Ready to dazzle

High tech light show has taken a year to assemble

John Howell
Posted 11/20/14

Christmas arrives on Nov. 27 at 8:30 p.m. sharp.

Well, of course it doesn’t, unless you’re Frank Picozzi.

Like everyone else, Picozzi will celebrate Thanksgiving on Nov. 27 but, as his …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

E-mail
Password
Log in

Ready to dazzle

High tech light show has taken a year to assemble

Posted

Christmas arrives on Nov. 27 at 8:30 p.m. sharp.

Well, of course it doesn’t, unless you’re Frank Picozzi.

Like everyone else, Picozzi will celebrate Thanksgiving on Nov. 27 but, as his family knows, when it comes time for dessert, it’s time to leave the outside of the house to Frank. That’s when he puts the finishing touches to the Christmas light show that will premiere at 8:30 that night for neighbors, friends, family and anyone else who wants to stop by at 75 Grist Mill Rd., off West Shore Road in the Hoxsie section.

The full 55-minute show, with 16 songs broadcast on FM radio for those who want to stay in their cars, opens the following evening at 5:30 p.m. It will run continuously up until Jan. 1. Shows run until 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday. On Friday and Saturday nights, they go to 10 p.m.

This will be the seventh year Picozzi has transformed his house and yard into a computer-run pulsating, throbbing display of Christmas lights. Trees, fences, the outline of the house and fingered stanchions rising above the roofline providing “fireworks” flash in time with the music. Jingle and Belle, two round faces of lights that wink at their audience, provide commentary.

This year promises to be more dazzling than prior years, although Picozzi has reduced the number of lights from 100,000 to about 20,000. It all has to do with “intelligent pixels,” Picozzi explained Sunday, as he went about arranging a series of Christmas trees across his front yard.

The lights are programmable LEDs (light emitting diodes) that, unlike incandescent lights, can change color. This has enabled him to use one light, rather than stringing up lights of multiple colors, to achieve the same effect. At the same time, the number of circuits have increased from 450 to 13,847. That’s getting into the technical aspects of the display, which Picozzi loves as much as the community side of a year-long obsession that has him in his garage-workshop, surfing the Internet for ideas and deals and trading suggestions with other like-minded enthusiasts across the country. Picozzi says he rarely watches TV, because he doesn’t have the time.

“The Red Sox weren’t very interesting this year, so I didn’t miss out,” he concludes. There haven’t been any family vacations, and he’s completely abandoned his passion for cars, which once filled the garage and driveway. The garage is where he built the lattice of pencil-sized LEDs that is the show’s center canvas.

“You can make it go all red, green or purple and it’s so much brighter, and the colors are beautiful,” he says. “Programming, that’s the part I like. I stand back and look at the work, like an artist looking at a painting.”

But there’s no school for what Picozzi is doing.

“We learn from each other,” he says of the network of people experimenting with computer-run displays. Jim St. John, who lives in Indiana, is a “genius” and has been especially helpful. St. John also sells some of the control boards to run the programs.

Picozzi buys his LEDs directly from China, as they are not sold in this country. Shipments can take months and require custom clearances and processing fees. A string of 128 lights cost about $40.

Picozzi hasn’t totaled what he’s spent on the show. He would just as soon not go there. He has even poured cement foundations for elements of the display, such as the large Christmas tree and the main panel of lights. He has miles of wires running across his lawn and even removed a large oak tree in the corner of the yard to give the audience a better view. The show required some ingenious applications, such as spraying the wiring with ammonia, which he says deters the squirrels and rabbits that chew wires.

“It’s a gift to the community; that’s the important thing,” he says. Picozzi enjoys the feedback from neighbors and total strangers. Donations he receives – Picozzi has a box in the front yard – have gone to help non-profits. This year they go to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

For whatever reason, the late Thanksgiving or maybe all the rain, attendance was down last year. Early in December, with only two to three cars stopping a night, Picozzi considered closing the show all together. And then, with only days to Christmas, the crowds turned out.

“Christmas took everybody by surprise last year,” Picozzi said.

Whether people will get “into” Christmas earlier this year or not, Picozzi is ready to throw the switch to set the mood again.

Additional information is available by visiting the display's Facebook page, Picozzi Family Christmas display, or visiting the website www.picozzichristmas.com.

Comments

3 comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here

  • warwickguy

    OMG the poor neighbors, how horribly, inconsiderate and rude not to mention down right tacky. Did he at least get their blessing? Thank God I live in a neighborhood that has restrictions on this sort of selfish self centered behavior.

    Friday, November 21, 2014 Report this

  • angels4me

    Thank goodness I don't live near warwickguy! Sounds like he is the stingy and cranky Ebenezer Scrooge that hates Christmas and loathes people.

    So looking forward to seeing the beautiful display created by Frank Picozzi. I have emailed this story to all my friends & family.

    Your hard work is appreciated by many!

    Merry Christmas

    Friday, November 21, 2014 Report this

  • Reasonforseason

    WarwI guy has proven how miserable he is. All of Frank's neighbors love him because he shares his love of Christmas to all of us.

    Sunday, November 23, 2014 Report this