Mooseheart announces end to holiday lights show

Mooseheart Child City and School in Batavia has pulled the plug on its Christmastime lights display after 12 years.

It became “increasingly difficult” to produce the show, executive director Gary Urwiler said in a news release.

He said the reasons included the increasing popularity of other light shows in the area and the amount of volunteers and other resources needed to put on the monthlong show.

At its peak in 2020, about 20,000 vehicles drove through the show’s 1.9-mile loop. Some of the homes and other buildings on the campus were floodlit with colored lights. There were also lighted scenes and characters on the sides of the roads. About one-third of the displays were replaced each year.

The school plans to have a Rudolph Run 5K run/walk on Nov. 19 and a pancake breakfast with Santa Claus on Dec. 10 that will be open to the public.