(Seguin) — Northen Lights was a major holiday destination for hundreds of families during the Christmas season. The drive-thru holiday light show opened in 2022 at 3171 Church Road, near FM 467.
Northern Lights owner Donovan Dove says they were pleased with the opening at its new location in the Seguin and New Berlin areas. He says they stayed busy throughout the holiday season.
Donovan Dove, of Northern Lights, addresses the Guadalupe County Commissioners Court.
“For the 2022 Christmas season, we had 2,100 tickets sold, 172 season passes and an average of about 80 cars per night. Our busiest night was 250 cars on December 17th,” said Dove.
Dove shared the details during a recent meeting of the Guadalupe County Commissioners Court. He told the court that he had good news to share. It was quite a difference from a commissioners court meeting that was held about Northern Lights last summer. A hotly contested meeting, at that time, saw lots of people raising concerns about how Northern Light’s operation would impact those people who live in that area.
Dove says fortunately none of those concerns materialized, and they were able to keep their promises to control the traffic flow and to make it something that people could enjoy, without it negatively impacting his neighbors.
“Because of the precautions that we took to control traffic, we never used more than two of our six staging lanes. So that was 33 percent capacity. We never had any cars waiting in the street, because we made sure to open our gates 20 minutes early to stage any early birds that would show up to our property. No driveways were blocked. No animals were harmed or made sterile from exposure to lights, as some people brought up concerns about. There was no theft or vandalism from our guests as well. In fact, there was really no measurable negative impact on our roads or our neighbors,” said Dove.
Dove says not only were there no significant problems during his business’ operation, but he says he believes Northern Lights brought in even more positive activity into that area. He says more guests discovered that area, and used it as an opportunity to see what else was available around those parts. He says they also used some of the proceeds they collected to give back to the community. He says he believes it was a very positive experience for everyone involved.
“Many of our guests dined at local restaurants, including Rabel’s Roadhaus BBQ (in New Berlin). We were (also) able to donate over one $100 to Christ Lutheran Church, over $500 was donated to the New Berlin Volunteer Fire Department, and over $1,000 (was given) to Communities In Schools. Not to mention, the foster students that we treated to free admission and hot chocolate from TruLight Ministries,” said Dove.
Dove thanked the commissioners court for allowing Northern Lights to move forward, despite some of the concerns that were raised at the time. He says they were able to prove that they could put a plan in place to mitigate any of the concerns raised, while also providing a quality experience for those who visited the holiday lights display.
“Basically, I wanted to thank this court for the prudence in their decisions that they made during the summer. I know it’s never easy in the face of adversity, and with people who are acting on emotions. I thank you guys for making the right decision, and we look forward to 2023 being another great year,” said Dove.
Northern Lights opened the last week of November and stayed open through New Year’s Day. It was open nightly from 6 to 10 p.m., and it used an online ticketing system that helped to control wait times at the venue. Dove says they had nearly a million lights strung-up along the 1.1 mile trail, with many of them synchronized to music, as guests were encouraged to tune in to their special on site radio frequency. Dove says they also offered a Snack Shack that sold hot chocolate, cookies and other treats. You can see more about the sights and sounds at Northern Lights by visiting northernlightstx.com.