You may be thinking Thanksgiving Day is way too early for Christmas lights, but for one Farmers Branch resident it's the perfect day to debut his festival of lights.
With 275,000 lights, 1,000 man hours, several Christmas songs and lots of patience-- Ken Pharr creates his festival of lights each year.
"Its takes a while for us to do this, so I'm actually listening to 'Its the Most Wonderful Time of the Year' in June and my wife is like, 'Enough, enough,'" said Pharr.
For the last four years, Pharr has been the architect of the light show.
"I've been decorating since I was about 6," he said. "I would hang lights in all the windows of my bedroom."
His front yard is a far cry from his childhood bedroom. Even his wife was a little skeptical the first year Pharr decided to choreograph their Christmas lights to music.
"She thought I was crazy of course," he said. "You know, she goes, 'Well, will I be able to wash clothes or dry clothes at night?' And so what we had to do was upgrade our service panel in the house."
What started as just a fundraiser for Metrocrest, a local food bank, is now a neighborhood staple.
"We actually collected about 10,000 pounds of food last year," said Pharr. "We've gotten 7 houses in the cul-de-sac synchronized to a computer."
Each year, the show grows in size.
"The new addition this year was Santa Claus and the sled," he said.
For Pharr, it just wouldn't be Christmas without twinkling lights dancing to Christmas carols. Its a tradition he hopes to carry on, one way or another, for years to come.
"I told my kids whoever made me the maddest would inherit 275,000 Christmas lights."
For more information you can go to www.pharrchristmas.com. The light show will run from Thanksgiving through Jan. 2 at 14535 Southern Pines Cove in Farmers Branch. The Pharr's are accepting canned goods, non-perishable food items, and unwrapped kids toys for donation to Metrocrest Social Services.
