What's Happening in Concord, CA…

Instead of letting a beloved local festive tradition go, Concord residents got together to continue it last month.

‘Mr. Christmas’, whose real name was Bruce Mertz, passed away last year, leaving behind a tradition everyone liked. For 36 years, Mertz decorated his Concord residence with thousands of lights.

The effort to continue this custom was spearheaded by Moraga firefighter Katy Himsl, who joined forces with local electrician Adam Weber to transform Himsl's house into the same type of wonderland Mertz created. Although they are nowhere near his level, they are adding news attractions all the time. For one thing, they have synchronized the lights with Christmas music, and Weber has upgraded the electric service so they can increase the amount of decorations in the future. He has also made special displays that make this house unique to the Bay Area.

Over 25,000 lights are required for the show, along with 112 electrical outlets and thousands of feet of extension cords. The December electric bill tops out at more than $700, and there are other expenses associated with creating the decorations.

Weber admits the lighting project is time-consuming and stressful, but is motivated by the children who ask when the show is going to start, as well as the fact that the lights are a tribute to Katy's mother and ‘Mr. Christmas’.

Exhibits like this make perfect backgrounds for people to use to create attractive Holiday Cards.


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