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Palmetto holiday lights show still going strong
A holiday light show in Palmetto brings a lot of joy to people each year, but the creator is just counting himself lucky to still be here to see it.
PALMETTO, Fla. - Twinkling lights add a spark to Tom Stallings.
"Ever since I was a kid my dad always put lights up. My mom loved lights. My grandmother loved lights," he said.
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With upwards of 500,000 lights synchronized to music, for the past five years, his property has become the ‘Lights of Palmetto.’
But this year his show almost went dark.
"I went in the day after Christmas, I went in because I just wasn’t feeling right. My oxygen was lying low," he said.
After being placed in a medically induced coma, doctors weren’t sure if Stallings would make it.
After four months in the hospital, he was able to return home. Stallings continues to need physical and occupational therapy and his spark started to dim.
He wasn’t sure if the show would go on.
"I didn’t think so, I knew I needed it. The Christmas show is something I love to do for the community, but it’s also something for me and a lot of people knew that," he said.
One person who knew it was Ron Howard from Xtreme Sequences of California.
He met Stallings through their love of lighting sequences and working to help others in the hobby.
"We said we should do something, we should put something together and fly out and help him with his show," said Howard.
From across the country, they joined together for two of getting the show up and running.
"They all on their own time [and] their own dime flew out. A lot of locals in the Florida area drove out to put his show together, and this was a mammoth task, but it was so much fun," Howard said. "So much worth it. To say it wasn’t emotional would be just a lie; we all had to fight back those tears, it was a proud moment to see those lights turn on."
An early Christmas miracle not only for the community but for the man who has worked to brighten other’s lives.
"With everything going on, you need this type of stuff in your life. You never know what people can do for you and what you can do for somebody else to change their outlook," said Stallings.
Lights of Palmetto is located at 5220 69th Street East in Palmetto. Stallings and his family will flip the switch to light the show on Thanksgiving night at 6 p.m.
Kids can drop off their letters to Santa at a mailbox on their property. For more information, click here.