trained painter who described his yearly creation as “an animated display.”
“All of this I made; it’s all been welded up by me, then lights have been put on by me,” said Vaughan in a promotional clip for the television show last year, adding that he’s never bought any display pieces from a store.
It started after Jan "chided" Bill for their lack of holiday decorations — that was back in the early 1990s and grew, with new pieces every holiday season.
Every year, they would start assembling their holiday display before Halloween with a goal of lighting up by Dec. 1. The display usually operated nightly (weather-permitting) through early January. Most nights, local police were on hand to direct traffic.
The Vaughan family is unsure of their plans for 2020 and beyond, but this holiday season will be a little bit darker in Alexandria.
